Stevensoniana

VariousProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.6

Word count: 94K words
Chapters: 10

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Stevensoniana by VariousAuthor: Various,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Aug 14, 2010

Editor's review

Stevensoniana is an English-language collection of writings on Robert Louis Stevenson, his work, and his life, released free by Project Gutenberg. The title itself signals its nature: a compilation of materials related to Stevenson rather than an original work by a single author. For readers who enjoy Treasure Island, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and other works, such a collection offers a side view of Stevenson the man and the context of his writing; for students of nineteenth-century English literature, it can serve as supplementary material, showing how his contemporaries wrote about and assessed him. There is no need to read it straight through: pick pieces by interest, and when a passage touches on a specific work, turn back to the original for comparison. Note that this is a public-domain electronic text with no modern editor's introduction or detailed notes; the background of some pieces must be checked by the reader, making the experience one of independent exploration rather than guided study.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy Stevenson's work and want to know his life and writing background
Students of nineteenth-century English literature seeking supplementary material
Essay readers interested in literary anecdotes and contemporary commentary
Readers used to looking up background independently, without relying on modern introductions

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting Stevenson's own complete original works
Beginners seeking a systematic biography or scholarly introduction
General readers who want a coherent narrative in chronological order

Reading tips

Skim the contents first and pick pieces related to works you have read; no need to start at the beginning.
When you reach commentary on a specific work, compare it with Stevenson's original to deepen your understanding.
Note unfamiliar names and events as you go and look them up in batches, so reading is not constantly interrupted.
Use it as supplementary material alongside a Stevenson biography or literary history rather than as the main text.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book written by Stevenson himself?

No. The author is listed as Various, indicating a compilation of articles by many writers about Stevenson and his work—a collection of related materials and commentary, not Stevenson's own original writing. As you read, distinguish Stevenson's own words from others' accounts.

Do I need to read Stevenson's original works first?

Not necessarily, but having read a few major works helps. Many pieces concern specific works and events in Stevenson's life; with Treasure Island, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and others behind you, the references in the commentary and anecdotes are easier to follow, and you can better judge the value of the material.

Is this edition suitable for academic citation?

As a public-domain electronic text, it is fine for general reading and preliminary checking, but it lacks a modern editor's introduction, notes, and edition information. For formal academic writing, verify against an authoritative or print edition and supply bibliographic details yourself; do not cite this electronic text alone.

Comments

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About the author

Various Author

Various is not a real person but a collective attribution used in book cataloging and databases for works with multiple authors, commonly applied to anthologies, compilations, or publications with too many contributors to list individually. On this Chinese book site, this attribution covers as many as 3,387 titles, spanning encyclopedic entries, historical documents, and trial records. Representative works include several volumes of the 11th edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica and the record of the trial of the major war criminals before the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg. Available public information is limited: nationality, birth and death dates, and common categories are not clearly recorded, making it difficult to summarize a unified writing style or personal biography. Readers should understand it as a cataloging convention rather than a single author.