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Dead Man's Chest: Travels after Robert Louis Stevenson
Follow the footsteps of Robert Louis Stevenson in a thrilling and meticulous travelogue that retraces his journey from Edinburgh to the South Seas - where he died in Samoa at the age of just 44. A deliciously gossipy and beautifully researched book.
"Rankin is a wizard...a natural sleuth, writes well in slim nuggety paragraphs, and he teaches us a great deal about Stevenson en route." - Vogue.
"Delightful...the ideal book to take with you on holiday." - Independent.
"Rankin is a wizard...a natural sleuth, writes well in slim nuggety paragraphs, and he teaches us a great deal about Stevenson en route." - Vogue.
"Delightful...the ideal book to take with you on holiday." - Independent.
384 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1987
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105 people want to read
About the author
Nicholas Rankin
13 books18 followersNicholas Rankin (b. 1950) is an English writer and broadcaster. He was born in Yorkshire, but grew up in Kenya. He was educated at Shrewsbury School and Christ Church, Oxford. He has lived and worked in Bolivia and Catalonia, Spain.
He worked for the BBC World Service for 20 years. He was Chief Producer, Arts, at the BBC World Service, when his eight-part series on ecology and evolution, A Green History of the Planet, won two UN awards.
He currently works as a freelance writer and broadcaster and lives in London with his wife, the novelist Maggie Gee. He has one daughter, Rosa.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2009.
He worked for the BBC World Service for 20 years. He was Chief Producer, Arts, at the BBC World Service, when his eight-part series on ecology and evolution, A Green History of the Planet, won two UN awards.
He currently works as a freelance writer and broadcaster and lives in London with his wife, the novelist Maggie Gee. He has one daughter, Rosa.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2009.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 4, 2023
I loved this book when it first came out in the 1980s. Somewhere along the line I lost my copy, so recently replaced it. Very much enjoying it on the re-read. Rankin makes Robert Louis Stevenson come alive off the page. I want to read other books by the same author, starting with his Telegram from Guernica.
March 27, 2016
This is quite the book. You need to read it slowly, as he constantly jumps from his research, to RL Stevenson and Borges. There are times when it can be a bit confusing. However, on the whole, it does give a very good picture of RL Stevenson, and lifts him considerably from being just the author of a few popular books.
I did not even know of his poetry, and this is superb.
What I also like, is Nicholas travelling after RLS, and this brings the biography to life.
The introduction, with Borges, the stone and the writing on dreams, is a brilliant way to get into the book.
It ends with the stone, and this brings about a fitting end to the book.
at the end, we are left with a sense of RLS, of Fanny, and his writings, in a deeper sense than I would ever have known otherwise
He make RLS human, and touchable
I did not even know of his poetry, and this is superb.
What I also like, is Nicholas travelling after RLS, and this brings the biography to life.
The introduction, with Borges, the stone and the writing on dreams, is a brilliant way to get into the book.
It ends with the stone, and this brings about a fitting end to the book.
at the end, we are left with a sense of RLS, of Fanny, and his writings, in a deeper sense than I would ever have known otherwise
He make RLS human, and touchable
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews