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Robert Louis Stevenson: His Best Pacific Writings
Robinson, Roger (ed.), Robert Louis Stevenson: His Best Pacific Writings. Honolulu, HI: Bess Press (3565 Harding Avenue, Honolulu, HI), 2003. 320 p., ISBN 1-57306-171-9 (pa), $14.95. Illus.
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) was one of the most prominent writers of his time when he left his previous life behind and challenged himself “to learn to address readers from the uttermost parts of the sea.” His books, such as Treasure Island, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and A Child’s Garden of Verses, are considered classics. Much less well known is his significant body of literature written during the last 6 years of his life, when he traveled and lived in the Pacific islands. In 1888 Robert Louis Stevenson sailed from San Francisco with several members of his family in a hired yacht. He explored the Pacific Islands for almost two years before taking up residence in Samoa until his death in 1894. Throughout this time Stevenson wrote prolifically, often taking for his subject matter his new experiences in the Pacific, but also still producing stories set in his native home of Scotland. Stevenson’s Pacific writings describe the people and cultures he encountered from a European perspective at a time when colonization in the South Pacific islands was at its peak, yet his critical opinion of this nineteenth-century imperialism comes across in several of his writings. Roger Robinson, a senior professor of English Literature at the University of Victoria in Wellington, has selected what he considers the best of Stevenson’s writings about the Pacific from this period of his life for inclusion in this attractive volume.
His Best Pacific Writings contains selections of Stevenson’s work in a wide variety of literary forms, including short fiction, letters, travel writing, poems, and essays. But this is much more than just a collection of Stevenson’s writings; each of the 28 selections begins with extensive and enlightening commentary by Robinson. The selection is put in the context of Stevenson’s life, Pacific travels, and other works, giving the reader a rich framework in which to consider the text while reading. The commentary provided by Robinson is not terse, theoretical literary criticism, but readable and engaging biographical and historical contexts. Unfortunately, quotes and references to Stevenson’s works are given without footnotes or any citations to the specific editions.
Numerous black and white photos taken during Stevenson’s Pacific travels enhance the readings, as do illustrations from some original versions of the short fiction. A forward by the celebrated Pacific scholar and author Albert Wendt lends another level of authority to the work.
A quick search revealed that at least three other collections of Stevenson’s Pacific writings have been published previously, probably several more. RLS in the South Seas (Allana Knight, ed. Mainstream Publishing, 1986), Island Landfalls: Recollections from the South Seas (Jenni Calder, ed. Canongate, 1987), and South Sea Tales (Roselyn Jolly, ed. Oxford University Press, 1996) are all similar collections of Stevenson’s writings from the Pacific, but none of these appear as extensive or encompass as many different types of writing as this more recent offer. Calder’s Island Landfalls provides more scholarly, footnote-enhanced versions of a few of the same selections found here, but none of the appealing illustrations or in-depth biographical commentary.
This publication brings together in one volume a variety of Stevenson’s works, several that are difficult to locate elsewhere and others that are more readily available in previous collections. The enhancements of insightful commentary and eye-catching illustrations make this work stand out among others like it. A recommended purchase for academic libraries with collecting priorities in Pacific studies or19th century literature, His Best Pacific Writings would also be enjoyed by many as recreational reading on the topic of Pacific travel.
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) was one of the most prominent writers of his time when he left his previous life behind and challenged himself “to learn to address readers from the uttermost parts of the sea.” His books, such as Treasure Island, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and A Child’s Garden of Verses, are considered classics. Much less well known is his significant body of literature written during the last 6 years of his life, when he traveled and lived in the Pacific islands. In 1888 Robert Louis Stevenson sailed from San Francisco with several members of his family in a hired yacht. He explored the Pacific Islands for almost two years before taking up residence in Samoa until his death in 1894. Throughout this time Stevenson wrote prolifically, often taking for his subject matter his new experiences in the Pacific, but also still producing stories set in his native home of Scotland. Stevenson’s Pacific writings describe the people and cultures he encountered from a European perspective at a time when colonization in the South Pacific islands was at its peak, yet his critical opinion of this nineteenth-century imperialism comes across in several of his writings. Roger Robinson, a senior professor of English Literature at the University of Victoria in Wellington, has selected what he considers the best of Stevenson’s writings about the Pacific from this period of his life for inclusion in this attractive volume.
His Best Pacific Writings contains selections of Stevenson’s work in a wide variety of literary forms, including short fiction, letters, travel writing, poems, and essays. But this is much more than just a collection of Stevenson’s writings; each of the 28 selections begins with extensive and enlightening commentary by Robinson. The selection is put in the context of Stevenson’s life, Pacific travels, and other works, giving the reader a rich framework in which to consider the text while reading. The commentary provided by Robinson is not terse, theoretical literary criticism, but readable and engaging biographical and historical contexts. Unfortunately, quotes and references to Stevenson’s works are given without footnotes or any citations to the specific editions.
Numerous black and white photos taken during Stevenson’s Pacific travels enhance the readings, as do illustrations from some original versions of the short fiction. A forward by the celebrated Pacific scholar and author Albert Wendt lends another level of authority to the work.
A quick search revealed that at least three other collections of Stevenson’s Pacific writings have been published previously, probably several more. RLS in the South Seas (Allana Knight, ed. Mainstream Publishing, 1986), Island Landfalls: Recollections from the South Seas (Jenni Calder, ed. Canongate, 1987), and South Sea Tales (Roselyn Jolly, ed. Oxford University Press, 1996) are all similar collections of Stevenson’s writings from the Pacific, but none of these appear as extensive or encompass as many different types of writing as this more recent offer. Calder’s Island Landfalls provides more scholarly, footnote-enhanced versions of a few of the same selections found here, but none of the appealing illustrations or in-depth biographical commentary.
This publication brings together in one volume a variety of Stevenson’s works, several that are difficult to locate elsewhere and others that are more readily available in previous collections. The enhancements of insightful commentary and eye-catching illustrations make this work stand out among others like it. A recommended purchase for academic libraries with collecting priorities in Pacific studies or19th century literature, His Best Pacific Writings would also be enjoyed by many as recreational reading on the topic of Pacific travel.
Submitted in May 2006 by Naomi Zimmer, LIS student, University of Hawaii at Manoa
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