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Tales and Fantasies
Robert Louis (Balfour) Stevenson (1850-1894), was a Scottish novelist, poet, and travel writer, and a leading representative of Neo-romanticism in English literature. He was greatly admired by many authors, including Jorge Luis Borges, Ernest Hemingway, Rudyard Kipling and Vladimir Nabokov. Most modernist writers dismissed him, however, because he was popular and did not write within their narrow definition of literature. It is only recently that critics have begun to look beyond Stevenson's popularity and allow him a place in the Western canon.
244 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1905
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About the author
Robert Louis Stevenson
6,875 books6,955 followersRobert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, and travel writer, and a leading representative of English literature. He was greatly admired by many authors, including Jorge Luis Borges, Ernest Hemingway, Rudyard Kipling and Vladimir Nabokov.
Most modernist writers dismissed him, however, because he was popular and did not write within their narrow definition of literature. It is only recently that critics have begun to look beyond Stevenson's popularity and allow him a place in the Western canon.
Most modernist writers dismissed him, however, because he was popular and did not write within their narrow definition of literature. It is only recently that critics have begun to look beyond Stevenson's popularity and allow him a place in the Western canon.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 15, 2024
Tales and Fantasies is a compilation of two novellas and one short story published posthumously in 1905 by the Robert Louis Stevenson family, 11 years after his death. The three stories had never before been published in a book. The individual stories had appeared separately in periodicals and were then gathered in this one work.
"The Misadventures of John Nicholson: A Christmas Story," was gathered from Yule Tide Magazine, "The Body Snatcher," was from the Pall Mall Gazette and "The Story of a Lie," was culled from New Quarterly Magazine. From the very first story, Stevenson has his imperfect characters behave in imperfect ways, inviting the reader to interact with the characters hoping that the reader can recognize with foresight the folly the players are ignoring.
The second story is an outright horror story, IMHO the best of the bunch, complete with mood, setting, and foreshadowing. It shows off the literary skills that made Stevenson such a draw wherever he would go. I have no problem calling this a classic work because it matches my three criteria: Longevity (published 117 years ago), Exceptionalism (The Body Snatcher is a TRUE horror read), and Paradigm Shifting (with posthumous publishing and the fact that Stevenson wrote popular horror works extending the walls of the accepted literary world.)
"The Misadventures of John Nicholson: A Christmas Story," was gathered from Yule Tide Magazine, "The Body Snatcher," was from the Pall Mall Gazette and "The Story of a Lie," was culled from New Quarterly Magazine. From the very first story, Stevenson has his imperfect characters behave in imperfect ways, inviting the reader to interact with the characters hoping that the reader can recognize with foresight the folly the players are ignoring.
The second story is an outright horror story, IMHO the best of the bunch, complete with mood, setting, and foreshadowing. It shows off the literary skills that made Stevenson such a draw wherever he would go. I have no problem calling this a classic work because it matches my three criteria: Longevity (published 117 years ago), Exceptionalism (The Body Snatcher is a TRUE horror read), and Paradigm Shifting (with posthumous publishing and the fact that Stevenson wrote popular horror works extending the walls of the accepted literary world.)
September 27, 2021
Contains three of Robert Louis Stevenson's works. Stevenson says so much in so few words - you have to take a brief pause to consider what is written. This book contains two novellas and one short story. They follow:
The Misadventures of John Nicholson (novella)
The story begins so:
"JOHN VAREY NICHOLSON was stupid". Nicholson gets in over his head many times in his life. Just when you think he can't get into more trouble, he does just that. The ending is tied to the Christmas spirit.
Body Snatchers (short story)
A short tale about some medical students whose job it is to obtain cadavers for dissecting. Considered to be one of Stevenson's most famous short horror stories. Maybe this story is best read around a campfire at night?
The Story of a Lie (novella)
I would call this something like The Adventures of Dick Naseby. This story flows fairly well except the ending. I think Stephenson cut this story short; the ending was too quick and disjointed. I didn't understand why Ms Van Tromp stayed with her father and didn't move in with her aunt. I also didn't understand the visit from the editor to Mr Naseby Sr; what he said was contrary to what actually did happen. On the positive side, Mr Peter Van Tromp or the 'Admiral' is an excellent character; he has many character flaws which is a staple in Stevenson's works.
