This text is a highly laudatory review of Leo Damrosch’s new biography, Storyteller: The Life of Robert Louis Stevenson. The reviewer praises Damrosch for producing a "splendid affair" written out of affection, effectively providing a "handshake across time" with RLS, an eccentric, vital, and adventurous figure. The review details Stevenson's life, including his frailty, extensive world travels (particularly to Samoa, where he was known as ‘Tusitala’), and his versatile literary output, ranging from the indelible poem "Requiem" to novels like Treasure Island and the profound psychological parable The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. A major focus is placed on Stevenson’s extraordinary and dynamic marriage to Fanny Osbourne, an unconventional, older woman who served as his crucial literary critic and source of happiness. The review concludes that the biography successfully celebrates Stevenson's literary greatness and the inspiring nature of his life.
Summarizing the Book Review: The Gypsy Life of Robert Louis Stevenson
Role of Biography: The review posits that the best biographers, like novelists, enlarge human experience by involving readers in lives other than their own, facilitated by "affectionate understanding" and a "handshake across time."
The Subject and Biographer: Leo Damrosch's Storyteller is hailed as a "dream biography," demonstrating the biographer’s love for the subject—Robert Louis Stevenson (RLS)—who was eccentric, vital, and beloved.
Life and Death: RLS resembled D. H. Lawrence, being a rebel, world traveler, invalid (possibly consumptive), and dying young at age 44. His "Requiem" is highlighted as one of the best epitaphs in English. RLS died of a stroke in Samoa (Vailima), having achieved the longest period of sustained health in his adult life there.
"Tusitala" (Storyteller): RLS was genuinely honored by the Samoan people, who called him 'Tusitala.' He wrote passionately against Western imperialism in A Footnote to History (1892) and was remembered for his great kindness during local civil strife.
Friendship with Henry James: The review emphasizes the deep bond between James and the Stevensons. James’s letter to Fanny following Louis’s death is quoted as deeply moving, describing RLS's passing as "romantically right" for a consecrated career.
Literary Output: Stevenson wrote with "marvelous lightness" across multiple genres. Key works discussed include:
A Child’s Garden of Verses: Captures the genuine interior world of childhood, avoiding sentimentality.
Treasure Island(1883): Praised for its perfect plotting and lucid, exact prose.
Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes(1879): A small classic that influenced pioneering travel writers, such as Richard Holmes.
The Influence of Fanny on Jekyll & Hyde: When RLS read his first draft of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886) aloud, Fanny criticized it as mere sensationalism. She successfully convinced him to rewrite it into a profound allegory about the struggle with a deeper hidden self, earning her the joking title "the critic on the hearth."
Fanny Stevenson: Fanny Osbourne was 10 years older, unconventional, and widely fascinating ("a sort of savage nature"). She provided RLS with his happiest years, managing their constantly shifting life, and undertaking the dangerous work of stocking their South Sea voyage boats.
Legacy: RLS is celebrated as a source of happiness and enchantment, making "England seem small, and the world look big." The biography successfully inspires new readers to enjoy his work.