The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition, Vol. 09
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition, Vol. 09
Robert Louis Stevenson's third novel is the one nobody expects from the author of Treasure Island: a quiet, sophisticated romance about a prince and princess whose marriage has quietly crumbled under the weight of crown and custom. Prince Otto of Grünewald has retreated into indolence and scientific hobbies, while his wife Serafina burns with unused energy and wounded pride. When court conspirators move against them, the pair must drop their performed selves and become real people again, together. It's Stevenson unchained from adventure, instead mining the comedy and pathos of two souls learning to love each other afresh. The prose has the crystalline precision of his essays but charged with genuine tenderness. Those who know Stevenson only as a boy's adventure novelist will find this a startling, adult surprise: a book about the exhausting performance of identity and the terrifying, rewarding work of genuine intimacy.
