The Life of Robert Louis Stevenson |
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able affected afterwards already appeared arrived began beginning brought called CHAPTER character chief course death delight early Edinburgh experience face father feel five four friends gave give given hand head heart hill interest island kind knew known land later learned least leave less letters light lived London looked Louis memory mind months morning mother native nature never night once passed perhaps period persons play powers reached ready received round Samoa seemed seen sent side society soon South spent spirit stayed Stevenson story strong success taken talk thing thought tion told took turned voyage walked weeks whole wife winter write written wrote
Popular passages
Page 319 - There are, so far as I know, three ways, and three ways only, of writing a story. Yon may take a plot and fit characters to it, or you may take a character and choose incidents and situations to develop it, or lastly — you must bear with me while I try to make this clear...
Page 14 - Thy foot he'll not let slide, nor will He slumber that thee keeps. -Behold, he that keeps Israel, He slumbers not, nor sleeps.
Page 84 - All through my boyhood and youth I was known and pointed out for the pattern of an idler; and yet I was always busy on my own private end, which was to learn to write.
Page 50 - When two of these asses met, there would be an anxious "Have you got your lantern?" and a gratified "Yes!" That was the shibboleth, and very needful too; for, as it was the rule to keep our glory contained, none could recognize a lantern-bearer, unless (like the pole-cat) by the smell.
Page 84 - I would either read, or a pencil and a penny version-book would be in my hand, to note down the features of the scene or commemorate some halting stanzas. Thus I lived with words. And what I thus wrote was for no ulterior use, it was written consciously for practice. It was not so much that I wished to be an author (though I wished that too) as that I had vowed that I would learn to write.
Page 320 - ... situations to develop it, or lastly — you must bear with me while I try to make this clear" — (here he made a gesture with his hand as if he were trying to shape something and give it outline and form) — "you may take a certain atmosphere and get action and persons to express and realise it. I '11 give you an example — The Merry Men.
Page 333 - UNDER the wide and starry sky Dig the grave, and let me lie. Glad did I live, and gladly die, And I laid me down with a will. This be the verse you grave for me : Here he lies where he longed to be ; Home is the sailor, home from the sea, And the hunter home from the hill.
Page 86 - That, like it or not, is the way to learn to write; whether I have profited or not, that is the way.
Page 85 - Whenever I read a book or a passage that particularly pleased me, in which a thing was said or an effect rendered with propriety, in which there was either some conspicuous force or some happy distinction in the style, I must sit down at once and set myself to ape that quality. I was unsuccessful, and...
Page 359 - Now the man who has his heart on his sleeve, and a good whirling weathercock of a brain, who reckons his life as a thing to be dashingly used and cheerfully hazarded...
Bibliographic information
| Title | The Life of Robert Louis Stevenson Biographical edition of Stevenson's works Volume 52 of Methuen's shilling library Volume 18 of The biographical edition of the works of Robert Louis Stevenson |
| Author | Sir Graham Balfour |
| Edition | 15, abridged, revised |
| Publisher | Methuen, 1915 |
| Original from | the New York Public Library |
| Digitized | Jul 11, 2007 |
| Length | 364 pages |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |