I enjoyed this novel, chancing upon a film version of the story shortly afterwards. The escape from Edinburgh Castle may reflect a real event in 1799, when French prisoners-of-war were assisted in their escape by the Revd William Fitzsimmons, the incumbent of the Cowgate Episcopal Chapel; the escapees in 1799 headed for a ship in the Firth of Forth. ( )

Postuum voltooid (door Arthur Quiller-Couch)

I love this story, but I confess that I stopped reading at p. 390. So, don't worry about spoilers….
I've always maintained a coldly mechanical willingness to stop reading a book whenever the time comes….in St. Ives, the time comes at Chapter XXXI.
Stevenson died after writing XXX chapters of St. Ives, and a respected contemporary, Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch, wrote the remaining VI chapters from Stevenson's notes.
Stevenson's oeuvre is fastidiously lush, precise, sophisticated, with deeply contextual character development and dialogue that leaves me breathless with anticipation for more. There's an abstractly beautiful love interest. Did I mention that I'm a fan of 19th century prose?
Quiller-Couch doubtless had his merits as a 19th century writer. He ain't no Stevenson.
Q-C's contribution to St. Ives lacks the prepossessing heartiness of Stevenson's dialogue and storyline.
Q-C can't quite gin up the panache and persiflage that RLS animates on nearly every page.
Q-C makes a too sincere but unavailing effort to match the rural patois that Stevenson offers for the reader's delight.
Q-C bungles the parlous adventures of the eponymous protagonist, injecting a wretched slapstick element that leads an RLS fan to transition uncomfortably into pursed-lips mode.
Stevenson's prosaic mastery is, sadly, missing in the last VI chapters of St. Ives, and, therefore, ignorance shall be my penalty for closing this truncated masterpiece before I reached the end.
Read more on my blog: http://barleyliterate.blogspot.com/2013/11/book-review-st-ives-being-adventures-... ( )

I would call it a 19th century bathtub book (def: book suitable for reading in the bathtub). Writing is lovely, characterizations are disarming, storyline is farfetched. Its near-fatal drawback: RLS died before finishing it and the publisher gave it to Mr. Quiller-Couch to wrap up based on Stevenson's notes. Unfortunately, he turned a charming treat into a boring slog. ( )