Louis: A Life of Robert Louis Stevenson
by Philip Callow
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"There are many Stevensons behind the initials RLS, but the one that has endeared him to so many readers for so long is surely the fighter, battling to stay alive. Jorge Luis Borges described Stevenson's brief life as courageous and heroic. In Philip Callow's new biography, one can see why." "Doctors, called repeatedly to what should have been his deathbed, would find a scarecrow, twitching and alive. A sickly child, Louis became in turn a bohemian dandy, a literary gypsy traipsing through show more the mountains of France with a donkey, and at twenty-eight the lover of an American woman ten years his senior, the fabulous Fanny." "He escaped his Scottish town, his family, his friends who had mapped out a literary career for him in London, and instead went chaotically across the Atlantic and overland to California in poverty and despair to reach his beloved, wherupon he escaped into marriage and committed himself to being a nomad. He sailed the Pacific and dreamed of being an explorer; his restlessness was Victorian. All the while he was composing some of the most treasured tales in the English language."--Jacket. show lessTags
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"I should like to rise and go Where the golden apples grow; Where below another sky Parrot islands anchored lie", November 26, 2014
This review is from: Louis: A Life of Robert Louis Stevenson (Hardcover)
Extremely well-written biography of the famous writer whose family wealth came from lighthouse building in Scotland. RLS however was of a more artistic temperament, soon abandoning his studies for writing, and - at first - shocking his Presbyterian parents by taking up with a married American woman, ten years his senior and with two children.
Callow writes vividly, unsparing in his descriptions of Louis' constant illness, sometimes bringing him close to death with haemorhages necessitating spells in sanatoria. His honeymoon is described show more thus:
"After six days Fanny and Lloyd (Louis' stepson) went down with mild diphtheria...Louis reported .."The first night I had a cramp and was quite worn out after it; the second day Fanny mashed her thumb while carpentering and had a nervous chill."
It is all the more to be wondered at that Stevenson undertook some rigorous travel despite his weakness: trekking across the Cevennes on a donkey, wintering in the Adirondacks where "the ink froze", undertaking a hellish train journey alone across America to claim the woman he loved - and of course the years in the South Seas.
Callow also brings out RLS' difficult relationship with his father: the guilt of being obliged to accept handouts while knowing his lifestyle was at odds with his father's hopes for him.
8 sides of b/w photos add to the text.
Informative and interesting, bringing RLS to life for the reader. show less
This review is from: Louis: A Life of Robert Louis Stevenson (Hardcover)
Extremely well-written biography of the famous writer whose family wealth came from lighthouse building in Scotland. RLS however was of a more artistic temperament, soon abandoning his studies for writing, and - at first - shocking his Presbyterian parents by taking up with a married American woman, ten years his senior and with two children.
Callow writes vividly, unsparing in his descriptions of Louis' constant illness, sometimes bringing him close to death with haemorhages necessitating spells in sanatoria. His honeymoon is described show more thus:
"After six days Fanny and Lloyd (Louis' stepson) went down with mild diphtheria...Louis reported .."The first night I had a cramp and was quite worn out after it; the second day Fanny mashed her thumb while carpentering and had a nervous chill."
It is all the more to be wondered at that Stevenson undertook some rigorous travel despite his weakness: trekking across the Cevennes on a donkey, wintering in the Adirondacks where "the ink froze", undertaking a hellish train journey alone across America to claim the woman he loved - and of course the years in the South Seas.
Callow also brings out RLS' difficult relationship with his father: the guilt of being obliged to accept handouts while knowing his lifestyle was at odds with his father's hopes for him.
8 sides of b/w photos add to the text.
Informative and interesting, bringing RLS to life for the reader. show less
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Author Information
21 Works 271 Members
Philip Callow -- biographer, novelist, and poet -- lives and writes in England
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 2001
- People/Characters
- Robert Louis Stevenson
- Important places
- Edinburgh, Scotland, UK; London, England, UK; California, USA; Samoa; Honolulu, O'ahu, Hawai'i, USA
- Dedication
- To Bruce Mawdesley, who ransacked his library for me
- First words
- Stevenson was born Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson on November 13, 1850, at 8 Howard Place, Edinburgh.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"The river runs ever in a thousand eddies," he wrote to Bob, "like a river between cliffs."
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, Biography & Memoir, Literature Studies and Criticism
- DDC/MDS
- 828.809 — Literature & rhetoric English & Old English literatures English miscellaneous writings 1837-1899 Individual authors
- LCC
- PR5493 .C28 — Language and Literature English English Literature 19th century , 1770/1800-1890/1900
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 34
- Popularity
- 839,445
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (4.00)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 2
