Robert Louis Stevenson

CONTENTS On Some Technical Elements of Style in Literature The Morality of the Profession of Letters Books Which Have Influenced Me A Note On Realism My First Book: "Treasure Island" The Genesis of "The Master of Ballantrae" Preface to "The Master of Ballantrae"

While going through the possessions of a deceased guest who owed them money, the mistress of the inn and her son find a treasure map that leads them to a pirate's fortune.

A fierce war rages between two powerful and bitter rivals: one one side the House of Lancaster; on the other the House of York. The prize? The crown of England! Young Richard Shelton finds himself torn in his loyalties. Should he serve the interest of his villainous master? Or throw in his lot with the dashing outlaw Ellis Duckworth and his band known as the Black Arrow? Richard must decide wisely, for his fate -- and the fate of England -- hangs in the balance.... An exciting portrait of England during the War of the Roses, The Black Arrow is a breathless adventure of battle, intrigue, deception, kidnapping, spies, rogues, heroes, and villains.

"Kidnapped is a finely honed, stirring adventure story about the orphan David Balfour, who, after escaping through the Scottish Highlands from the hands of his villainous uncle, becomes involved in Scotland's struggle for independence. In this edition, Professor Barry Menikoff draws on a rare manuscript to reproduce the text as Stevenson originally wrote it, restoring Stevenson's masterly punctuation and recovering distinctive and often singular language that was altered or deleted in subsequent editions. The effect is to deepen and illuminate the novel's Scottish texture." "This edition also includes the drawings that accompanied the text during its initial serialization, and a gazetteer of place-names."--BOOK JACKET.

Presents the complete collection of Robert Louis Stevenson's short stories, including "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" and "The Beach of Falesa."

Stevenson's brooding historical romance demonstrates his most abiding theme - the elemental struggle between good and evil - as it unfolds against a hauntingly beautiful Scottish landscape, amid the fierce loyalties and violent enmities that characterized Scottish history. When two brothers attempt to split their loyalties between the warring factions of the 1745 Jacobite rising, one family finds itself tragically divided. Stevenson's remarkably vivid characterizations create an acutely moving, psychologically complex work; as Andrea Barrett points out in her Introduction, "The brothers' characters, not the historical facts, shape the drama."

Millions of readers throughout the world continue to enjoy Treasure Island, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, A Child’s Garden of Verses, and other books by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894). A celebrated author in many different fields of literature, Stevenson is also recognized as a highly engaging and prolific correspondent: he penned over 2,800 letters, which are contained in eight critically acclaimed volumes published by Yale University Press. In this book, 317 of Stevenson’s most interesting and revealing letters represent each stage of his mature life. With a linking narrative and full annotation, Ernest Mehew sets the letters in the context of Stevenson’s remarkable life. Beginning with the days of his troubled youth in Edinburgh, Stevenson’s letters go on to tell of his love for Frances Sitwell, a beautiful, older married woman; a reckless journey to California in pursuit of Fanny Osbourne, the woman who became his wife; their worldwide but vain search for a healthy place to live; and a period of adventure in the South Seas, where Stevenson wrote some of his best work and became passionately involved in Samoan life. The letters show the author’s zest for living despite daunting illnesses, his struggles with his own writing, his literary tastes, and his affection for his friends. Stevenson writes in many moods, ranging from playful and witty to deeply serious. Better than any biography ever could, these letters in Stevenson’s own words tell the real story of his life.

A finely honed, stirring adventure about the orphan David Balfour, who is kidnapped by his villainous uncle and escapes through the Scottish highlands, only to become involved in the Scottish struggle for independence. This edition features a new introduction by Margot Livesey.

Robert Louis Stevenson's cherished, unforgettable adventure magically captures the thrill of a sea voyage and a treasure hunt through the eyes of its teenage protagonist, Jim Hawkins. Crossing the Atlantic in search of the buried cache, Jim and the ship's crew must brave the elements and a mutinous charge led by the quintessentially ruthless pirate Long John Silver. Brilliantly conceived and splendidly executed, it is a novel that has seized the imagination of generations of adults and children alike. And as David Cordingly points out in his Introduction, Treasure Island is also the best and most influential of all the stories about pirates.