The Misadventures of John Nicholson (novella)
The story begins so:
"JOHN VAREY NICHOLSON was stupid". Nicholson gets in over his head many times in his life. Just when you think he can't get into more trouble, he does just that. The ending is tied to the Christmas spirit.
Body Snatchers (short story)
A short tale about some medical students whose job it is to obtain cadavers for dissecting. Considered to be one of Stevenson's most famous short horror stories. Maybe this story is best read around a campfire at night?
The Story of a Lie (novella)
I would call this something like The Adventures of Dick Naseby. This story flows fairly well except the ending. I think Stephenson cut this story short; the ending was too quick and disjointed. I didn't understand why Ms Van Tromp stayed with her father and didn't move in with her aunt. I also didn't understand the visit from the editor to Mr Naseby Sr; what he said was contrary to what actually did happen. On the positive side, Mr Peter Van Tromp or the 'Admiral' is an excellent character; he has many character flaws which is a staple in Stevenson's works.
March 19, 2020
Exciting, fun, and full of flashes of his great novels.
March 17, 2016
Two novella length stories and a short one from one of Scotland's best, Robert Louis Stevenson.
'The Misadventures of John Nicholson' is the farcical tale of an unprepossessing yet incredibly unlucky lad from Edinburgh. If looking for an explantion for why he always seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time don't look too hard, for 'superstition steps in with the more ready explanation that he was detested of the gods.'
'The Body-Snatcher' is the kind of short story you expect from Stevenson, culled from the one of the grisliest episodes in 19th century Edinburgh, the medical practices of Richard Knox and his two infamous grave diggers, Burke and Hare.
Stevenson provides a supernatural twist.
'The Story of a Lie' owes more than a little of its plot to circumstance, but is a lively tale of young love sundered by well-meaning lies and unhelpful fathers. One father, a failed painter who is also a shameless sponge, is particularly fun.
If there is one common theme that binds these disparate, posthumously collected tales it's that lying, both to yourself and others, catches up with you eventually.
Not bad, but far from the writer's best stories.
'The Misadventures of John Nicholson' is the farcical tale of an unprepossessing yet incredibly unlucky lad from Edinburgh. If looking for an explantion for why he always seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time don't look too hard, for 'superstition steps in with the more ready explanation that he was detested of the gods.'
'The Body-Snatcher' is the kind of short story you expect from Stevenson, culled from the one of the grisliest episodes in 19th century Edinburgh, the medical practices of Richard Knox and his two infamous grave diggers, Burke and Hare.
Stevenson provides a supernatural twist.
'The Story of a Lie' owes more than a little of its plot to circumstance, but is a lively tale of young love sundered by well-meaning lies and unhelpful fathers. One father, a failed painter who is also a shameless sponge, is particularly fun.
If there is one common theme that binds these disparate, posthumously collected tales it's that lying, both to yourself and others, catches up with you eventually.
Not bad, but far from the writer's best stories.
September 5, 2014
They don't write like this today
There are many great writers today but the style of the past can't be duplicated and that is how it should be.
There are many great writers today but the style of the past can't be duplicated and that is how it should be.
February 21, 2016
great stories, somewhat in the fashion of o henry.
March 28, 2017
This is a collection of three novellas: *The Misadventures of John Nicholson*, *The Body Snatcher*, and *The Story of a Lie*. *Misadventures* seems to have been influenced by Stevenson's own life in that it involves a trip from Edinburgh to San Francisco and back again. Stevenson, always terse, does not belabor the trips themselves but only the mishaps that keep plaguing poor John Nicholson. What makes this story line work is that we always get an interpretation of events from Nicholson's rationalizing mind--it's not "stealing," it's "borrowing," for example. This allows this very human fellow to keep an aura of innocence about him and the reader longs for his vindication. *The Body Snatcher* is more macabre and concerns the practice of grave robbing in order to provide the medical school with cadavers for training in anatomy, but it focuses, again, on the conscience of one of the university's "student assistants, the power of peer pressure, and the darkness of the practice. *The Story of a Lie* may be the weakest of the three and ends, as the chapter title says, with a "deus ex machina" that is a bit too pat. All in all, this is a great collection an a fast read.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews