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The Weir of Hermiston
Weir of Hermiston is an unfinished novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. It is markedly different from his previous works in style and has often been praised as a potential masterpiece. It was cut short by Stevenson's sudden death in 1894 from a cerebral hemorrhage. The novel is set at the time of the Napoleonic Wars.
154 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1896
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About the author
Robert Louis Stevenson
6,836 books6,946 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 - 30 of 49 reviews
June 24, 2019
Io non chiedo ricchezze, né speranze, né amore, né un amico che mi comprenda; tutto quello che chiedo è il cielo sopra di me e una strada ai miei piedi.
Ci ho messo una settimana a leggere poco più di 200 pagine. Tanto tempo: non volevo arrivare alla fine, o meglio, alla non-fine. Stevenson mi accompagna sin dall’infanzia e questo è il suo ultimo romanzo, quello che stava scrivendo mentre moriva. Incompiuto, ma capolavoro, al punto che mi è venuto da chiedermi se la caratteristica dei veri capolavori non stia, in un certo senso, proprio nella loro incompiutezza.
Aveva un immenso talento e solo 44 anni. Il rammarico per ciò che avrebbe ancora potuto regalarci è enorme!
La dedica è a Fanny, sua moglie (*):
Ho visto la pioggia cadere e l'arcobaleno splendere
su Lammermuir. Ho teso l'orecchio e, tra i dirupi della
mia città, ho riudito, nei rintocchi delle campane,
l'ossessionante brezza marina. E qui, da lungi,
nella stretta del tempo e del luogo, ho scritto.
A te il risultato: è tuo. Tu sola, schiva di lodi
e prodiga di consigli, hai affilato la spada, soffiato sui
tizzoni languenti, posto una meta sempre più ardua.
Quindi, se in tutto ciò esiste qualcosa di valido,
se son riuscito nei miei intenti, se nella pagina,
sia pure imperfetta, guizza ancora il fuoco, il merito è tuo.
(*) La traduzione della dedica l’ho presa da un’altra recensione: quella riportata nella mia edizione è più “legnosa”, questa è migliore.
Ci ho messo una settimana a leggere poco più di 200 pagine. Tanto tempo: non volevo arrivare alla fine, o meglio, alla non-fine. Stevenson mi accompagna sin dall’infanzia e questo è il suo ultimo romanzo, quello che stava scrivendo mentre moriva. Incompiuto, ma capolavoro, al punto che mi è venuto da chiedermi se la caratteristica dei veri capolavori non stia, in un certo senso, proprio nella loro incompiutezza.
Aveva un immenso talento e solo 44 anni. Il rammarico per ciò che avrebbe ancora potuto regalarci è enorme!
La dedica è a Fanny, sua moglie (*):
Ho visto la pioggia cadere e l'arcobaleno splendere
su Lammermuir. Ho teso l'orecchio e, tra i dirupi della
mia città, ho riudito, nei rintocchi delle campane,
l'ossessionante brezza marina. E qui, da lungi,
nella stretta del tempo e del luogo, ho scritto.
A te il risultato: è tuo. Tu sola, schiva di lodi
e prodiga di consigli, hai affilato la spada, soffiato sui
tizzoni languenti, posto una meta sempre più ardua.
Quindi, se in tutto ciò esiste qualcosa di valido,
se son riuscito nei miei intenti, se nella pagina,
sia pure imperfetta, guizza ancora il fuoco, il merito è tuo.
(*) La traduzione della dedica l’ho presa da un’altra recensione: quella riportata nella mia edizione è più “legnosa”, questa è migliore.
April 22, 2017
What a beautiful, poignant, rich fragment of a novel! I can see why people often talk about Weir of Hermiston as Stevenson’s masterpiece, even though it is “badly” unfinished (no more than a quarter of the whole, to judge from Stevenson’s friend Sidney Colvin’s informed reconstruction of the intended plot.)
In his interesting essay “A Humble Remonstrance,” Stevenson defines three broad sub-genres of novel, novels of “adventure,” of “character,” and of “drama.” Weir of Hermiston reads as if it were shaping up to be a dramatic novel, by Stevenson’s definition, “founded on one of the passionate cruces of life, where duty and inclination come nobly to the grapple.” The stern old “hanging judge,” Lord Hermiston, father of the sensitive, reclusive Archie Weir, is ultimately to be complicit in condemning his son to death for murder, and to die of grief at this horrendous experience. Father and son are already, within the novel as it stands, seen split on the issue of capital punishment: a visceral and intellectual horror for Archie, a kind of jovial blood sport for his father.
Stevenson has a wonderful statement of artistic method in a letter of 1891: “Unconscious thought, there is your only method: macerate the subject, let it boil slow, then take off the lid and look in.” He employed this method with Weir of Hermiston, starting the novel and then leaving it aside, only to work on it fervidly again during his last months of his life—dictating, as he was too weak to write. It’s not romantic to say that thoughts of his impending death hang over every page of the novel. Stevenson was a lifetime invalid and he knew he was dying; it’s clear that the lyrical meditations on the fugitiveness of life and the almost mystical sense of the generations of the dead haunting the present which he gives to Archie and his beautiful, middle-aged housekeeper Kristie—a vivid and complex character—are Stevenson’s own. He even has Archie fatefully court Kristie’s much younger half-sister, another Kristie, or Christina, on a gravestone: resonantly, that of an unknown weaver who died during the “killing time” following in the Convenanters’ failed rebellion of 1679.
In many ways, Weir of Hermiston seems a kind of summation of Stevenson’s preoccupations, especially in its dialogue with Scott and Scottish history and Scottish narrative modes (the elder Kristie’s bard-like inset narrative of her four brothers’ bloody revenge for their father’s murder is especially reminiscent of Scott.) It’s clear, however, in the novel that Stevenson is intent on taking his art in a new direction, more self-consciously literary and modernist. There are passages, such as the subtle, oblique conversation on principle and moral duty between Archie and the suave, sympathetic justice Glenalmond, his father’s friend, where I felt I could be reading something by Henry James. (I was interested to discover after finishing Weir that James and Stevenson were close friends and had an improbable mutual admiration of one another’s work.)
I also found myself wondering whether Stevenson may have been influenced by Thomas Hardy, in that the later developments in the novel’s love plot seem to have had shades of Tess of the D'Urbervilles, published four years before Weir in 1892—although Christina, set up to be the Tess figure, is a far more knowing and ambiguous character. James and Stevenson seem from their letters to have bonded over their violent dislike of Tess, but there seems no reason why it may not still have influenced Stevenson, “macerating” away, as he might have put it, in his mind.
In his interesting essay “A Humble Remonstrance,” Stevenson defines three broad sub-genres of novel, novels of “adventure,” of “character,” and of “drama.” Weir of Hermiston reads as if it were shaping up to be a dramatic novel, by Stevenson’s definition, “founded on one of the passionate cruces of life, where duty and inclination come nobly to the grapple.” The stern old “hanging judge,” Lord Hermiston, father of the sensitive, reclusive Archie Weir, is ultimately to be complicit in condemning his son to death for murder, and to die of grief at this horrendous experience. Father and son are already, within the novel as it stands, seen split on the issue of capital punishment: a visceral and intellectual horror for Archie, a kind of jovial blood sport for his father.
Stevenson has a wonderful statement of artistic method in a letter of 1891: “Unconscious thought, there is your only method: macerate the subject, let it boil slow, then take off the lid and look in.” He employed this method with Weir of Hermiston, starting the novel and then leaving it aside, only to work on it fervidly again during his last months of his life—dictating, as he was too weak to write. It’s not romantic to say that thoughts of his impending death hang over every page of the novel. Stevenson was a lifetime invalid and he knew he was dying; it’s clear that the lyrical meditations on the fugitiveness of life and the almost mystical sense of the generations of the dead haunting the present which he gives to Archie and his beautiful, middle-aged housekeeper Kristie—a vivid and complex character—are Stevenson’s own. He even has Archie fatefully court Kristie’s much younger half-sister, another Kristie, or Christina, on a gravestone: resonantly, that of an unknown weaver who died during the “killing time” following in the Convenanters’ failed rebellion of 1679.
In many ways, Weir of Hermiston seems a kind of summation of Stevenson’s preoccupations, especially in its dialogue with Scott and Scottish history and Scottish narrative modes (the elder Kristie’s bard-like inset narrative of her four brothers’ bloody revenge for their father’s murder is especially reminiscent of Scott.) It’s clear, however, in the novel that Stevenson is intent on taking his art in a new direction, more self-consciously literary and modernist. There are passages, such as the subtle, oblique conversation on principle and moral duty between Archie and the suave, sympathetic justice Glenalmond, his father’s friend, where I felt I could be reading something by Henry James. (I was interested to discover after finishing Weir that James and Stevenson were close friends and had an improbable mutual admiration of one another’s work.)
I also found myself wondering whether Stevenson may have been influenced by Thomas Hardy, in that the later developments in the novel’s love plot seem to have had shades of Tess of the D'Urbervilles, published four years before Weir in 1892—although Christina, set up to be the Tess figure, is a far more knowing and ambiguous character. James and Stevenson seem from their letters to have bonded over their violent dislike of Tess, but there seems no reason why it may not still have influenced Stevenson, “macerating” away, as he might have put it, in his mind.
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November 22, 2019 l'unico pensiero davvero malvagio che ho fatto nella mia vita è su un vecchio del mio paese di 90 anni che fumava tre pacchetti di sigarette al giorno, e bestemmiava davanti al bar dal mattino alla sera (non sono attenuanti al mio "peccato", è la verità), e dissi che non era giusto che Stevenson era morto a poco più che 40 anni e quell'inutile vecchio doveva camparne più del doppio. mi presi uno scapaccione da mia madre, lo ricordo come fosse ieri. ogni tanto penso a quel tale
non ricordo chi disse che pensare all'opera perduta di Stevenson è immaginare bottiglie del migliore champagne scaricate nel mare...
non ricordo chi disse che pensare all'opera perduta di Stevenson è immaginare bottiglie del migliore champagne scaricate nel mare...
March 14, 2013
“Are There Any Women Here Today?”
Of course, the standard answer to this one is, No … uh no …, because otherwise it would spoil the fun of the stoning, but when it comes to Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Weir of Hermiston”, his unfinished novel, the reply must be a different one. For in “Weir of Hermiston” Stevenson – the creator of a literary universe with hardly any female ring to it – presents two female characters that are really memorable, but first things first …
“Weir of Hermiston” was posthumously published in 1896 – Stevenson died on 3 Dec 1894, and on the day of his death he had spent the whole morning writing on this novel –, but, quite possibly also because of the missing ending the book experienced a mixed response. It is set in the Scotland of the early 19th century and tells the story of the young and romantically idealistic Archibald Weir and his uncouth and rather brutal father Adam, who is a judge of a criminal court held in general dread because of the relentlessness with which he persecutes those regarded as “public enemies”. After his son has publicly criticized his sire for handing out the death penalty to some wretched petty criminal, Adam Weir has Archibald discontinue his law studies and withdraw to the family’s estate in the countryside. There the young master soon becomes the idol of his housekeeper Kirstie (Christina), and, to Kirstie’s dismay, he begins to feel attracted by her niece, who also goes by the same name. Archie’s housekeeper presses her master not to indulge in his feelings for Christina, pointing out the social barrier gaping between them and prophesying that it would be the young girl who will suffer public shame and contempt in the end. This last argument striking home with Archie, the young man resolves upon ending all connections between himself and Christina, who misconstrues his generous motives and is therefore easy prey for Frank Innes, a scheming ex-fellow student of Archie’s, who ruthlessly leads the girl into shame and despair.
Well, it is hereabouts that the story breaks off, but nevertheless “Weir of Hermiston” is a good read, even if it does not provide an unsolved riddle such as Dickens’s “The Mystery of Edwin Drood”. Stevenson really manages to create interesting, multi-faceted characters, e.g. Kirstie, the old housekeeper, who is a proud and determined woman on the one hand, but has become bitter and quite cantankerous because of her loneliness. With the advent of Archie, her life has received some new momentum, but her own niece, a young woman of spirit and self-confidence, suddenly seems to monopolize Archie’s attention. Apart from the two Kirsties, the two Weirs, father and son, are also drawn with a lot of psychological insight, and Stevenson probably used some of his own experience arising from his problematic relationship with his father.
So, especially if you are interested in Stevenson’s writings, you should not let yourself be deterred from the book by the fact that “Weir of Hermiston” is a mere fragment. In terms of characterization, the creation of atmosphere and descriptive vividness “Weir of Hermiston” is quite a treat. If you are more interested in an exciting storyline and in things being up in the air, however, you had better turn to something else like “Kidnapped” and “Catriona”.
Of course, the standard answer to this one is, No … uh no …, because otherwise it would spoil the fun of the stoning, but when it comes to Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Weir of Hermiston”, his unfinished novel, the reply must be a different one. For in “Weir of Hermiston” Stevenson – the creator of a literary universe with hardly any female ring to it – presents two female characters that are really memorable, but first things first …
“Weir of Hermiston” was posthumously published in 1896 – Stevenson died on 3 Dec 1894, and on the day of his death he had spent the whole morning writing on this novel –, but, quite possibly also because of the missing ending the book experienced a mixed response. It is set in the Scotland of the early 19th century and tells the story of the young and romantically idealistic Archibald Weir and his uncouth and rather brutal father Adam, who is a judge of a criminal court held in general dread because of the relentlessness with which he persecutes those regarded as “public enemies”. After his son has publicly criticized his sire for handing out the death penalty to some wretched petty criminal, Adam Weir has Archibald discontinue his law studies and withdraw to the family’s estate in the countryside. There the young master soon becomes the idol of his housekeeper Kirstie (Christina), and, to Kirstie’s dismay, he begins to feel attracted by her niece, who also goes by the same name. Archie’s housekeeper presses her master not to indulge in his feelings for Christina, pointing out the social barrier gaping between them and prophesying that it would be the young girl who will suffer public shame and contempt in the end. This last argument striking home with Archie, the young man resolves upon ending all connections between himself and Christina, who misconstrues his generous motives and is therefore easy prey for Frank Innes, a scheming ex-fellow student of Archie’s, who ruthlessly leads the girl into shame and despair.
Well, it is hereabouts that the story breaks off, but nevertheless “Weir of Hermiston” is a good read, even if it does not provide an unsolved riddle such as Dickens’s “The Mystery of Edwin Drood”. Stevenson really manages to create interesting, multi-faceted characters, e.g. Kirstie, the old housekeeper, who is a proud and determined woman on the one hand, but has become bitter and quite cantankerous because of her loneliness. With the advent of Archie, her life has received some new momentum, but her own niece, a young woman of spirit and self-confidence, suddenly seems to monopolize Archie’s attention. Apart from the two Kirsties, the two Weirs, father and son, are also drawn with a lot of psychological insight, and Stevenson probably used some of his own experience arising from his problematic relationship with his father.
So, especially if you are interested in Stevenson’s writings, you should not let yourself be deterred from the book by the fact that “Weir of Hermiston” is a mere fragment. In terms of characterization, the creation of atmosphere and descriptive vividness “Weir of Hermiston” is quite a treat. If you are more interested in an exciting storyline and in things being up in the air, however, you had better turn to something else like “Kidnapped” and “Catriona”.
October 17, 2012
Questo romanzo, rimasto incompiuto, avrebbe potuto rappresentare una svolta nell'opera di Stevenson. Nel remoto arcipelago delle Samoa, dove si era stabilito alla disperata ricerca di un clima che lo aiutasse a controllare la sua fragilissima salute, aveva ormai adattato la sua arte a un'altra cultura, inserendo nei suoi racconti elementi di quel mondo lontano: gli abitanti del luogo lo ribattezzarono Tusitala, "scrittore di storie". Weir di Hermiston sembra scritto da uno Stevenson improvvisamente ambizioso, nuovamente innamorato dei luoghi della sua infanzia, e impaziente di dimostrare una sua dolcezza romantica più complessa e matura, che fino a quel momento era rimasta, se non del tutto inespressa, almeno soffocata dalla sua fama di autore di storie d'avventura.
