The Dynamiter
1885
On a fog-shrouded London evening, two hard-up gentlemenPaul Somerset and Edward Challonermeet by chance and discover their fortunes have similarly crumbled. What begins as nostalgic lament over brandy soon spirals into an extraordinary proposition: Somerset proposes they turn amateur detectives, pursuing adventure and, perhaps, some much-needed income. Their investigations lead them into the shadowy world of dynamitersanarchists plotting with explosives across Europeand into the orbit of a mysterious young woman whose own explosive ordeal has set events in motion. Steventon serves up equal parts comedy of manners and genuine thriller, with witty dialogue crackling alongside genuine tension. The novella pulses with the anxieties of its era: terrorism, class resentment, the fragile veneer of Victorian respectability. Yet beneath the adventure lies something quieter and more affecting: two men searching for meaning and purpose in a world that seems to have no place for them. The Dynamiter reveals Stevenson's lighter touch, his gift for farce, and his unflinching eye for the criminal Underworld hiding just behind respectable streets.
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“There are two things that men should never weary of, goodness and humility; we get none too much of them in this rough world among cold, proud people.””
— Robert Louis Stevenson
“Alan," cried I, "what makes ye so good to me? What makes ye care for such a thankless fellow?"Deed, and I don't, know" said Alan. "For just precisely what I thought I liked about ye, was that ye never quarrelled:”
— Robert Louis Stevenson
“To be feared of a thing and yet to do it, is what makes the prettiest kind of a man.””
— Robert Louis Stevenson
“I have seen wicked men and fools, a great many of both; and I believe they both get paid in the end; but the fools first.””
— Robert Louis Stevenson
“Alan,” I cried, “I can stand no more of this.” “Ye’ll have to sit it then, Davie,””
— Robert Louis Stevenson
“I've a grand memory for forgetting,””
— Robert Louis Stevenson
“But a word once spoken who can recapture it?””
— Robert Louis Stevenson
“By what I have read in books, I think few that have held a pen were ever really wearied, or they would write of it more strongly. I had no care of my life, neither past nor future, and I scarce remembered there was such a lad as David Balfour. I did not think of myself, but just of each fresh step which I was sure would be my last, with despair”
— Robert Louis Stevenson
“I often think the happiest consequences seem to follow when a gentelman consults his lawyer, and takes all the law allows him.””
— Robert Louis Stevenson
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Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Dynamiter. Lex, lex-books.com/book/the-dynamiter-281252c4-77e3-47f0-aacd-42035e1ebf19.Stevenson, R. L. (1885). The Dynamiter. Lex. https://lex-books.com/book/the-dynamiter-281252c4-77e3-47f0-aacd-42035e1ebf19Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Dynamiter. Lex. https://lex-books.com/book/the-dynamiter-281252c4-77e3-47f0-aacd-42035e1ebf19.
