Robert Louis Stevenson
Although he is now best remembered for rip-roaring adventure novels like Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson was a well-regarded travel writer during his lifetime. In Across the Plains, Stevenson recounts his experiences traveling in the United States in a series of fascinating and detailed essays.
Although several of Robert Louis Stevenson's major works -- Treasure Island, Kidnapped, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde -- have been enshrined in the Western canon of popular literature, these novels represent only a fraction of a prodigious body of writing that spans virtually every genre. Stevenson was a prolific and preternaturally skilled writer, and in these essays, he offers insight, tips, and inspiration that will capture
...Wanderlust, unfettered freedom, and the eternal allure of the open road—these are the themes that surface time and time again in Robert Louis Stevenson's charming 1896 book of verse, Songs of Travel. Fans of traditional poetry will adore this cycle of thematically interrelated poems that draw parallels between the perils and pleasures of travel and the vulnerability and abandon of romance.
26) The Wrecker
This sprawling nautical adventure tale from Robert Louis Stevenson adds a dash of humor and mystery to the formula that the author perfected in classic yarns like Kidnapped and Treasure Island. Co-written with Lloyd Osbourne, Stevenson's stepson, this novel is a must-read for fans of the action-adventure genre.
G. K. Chesterton said of Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson that he "seemed to pick the right word up on the point of his pen, like a man playing spillikins." This collection of Stevenson's essays includes: On the Enjoyment of Unpleasant Places, An Apology for Idlers, Aes Triplex, Talk and Talkers, A Gossip on Romance, The Character of Dogs, A College Magazine, Books Which Have Influenced Me, and Pulvis et Umbra.