Le pagine di questo libro hanno il profumo e i colori della Scozia, per le vie di Edimburgo e attraverso le brughiere, con ruscelli e tombe dimenticate, castelli, chiese e fattorie. Stevenson richiama spesso il carattere epico dei romanzi di Scott, ma sembra puntare più in alto: nonostante la sua sfortunata e prematura sorte, questo libro è scritto con una prosa meravigliosa, elegantissima, che indugia volentieri in digressioni e aneddoti, si dedica con cura ai caratteri dei personaggi, muove il vento, la pioggia, le nuvole del paesaggio in modo incantevole. Questo lirismo così elaborato non è sempre impeccabile, ma si deve ricordare che l'autore era spesso molto debole e dettava i suoi romanzi: queste pagine, probabilmente, non ebbero molte revisioni, e sarebbe ingiusto giudicarle come se si trattasse di un'opera compiuta. Nella trama sono presenti temi comuni ad altri suoi romanzi - il contrasto tra padre e figlio, l'infanzia, l'identità - inseriti in un intreccio sentimentale: purtroppo la narrazione s'interrompe bruscamente prima di entrare nel vivo degli eventi, e sarebbe difficile, se non impossibile, intuirne gli sviluppi.
Mi ha colpito il modo in cui Stevenson evita, da narratore, di prendere una posizione chiara tra i suoi personaggi per giudicare gli eventi della trama. Non è facile indentificare la sua opinione, e in questo è stato più libero di tanti altri: invece di trasformare le sue opere in manifesti ideologici ha saputo consacrarle interamente all'invenzione letteraria, ovunque questa lo portasse. Non è banale, e neppure facile: in Weir di Hermiston si trovano posizioni contrastanti su temi complicati - la religione, la famiglia, la pena di morte - e si ha dei personaggi una percezione molto realistica, ricca di dubbi e contraddizioni.
I libri di Stevenson mi accompagnano da quando ero bambino, e l'ho sempre ammirato tanto, in modo un po' irrazionale, con affetto: è stato davvero triste arrivare alla fine di questo libro e vedere quei puntini di sospensione, e poi niente.
Le pagine di questo libro hanno il profumo e i colori della Scozia, per le vie di Edimburgo e attraverso le brughiere, con ruscelli e tombe dimenticate, castelli, chiese e fattorie. Stevenson richiama spesso il carattere epico dei romanzi di Scott, ma sembra puntare più in alto: nonostante la sua sfortunata e prematura sorte, questo libro è scritto con una prosa meravigliosa, elegantissima, che indugia volentieri in digressioni e aneddoti, si dedica con cura ai caratteri dei personaggi, muove il vento, la pioggia, le nuvole del paesaggio in modo incantevole. Questo lirismo così elaborato non è sempre impeccabile, ma si deve ricordare che l'autore era spesso molto debole e dettava i suoi romanzi: queste pagine, probabilmente, non ebbero molte revisioni, e sarebbe ingiusto giudicarle come se si trattasse di un'opera compiuta. Nella trama sono presenti temi comuni ad altri suoi romanzi - il contrasto tra padre e figlio, l'infanzia, l'identità - inseriti in un intreccio sentimentale: purtroppo la narrazione s'interrompe bruscamente prima di entrare nel vivo degli eventi, e sarebbe difficile, se non impossibile, intuirne gli sviluppi.
Mi ha colpito il modo in cui Stevenson evita, da narratore, di prendere una posizione chiara tra i suoi personaggi per giudicare gli eventi della trama. Non è facile indentificare la sua opinione, e in questo è stato più libero di tanti altri: invece di trasformare le sue opere in manifesti ideologici ha saputo consacrarle interamente all'invenzione letteraria, ovunque questa lo portasse. Non è banale, e neppure facile: in Weir di Hermiston si trovano posizioni contrastanti su temi complicati - la religione, la famiglia, la pena di morte - e si ha dei personaggi una percezione molto realistica, ricca di dubbi e contraddizioni.
I libri di Stevenson mi accompagnano da quando ero bambino, e l'ho sempre ammirato tanto, in modo un po' irrazionale, con affetto: è stato davvero triste arrivare alla fine di questo libro e vedere quei puntini di sospensione, e poi niente.
February 1, 2022
Nach etwa einem Drittel an der Klippe Tod gestrandeter Ausbruch aus der Jungmänner-Nische.
Niemand fing die Psyche von Jünglingen und jungen Männern auf Abenteuern besser ein als Robert Louis Stevenson, die Frauengestalten blieben eher unterbelichtet.
Laut Stieftochter und Sekretärin war im Anschluss an Die Herren von Hermiston ein Roman um eine starke Frau in der Südsee geplant, zwei prominente weibliche Figuren im vorliegenden Roman geben mit ihrer deutlich tiefer gehenden Psychologie eine Ahnung davon.
Im Kontext einer umfassenderen Beschäftigung mit RLS und seiner Entwicklung lohnt sich die Lektüre dieses Vater-Sohn-Konflikts, zumal das in dieser Ausgabe enthaltene Nachwort der Witwe über das aktive Leben des einst so bettlägrigen Autors ein echter Bonus ist. Da etwa ein Drittel des geplanten Gesamtumfangs vorliegt und der Mord noch nicht passiert ist, lohnt eine isolierte Lektüre nur bedingt, auch wenn es keine Rätsel in Sachen Konfliktlage und Aufklärung gibt.
