On this day...

Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson, set sail from San Francisco in 1888. Charting the 'Casco' with his family on board, the boat 'plowed her path of snow across the empty deep, far from all track of commerce, far from any hand of help'. The voyage was partly undertaken to improve his failing health, a condition now thought to have been bronchiectasis or sarcoidosis, and indeed the sea air did appear to revive Stevenson, during the three years crossing the Eastern and central Pacific.

Much of this time was spent on island visits, including an extended stay on the Hawaiian Islands, where he befriended both the king, Kalakaua, and the king's niece Victoria Kaiulani, who, like Stevenson, was of Scottish heritage. Tahiti, New Zealand, and the Samoan Islands, the latter being the place of his death, were also part of his travels. This period of exploration coincided with a renewed number of works, including 'The Master of Ballantrae', 'The Bottle Imp', and a collection of essays and writings which formed 'In the South Seas'.

Avast ye! Andrew Motion writes Treasure Island sequel...

Former Poet Laureate Andrew Motion is set to write a sequel to 'Treasure Island'. The Robert Louis Stevenson original was published in 1883, and feature characters, such as Long John Silver, who are now household names. The perhaps predictably named 'Return to Treasure Island', will be full of the same 'adventure, excitement and pathos', and is due for release in 2012. Following several attempts at both prequels and sequels over the years, Motion's publisher believes this will be the best yet, calling it a work 'literary ventriloquism'. 'Anyone who loved Stevenson's original will fall on this book with cries of delight'

Judi Dench the fairy queen...

Judi Dench is set to star in the Rose Theatre's production of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' next year. The Kingston theatre, currently showing Robert Louis Stevenson's 'Treasure Island', have said they are 'delighted' by the announcement. Dench has been a long standing supporter of the theatre, having previously hosted fundraisers. She will play the part of Titiana the fairy queen, a role she assumed for the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1962. The production will run from 9th February until 20th March. Tickets are now on sale and can be booked here

Note to Self: Books sell...

Yesterday at Christie's, saw one of the most impressive literary auctions in some time. Film producer William E. Self sold his entire library of rare editions; 144 lots producing a sale total of $4,896,625. The highlights were two collections of poetry by Edgar Allan Poe; the first, a handwritten manuscript which sold for $830,500, the second, a first edition of 'Tamerlane and Other Poems', which went for $662,500. The list of other authors' work is extensive, and includes names from both sides of the Atlantic, such as; Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Lord Byron, Charles Dickens, Robert Louis Stevenson and Walt Whitman. The full list of lots, including pictures and details, can be found here

Murder, monsters and Austen?...

The gothic genre, is one which has had both popularity and longevity, and boasts many of today's best known novels. A combination of horror and romance, it is thought to have been started by Horace Walpole's 'The Castle of Otranto' in 1764 and has grown prolifically since, with key eras of notable contribution. Coleridge's 'Christabel' and 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' as well as Shelley's 'Frankenstein' are all examples of gothic literature from the Romantic period; yet arguably, it was the Victorian era which proved the most productive for the genre. Titles such as Stevenson's 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde', Wilde's 'The Picture if Dorian Gray', and Stoker's 'Dracula' all found their conception in Victorian society; America having its own star in Edgar Allan Poe. Despite it huge popularity, gothic fiction has also produced numerous satires, the famous of which is Austen's 'Northanger Abbey'. A quiz on the gothic genre can be found here

On this day...

Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish author, was born in 1850. Even though Stevenson only learnt to read at the age of 8, his childhood was spent always writing stories, an occupation his father used to have at the same age. His father even paid for the publication of Stevenson's first novel, 'The Pentland Rising: A Page of History, 1666', written when he was 16; yet afterward, Stevenson was expected to forget writing and take on the family trade of lighthouse keeping. Failure to do so, resulted in his alienation from his family, yet produced the quality of his literature that survives today. His two most famous works are 'Treasure Island' and 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde', both widely read today. However, his poluarity had waned in the 20th century; condemned by Virginia Woolf and unamed in the 'Norton Anthology of English Literature' until 2006, Stevenson remained an 'inferior writer' for some years. He died in 1894, and is now the 25th most translated author in the world, ahead of both Wilde and Dickens.