The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition, Vol. 24

In Short

This volume collects the personal correspondence of Robert Louis Stevenson during a transformative phase of his adult life, tracking his movements through the South of France, Bournemouth, North America, and ultimately into the Pacific Ocean. Written while battling severe hemorrhages, chronic lung disease, and financial instability, the letters reveal his creative process behind iconic works like Treasure Island and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. The text endures because it captures an unvarnished, sharp-witted genius balancing the grim reality of his fading mortality with an insatiable appetite for work, friendship, and globe-trotting adventure.

The Story

The narrative arc of this correspondence begins in the early 1880s as Stevenson retreats to the warm climate of the French Riviera, settling at Hyères. Though his physical condition remains precarious, he experiences intense creative energy and warm domestic comfort at his chalet, La Solitude. He writes furiously to intimate correspondents, reflecting on personal loss—such as the sudden death of his dear friend James Walter Ferrier—while trading lively literary commentary on classical and contemporary authors. Yet, recurring hemorrhages, sciatica, and extreme weakness constantly threaten to halt his pen, forcing him to spend long stretches unable to speak or move.

Driven back to England by health scares, Stevenson establishes a temporary sanctuary at Bournemouth, naming his residence Skerryvore. Here, his home becomes a crossroads for notable literary figures, including Henry James and E. L. Burlingame. Despite being largely bedridden and struggling against what he calls "the twin spirits of bankruptcy and indigestion," his literary output flourishes. He drafts Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, collaborates on plays and adventure yarns like The Dynamiter, and reflects deeply on contemporary novels, praising Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment while debating the finer points of fiction with James.

Following the death of his father Thomas Stevenson, the author severs his final ties to Britain. Seeking a climate that might salvage his lungs, he embarks on an transatlantic journey to Saranac Lake in upstate New York. In the bitter American winter, where temperatures plummet well below zero, Stevenson finds an unexpected boost to his vitality. He manages household chores, washes dishes alongside his stepson Lloyd, and labors over The Master of Ballantrae and various magazine essays.

The final movement of the volume charts Stevenson's decisive leap into the South Pacific. Boarding the yacht Casco and later the schooner Equator, he travels through Tahiti, the Hawaiian Islands, and the Gilberts. The harsh European winter gives way to tropical breezes, open seas, and native villages. In Honolulu and aboard ship, his health turns a dramatic corner, allowing him to play the flageolet, collect island folklore, write political pamphlets in defense of Father Damien, and collaborate on new stories like The Wrecker. Recognizing that returning to Europe would be suicidal for his lungs, he abandons his old life to purchase land in Samoa, choosing to spend his remaining years building a homestead among the Navigator Islands.

How It Unfolds

The Mediterranean refuge Settling at Hyères, Stevenson finds temporary relief from his chronic illness and delights in his small chalet, La Solitude. He maintains a steady stream of letters to his closest friends, celebrating minor spikes in his health while privately grieving the unexpected death of his Edinburgh companion, James Walter Ferrier.

Convalescent productivity at Bournemouth Confined to his home, Skerryvore, Stevenson endures severe lung hemorrhages and bouts of sciatica that leave him virtually immobilized. He channels his isolation into intense work, writing classic stories, collaborating on plays, and exchanging profound critiques on art, morality, and literature with Henry James.

Exile across the Atlantic After the death of his father, Stevenson departs for the freezing winter climate of Saranac Lake in New York. Amid sub-zero temperatures and domestic trials—including washing dishes when the household falls ill—he pushes forward on The Master of Ballantrae and settles publishing arrangements with American editors.

Voyaging the Pacific waters Embarking on extended voyages aboard the yacht Casco and schooner Equator, Stevenson sails through Tahiti, Hawaii, and remote island archipelagos. Surrounded by new cultures and tropical seas, his spirit revives, inspiring new island tales, intense political essays, and the final decision to settle permanently in Samoa.

The People

• Robert Louis Stevenson: The central figure, an invalid author who constantly wrestles with catastrophic lung disease and financial stress. He wants nothing more than to continue writing, sustain his household, and taste open-air adventure. His physical decline is balanced by an indestructible humor and artistic drive, transforming him from a housebound patient into a South Seas voyager.
• Fanny Stevenson: Stevenson's devoted wife, often referred to in the letters or writing on his behalf during his worst bouts of illness. She manages his medicines, guards his rest, strips him of his vanity, and endures her own frequent illnesses while traveling alongside him to harsh climates and remote islands.
• Sidney Colvin: Stevenson’s close friend, editor, and primary correspondent. He acts as a literary sounding board, trusted adviser, and recipient of Stevenson's most candid outbursts regarding health, publishing finances, and personal melancholy.
• W. E. Henley: A key literary collaborator and confidant. He receives Stevenson’s rawest descriptions of physical suffering, artistic plans, and lively debates over theatrical plays and verse projects.
• Henry James: A respected peer and friend whose visits to Bournemouth and literary works inspire Stevenson’s deepest reflections on the art of fiction, realism, and character development.

In Its Own Voice

"I have been really ill for two days, hemorrhage, weakness, extreme nervousness that will not let me lie a moment, and damned sciatica o' nights; but to-day I am on the recovery."

Written from Hyères to W. E. Henley, this line captures Stevenson's blunt, uncomplaining manner of summarizing brutal physical agony.

"Men do not want, and I do not think they would accept, happiness; what they live for is rivalry, effort, success--the elements our friends wish to eliminate."

Writing to Henry James from Bournemouth, Stevenson outlines his core philosophy on human nature and moral struggle.

"I am sure I shall never come back home except to die; I may do it, but shall always think of the move as suicidal, unless a great change comes over me..."

In a letter from Sydney to Charles Baxter, Stevenson acknowledges that his native Scotland is forever closed to him, cementing his exile in the tropics.

What It's Really About

Beneath the travel itineraries and publishing updates, the letters present an extended meditation on working through chronic illness. Stevenson rejects self-pity, choosing instead to view pain as an inevitable backdrop to meaningful labor. The text argues that true human satisfaction does not stem from passive comfort or idyllic ease, but from active engagement, effort, and creative duty.

Additionally, the correspondence explores the strain of artistic integrity against commercial necessity. Stevenson constantly balances his high ideals for narrative craft against the urgent need to pay doctors, maintain households, and keep duns from his portal. Finally, the letters chart a gradual rejection of modern European urban life in favor of the raw, vital existence he discovers in the South Pacific, asserting that harmony is found within internal conviction rather than external convention.

Why Read It Today

This collection offers an unvarnished look into the mind of a master storyteller stripped of literary polish. Readers who admire Treasure Island or Jekyll and Hyde will find immense satisfaction in watching those classics take shape amid sickbeds, proof sheets, and publisher negotiations. Stevenson's voice is instantly charismatic—witty, self-deprecating, and remarkably resilient.

The reading experience is fast-paced despite the non-fiction epistolary format, carrying the reader from quiet English drawing rooms to freezing Adirondack cabins and storm-tossed Pacific schooners. Modern readers should note the minor hurdles inherent to the period: occasional nineteenth-century racial terminology when describing island populations, casual references to long-forgotten Victorian literary feuds, and scattered fragments of Scottish dialect. Yet these historic artifacts never obscure the central draw. Stevenson’s vibrant appetite for life, expressed even when restricted to a darkened room or a quiet writing desk, makes this volume an inspiring document of human courage and creative determination.