Da sich RLS beim Erkunden neuen künstlerischen Territoriums durchaus Zeit lässt, der Humor früherer Jahre beim ambitionierteren Unternehmen weitgehend auf der Strecke bleibt, ist das ebenfalls mit drei Sternen bedachte Entführt/David Balfour die rundere Lese-Erfahrung. Dr. Jekylls bislang gleich niedrig ausgefallene Bewertung kommt demnächst im Original noch mal auf den Prüfstand.
Niemand fing die Psyche von Jünglingen und jungen Männern auf Abenteuern besser ein als Robert Louis Stevenson, die Frauengestalten blieben eher unterbelichtet.
Laut Stieftochter und Sekretärin war im Anschluss an Die Herren von Hermiston ein Roman um eine starke Frau in der Südsee geplant, zwei prominente weibliche Figuren im vorliegenden Roman geben mit ihrer deutlich tiefer gehenden Psychologie eine Ahnung davon.
Im Kontext einer umfassenderen Beschäftigung mit RLS und seiner Entwicklung lohnt sich die Lektüre dieses Vater-Sohn-Konflikts, zumal das in dieser Ausgabe enthaltene Nachwort der Witwe über das aktive Leben des einst so bettlägrigen Autors ein echter Bonus ist. Da etwa ein Drittel des geplanten Gesamtumfangs vorliegt und der Mord noch nicht passiert ist, lohnt eine isolierte Lektüre nur bedingt, auch wenn es keine Rätsel in Sachen Konfliktlage und Aufklärung gibt.
Da sich RLS beim Erkunden neuen künstlerischen Territoriums durchaus Zeit lässt, der Humor früherer Jahre beim ambitionierteren Unternehmen weitgehend auf der Strecke bleibt, ist das ebenfalls mit drei Sternen bedachte Entführt/David Balfour die rundere Lese-Erfahrung. Dr. Jekylls bislang gleich niedrig ausgefallene Bewertung kommt demnächst im Original noch mal auf den Prüfstand.
January 21, 2008
By either account, it is a blessing that this novel remains unfinished. The two people who shared Stevenson’s confidences, reveal endings that could have seriously degraded his effort. The “Weir of Hermiston” carries us to the point where whatever “inevitable mechanics” were about to bring it into conformity with one genre or another. Then Stevenson died, suddenly, in Samoa. The first part of a tragedy is always the best and least punishing.
The father and son who anchor the novel receive narrative sympathy and criticism in a pleasantly unresolved mixture. Even a number of minor characters are thrown into varying lights and favors as they are sketched into the happenings. This keeps things fresh and interesting. The reader is not allowed to get comfortable with his judgments or confident in his interpretations. Critics emphasize that this has to do with Stevenson’s contention that the Scotch character is divided—a theme he made most famous with “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”
His language also vacillates between two poles; one is the exquisitely crafted, psychologically aware 19th century prose that Stevenson had been refining throughout his career: “Clem and Gib, who were men exactly virtuous, swallowed the dose of Dand’s irregularities as a kind of clog or drawback in the mysterious providence of God affixed to bards;” “Her view of history was wholly artless, a design in snow and ink; upon the one side, tender innocents with psalms upon their lips; upon the other, the persecutors, booted, bloody-minded, flushed with wine.”
The other pole is Scots dialect (make sure your edition includes a glossary or explanatory footnotes): “Ye daft auld wife! A bonny figure I would be, palmering about in bauchles!” “You and your noansense! What do I want with a Christian faim’ly? I want Christian broth! Get me a lass that can plain-boil a potato, if she was a whure off the streets.”
It is only moments of deep human connection and drama that prompt the rare combination of these opposite modes of communication. I do not intend to reveal the details of the story (betrayal, love, rivalry etc)—it is finely wrought and believable, little more than one hundred pages. Absolutely worth an afternoon of reading.
The father and son who anchor the novel receive narrative sympathy and criticism in a pleasantly unresolved mixture. Even a number of minor characters are thrown into varying lights and favors as they are sketched into the happenings. This keeps things fresh and interesting. The reader is not allowed to get comfortable with his judgments or confident in his interpretations. Critics emphasize that this has to do with Stevenson’s contention that the Scotch character is divided—a theme he made most famous with “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”
His language also vacillates between two poles; one is the exquisitely crafted, psychologically aware 19th century prose that Stevenson had been refining throughout his career: “Clem and Gib, who were men exactly virtuous, swallowed the dose of Dand’s irregularities as a kind of clog or drawback in the mysterious providence of God affixed to bards;” “Her view of history was wholly artless, a design in snow and ink; upon the one side, tender innocents with psalms upon their lips; upon the other, the persecutors, booted, bloody-minded, flushed with wine.”
The other pole is Scots dialect (make sure your edition includes a glossary or explanatory footnotes): “Ye daft auld wife! A bonny figure I would be, palmering about in bauchles!” “You and your noansense! What do I want with a Christian faim’ly? I want Christian broth! Get me a lass that can plain-boil a potato, if she was a whure off the streets.”
It is only moments of deep human connection and drama that prompt the rare combination of these opposite modes of communication. I do not intend to reveal the details of the story (betrayal, love, rivalry etc)—it is finely wrought and believable, little more than one hundred pages. Absolutely worth an afternoon of reading.
February 13, 2021
The first part of the evening was to assess the unfinished book (or “fragment”, though clocking in at 122 pages), and the second part was to speculate about how the rest of the novel might have gone.
Most were keen - very keen - on the book. “Superb!”. “Really liked it”. “Characters very strong, plot building well, and real sense of place”. “It would have been a great novel, but as it stands it is a great fragment”. “Fantastic!”
It was interesting to see Stevenson attempting a “novel for grown-ups” rather than an adventure story, and to see influences not just from Scott but from other major nineteenth century novelists such as Emily Bronte and Thomas Hardy.
The use of Scots language in some of the dialogue attracted quite a bit of comment. For those not brought up in lowland Scotland, the passages in Scots posed an unwelcome problem, only partly relieved by the glossary found in most editions. The lowland Scots present admitted (to the surprise of others) that they did not recognise quite a lot of the words, and pointed out that even Burns had needed to put a glossary into the Kilmarnock edition of his poems (1786). But they understood enough words to be able to sail on picking up the general gist of words they didn’t know. Moreover, they felt the use of Scots - a language rhythmic, onomatopoeic and sometimes violent - gave a good sense of Scottish life at the time.
The sense of place is rendered in fine descriptive writing:
“The road to Hermiston runs for a great part of the way up the valley of a stream, a favourite with anglers, and with midges, full of falls and pools, and shaded by willows and natural woods of birch…..
…..All beyond and about [Hermiston] is the great field of the hills; the plover, the curlew, and the lark cry there; the wind blows as it blows in a ship’s rigging, hard and cold and pure; and the hill-tops huddle one behind another like a herd of cattle into the sunset….”
The second part of the evening discussed how the novel might have ended, and we identified four options.....
This is an exact from a review of the book by the Monthly Book Group. Our reviews can be read at https://monthlybookgroup.wordpress.com or at https://monthlybookgroup.blogspot.com
Most were keen - very keen - on the book. “Superb!”. “Really liked it”. “Characters very strong, plot building well, and real sense of place”. “It would have been a great novel, but as it stands it is a great fragment”. “Fantastic!”
It was interesting to see Stevenson attempting a “novel for grown-ups” rather than an adventure story, and to see influences not just from Scott but from other major nineteenth century novelists such as Emily Bronte and Thomas Hardy.
The use of Scots language in some of the dialogue attracted quite a bit of comment. For those not brought up in lowland Scotland, the passages in Scots posed an unwelcome problem, only partly relieved by the glossary found in most editions. The lowland Scots present admitted (to the surprise of others) that they did not recognise quite a lot of the words, and pointed out that even Burns had needed to put a glossary into the Kilmarnock edition of his poems (1786). But they understood enough words to be able to sail on picking up the general gist of words they didn’t know. Moreover, they felt the use of Scots - a language rhythmic, onomatopoeic and sometimes violent - gave a good sense of Scottish life at the time.
The sense of place is rendered in fine descriptive writing:
“The road to Hermiston runs for a great part of the way up the valley of a stream, a favourite with anglers, and with midges, full of falls and pools, and shaded by willows and natural woods of birch…..
…..All beyond and about [Hermiston] is the great field of the hills; the plover, the curlew, and the lark cry there; the wind blows as it blows in a ship’s rigging, hard and cold and pure; and the hill-tops huddle one behind another like a herd of cattle into the sunset….”
The second part of the evening discussed how the novel might have ended, and we identified four options.....
This is an exact from a review of the book by the Monthly Book Group. Our reviews can be read at https://monthlybookgroup.wordpress.com or at https://monthlybookgroup.blogspot.com
November 11, 2020
From BBC Radio 4 - Drama:
1/2. A powerful story of family rebellion and forbidden love - set in Edinburgh and the Borders in the early 19th century. Stevenson died halfway through writing the novel - but, using the author’s notes, Colin MacDonald’s dramatisation completes the tragic story of the conflicts within the Weir family. Eager young law student, Archie Weir, publicly denounces the capital punishment favoured by his father, “hanging judge”, Lord Hermiston.
Kirstie…………………………………..PHYLLIS LOGAN
Archie Weir………………………...JACK LOWDEN
Young Archie…………………….…BILLY THOMSON
Lord Hermiston …………………..PAUL YOUNG
Frank Innes ………………….……...FINN DEN HERTOG
Jean Weir.………………………….....KAREN BARTKE
Christina Elliot…..………………….HELEN MACKAY
Davie Leslie………………..……......SIMON TAIT
Glenalmond/Forbes……………..KENNY BLYTH
Miller/ Laidlaw .............................ALASDAIR HANKINSON
Pringle /Jopp ………………………..OWEN WHITELAW
Other parts played by the cast.
Producer/Director : Bruce Young
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000...
1/2. A powerful story of family rebellion and forbidden love - set in Edinburgh and the Borders in the early 19th century. Stevenson died halfway through writing the novel - but, using the author’s notes, Colin MacDonald’s dramatisation completes the tragic story of the conflicts within the Weir family. Eager young law student, Archie Weir, publicly denounces the capital punishment favoured by his father, “hanging judge”, Lord Hermiston.
Kirstie…………………………………..PHYLLIS LOGAN
Archie Weir………………………...JACK LOWDEN
Young Archie…………………….…BILLY THOMSON
Lord Hermiston …………………..PAUL YOUNG
Frank Innes ………………….……...FINN DEN HERTOG
Jean Weir.………………………….....KAREN BARTKE
Christina Elliot…..………………….HELEN MACKAY
Davie Leslie………………..……......SIMON TAIT
Glenalmond/Forbes……………..KENNY BLYTH
Miller/ Laidlaw .............................ALASDAIR HANKINSON
Pringle /Jopp ………………………..OWEN WHITELAW
Other parts played by the cast.
Producer/Director : Bruce Young
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000...
November 9, 2020
9 NOV 2020 - my lunchtime listen-to.
From BBC Radio 4 - Drama:
1/2. A powerful story of family rebellion and forbidden love - set in Edinburgh and the Borders in the early 19th century. Stevenson died halfway through writing the novel - but, using the author’s notes, Colin MacDonald’s dramatisation completes the tragic story of the conflicts within the Weir family. Eager young law student, Archie Weir, publicly denounces the capital punishment favoured by his father, “hanging judge”, Lord Hermiston.
Kirstie…………………………………..PHYLLIS LOGAN
Archie Weir………………………...JACK LOWDEN
Young Archie…………………….…BILLY THOMSON
Lord Hermiston …………………..PAUL YOUNG
Frank Innes ………………….……...FINN DEN HERTOG
Jean Weir.………………………….....KAREN BARTKE
Christina Elliot…..………………….HELEN MACKAY
Davie Leslie………………..……......SIMON TAIT
Glenalmond/Forbes……………..KENNY BLYTH
Miller/ Laidlaw .............................ALASDAIR HANKINSON
Pringle /Jopp ………………………..OWEN WHITELAW
Other parts played by the cast.
Producer/Director : Bruce Young
Listen here: Part 1 - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m00...
Listen here: Part 2 - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m00...
Thank you, Dear Friend Laura. This was perfect!
From BBC Radio 4 - Drama:
1/2. A powerful story of family rebellion and forbidden love - set in Edinburgh and the Borders in the early 19th century. Stevenson died halfway through writing the novel - but, using the author’s notes, Colin MacDonald’s dramatisation completes the tragic story of the conflicts within the Weir family. Eager young law student, Archie Weir, publicly denounces the capital punishment favoured by his father, “hanging judge”, Lord Hermiston.
Kirstie…………………………………..PHYLLIS LOGAN
Archie Weir………………………...JACK LOWDEN
Young Archie…………………….…BILLY THOMSON
Lord Hermiston …………………..PAUL YOUNG
Frank Innes ………………….……...FINN DEN HERTOG
Jean Weir.………………………….....KAREN BARTKE
Christina Elliot…..………………….HELEN MACKAY
Davie Leslie………………..……......SIMON TAIT
Glenalmond/Forbes……………..KENNY BLYTH
Miller/ Laidlaw .............................ALASDAIR HANKINSON
Pringle /Jopp ………………………..OWEN WHITELAW
Other parts played by the cast.
Producer/Director : Bruce Young
Listen here: Part 1 - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m00...
Listen here: Part 2 - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m00...
Thank you, Dear Friend Laura. This was perfect!
April 2, 2020
Weir di Hermiston di Robert Louis Stevenson è un romanzo storico d'amore rimasto incompiuto a causa della morte dell'autore.
Un libro lontano dalle tematiche che solitamente contraddistinguono i testi dell'autore (il doppio, il mare, la navigazione) ma che vedono comunque uno stile riconoscibile, ricco di ironia, che scorre velocemente sia nella prima parte, maggiormente introduttiva, che nella seconda, dove si svolge la trama vera e propria.
Lo scrittore talvolta si rivolge direttamente al lettore, commentando ciò che succede e rettificando alcune sue impressioni con l'evolversi dei protagonisti.
"Sia chiaro che io sono venuto dipingendo il caos e descrivendo l'inesprimibile. Ogni tratto del mio quadro è troppo preciso, quasi ciascuna delle parole che ho usato troppo forte. Immaginate un cartello stradale tra i monti in un giorno di nebbia fluttuante; non ho fatto che copiare i nomi che compaiono vagamente sulle frecce, nomi di lontane città ben definite e famose, ora forse adagiate al sole; ma Cristina, si può dire, era rimasta tutto questo tempo ai piedi del cartello, senza muoversi, e avvolta in mutevoli e accecanti volute di bruma."
Il resto della recensione su https://www.leggoquandovoglio.it/libr...
Un libro lontano dalle tematiche che solitamente contraddistinguono i testi dell'autore (il doppio, il mare, la navigazione) ma che vedono comunque uno stile riconoscibile, ricco di ironia, che scorre velocemente sia nella prima parte, maggiormente introduttiva, che nella seconda, dove si svolge la trama vera e propria.
Lo scrittore talvolta si rivolge direttamente al lettore, commentando ciò che succede e rettificando alcune sue impressioni con l'evolversi dei protagonisti.
"Sia chiaro che io sono venuto dipingendo il caos e descrivendo l'inesprimibile. Ogni tratto del mio quadro è troppo preciso, quasi ciascuna delle parole che ho usato troppo forte. Immaginate un cartello stradale tra i monti in un giorno di nebbia fluttuante; non ho fatto che copiare i nomi che compaiono vagamente sulle frecce, nomi di lontane città ben definite e famose, ora forse adagiate al sole; ma Cristina, si può dire, era rimasta tutto questo tempo ai piedi del cartello, senza muoversi, e avvolta in mutevoli e accecanti volute di bruma."
Il resto della recensione su https://www.leggoquandovoglio.it/libr...
July 8, 2020
It's totally unfair having to judge a would-be masterpiece by the fragment handed down to us. RLS apparently worked on Hermiston right up to the morning of his death; it's heartbreaking to see how abruptly it breaks off. The notes for how Stevenson intended to see the story out promise nothing less than a brilliant conclusion, but all we're left with is the slow-build. A damn shame.
March 10, 2021
It is strange to think that the best novel RLS might have written was this unfinished work. The style and especially the richness of the writing linger in the memory and make me wonder what might have been.
June 15, 2023
An unfinished novel so hard to know how to feel. Enjoyed the first half about the protests against capital punishment and disappointed it didn’t stay focused on that. Also some of the old Scottish dialogue was very hard to follow!
November 22, 2020
Chissà se mai è venuto in mente a qualcuno
di farne un film?
E poi, in questo romanzo, seppur incompiuto, si respira la stessa atmosfera di destini già segnati che hanno necessità di essere ribaltati, come in Jane Eire.
di farne un film?
E poi, in questo romanzo, seppur incompiuto, si respira la stessa atmosfera di destini già segnati che hanno necessità di essere ribaltati, come in Jane Eire.
September 16, 2025
The book's plot revolves around the long-standing conflict between a sensitive, idealistic son and his strict, unforgiving father. Because of his brutal application of the law, the father, Lord Justice-Clerk Adam Weir, is infamously known as the "hanging judge" or "Weir of Hermiston." Young law student Archibald "Archie" Weir, his son, is appalled by his father's ruthlessness, especially when he finds a man guilty and sentences him to death.
Archie is banished to the family's Hermiston estate in the moorland after openly denouncing his father's actions. In this isolated location, Archie finds comfort and develops feelings for Christina "Kirstie" Elliott, a local. Although their growing bond is essential to the story, the fragment ends suddenly.
The psychological study, Weir of Hermiston, is different from Stevenson's adventure novels. It is a foray into a more realistic style of writing that influenced later authors like Joseph Conrad. The novel, as I read it, presented strong characterization and a nuanced portrayal of the moral and social landscape of 19th-century Scotland.
Archie is banished to the family's Hermiston estate in the moorland after openly denouncing his father's actions. In this isolated location, Archie finds comfort and develops feelings for Christina "Kirstie" Elliott, a local. Although their growing bond is essential to the story, the fragment ends suddenly.
The psychological study, Weir of Hermiston, is different from Stevenson's adventure novels. It is a foray into a more realistic style of writing that influenced later authors like Joseph Conrad. The novel, as I read it, presented strong characterization and a nuanced portrayal of the moral and social landscape of 19th-century Scotland.
October 7, 2024
This was an interesting study in character. Stevenson likes to explore the relationships of fathers and sons. The Weir of Hermiston is the story of a Justice and his son who are at odds in almost every belief they hold. The father, Adam Weir, is apparently based on Lord Braxfield, a justice known for his coarse character. Archie is the antithesis of his father and sensitive in nature. In a moment of foolish youthful sensibility, he denounces one of his father's rulings publicly and is exiled to live the life of a country laird.
As he tries to regain his father's faith, he falls in love with a commoner. What happens next is somewhat uncertain, and I'm curious to see how Stevenson would have concluded the story. It seems he had an ending in mind, but whether that would have evolved as he wrote will never be known. Still, it's a short and fascinating read.
As he tries to regain his father's faith, he falls in love with a commoner. What happens next is somewhat uncertain, and I'm curious to see how Stevenson would have concluded the story. It seems he had an ending in mind, but whether that would have evolved as he wrote will never be known. Still, it's a short and fascinating read.
July 13, 2018
I can't decide whether it's a pity Stevenson died before he finished it or whether the end as it is makes it even better. In any case I thoroughly enjoyed it, in particular I found the dialogue incredibly natural and especially enjoyed old Kirstie (even if I could only understand half of what she said in that Scottish dialect).
July 8, 2018
The Weir was unfinished, but it shows a believable female character, although not necessarily sympathetic. A young romance is obviously heading for disaster when a school chum decides to step in and cause discord.
July 31, 2019
Reading an unfinished novel is a strange business, and the other stories included to fill out the volume are a decidedly mixed bag – but Stevenson writes beautifully, and "Thrawn Janet" is a near-perfect little horror story.
August 23, 2025
I should not be so harsh on this novel, as it is brief from its author having died betimes. Still, I cannot help but be grieved by its cut-short potential. It is sad knowing it will never be a narrative in full.
June 22, 2018
Am I allowed to be mad at RLS for dying while writing this? It was so slow, and had finally just starting to get better!
Also, it’s basically David Copperfield without the orphaning part.
Also, it’s basically David Copperfield without the orphaning part.
August 4, 2018
Brilliant book - I only wish that RLS had finished it before he died. Only Stevenson could work so much atmosphere into such a story.
September 10, 2018
This was very interesting I liked the way Stevenson constructed the story.
October 24, 2019
Could have been good but obviously can’t be great with it being unfinished. Had a compelling story up until it’s abrupt end.
April 27, 2020
Great book beautifully written. great characters Enjoyed immensely
April 30, 2020
Listened. BBC Sounds.
May 11, 2020
Если бы была десятибалльная шкала, поставил бы 9.
Просто не могу поставить высший балл, т.к. произведение, к сожалению, так и не было закончено.
Просто не могу поставить высший балл, т.к. произведение, к сожалению, так и не было закончено.
May 20, 2020
Not in the same league as Treasure Island, Black Arrow, Kidnapped, or Jekyll & Hyde.
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