13
votes
Accepted
Did Stevenson really claim to have been inspired by brownies?
Yep.
Stevenson writes in his A Chapter on Dreams, which you can see a book scan at that link, and a text version at Project Gutenburg:
Well, as regards the dreamer, I can answer that, for he is no ...
- 23.3k
11
votes
Accepted
Where is the start of Treasure Island set?
TL;DR: The opening chapters of Treasure Island make it clear that the "Admiral Benbow" must be within a few miles of Lynmouth in Devon.
Stevenson wrote a detailed account of the writing of ...
- 53.5k
8
votes
Meaning of "My owners'll have to rank with the rest on their charter-party"?
Here's the situation with commercial shipping. You are a Norwegian timber merchant, with many planks of finest spruce to sell. You believe that you can make lots of money, if only you could deliver ...
- 1,474
8
votes
Accepted
Meaning of "Am I clear? Have I a certificate, or what have I to do to get one? And when will it be dated? You can't think what hangs by it!"
The certificate referred to is almost certainly the "Certificate of Conformity". This is an instrument introduced in English law as the "Statute of Anne" in 1705. Following ...
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8
votes
Accepted
Was Stevenson's Treasure Island influenced by Poe?
Stevenson's admission of the earlier stories and authors he'd plagiarised borrowed ideas from comes in My First Book - his little-known preface to Treasure Island, first published in McClure's ...
- 71k
7
votes
Accepted
Who was Long John Silver based on?
William Ernest Henley. Per Andrzej Diniejko, in William Ernest Henley: A Biographical Sketch:
Robert Louis Stevenson modelled the most famous pirate in literature — Treasure Island's Long John ...
- 2,062
7
votes
Accepted
How can "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" be read as a commentary on Scotland?
TL;DR: The “double being” of Jekyll and Hyde is a floating signifier, so a Scottish interpretation of the novella could be made. But no-one has done so yet! Wikipedia and James Campbell are mistaken ...
- 53.5k
6
votes
Accepted
How many members of Captain Flint's crew are known?
Billy Bones (first mate)
Confirmed from his own mouth:
"I was first mate, I was, old Flint's first mate, and I'm the on'y one as knows the place. He gave it me at Savannah, when he lay a-dying, ...
- 71k
5
votes
What's the evidence for "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" being secretly set in Edinburgh?
Dr Eugene Chantrelle
Dr Eugene Chantrelle was a close friend of Robert Louis Stevenson, and also Edinburgh-based. Robert had this to write about his friend:
THE SCOTSMAN
Stevenson wrote: “I should ...
- 186
5
votes
Does R L Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde have a hidden anti-science agenda?
TL;DR: Stevenson didn’t intend to put an anti-science agenda into Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and I don’t see how to make a convincing case for finding it there.
Introduction
The question ...
- 53.5k
5
votes
Accepted
How could the current bear the coracle southward, if the current was northwards earlier?
As far as I can tell, it does seem that you've uncovered an inconsistency or mis-writing on Stevenson's part. Let's analyse the whole journey carefully, using a map of Treasure Island for reference:
...
- 71k
4
votes
Meaning of "My owners'll have to rank with the rest on their charter-party"?
The sentence you quote needs a bit of prefatory explanation to make its meaning clear. But in the process, I shall probably let drop major spoilers. Sadly ’Can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs’...
- 939
4
votes
Accepted
What historical reference is Stevenson making with "shouting in the streets"?
In all probability; this is a reference to The Gordon Riots of 1780. The protest led to widespread rioting and looting, including attacks on Newgate Prison and the Bank of England and was the most ...
- 408
2
votes
Accepted
Long John Silver, "you may lay to that"
“Lay” has meant “put down or deposit as a bet, wager” since the 13th century. The earliest citation in the OED is from Floris and Blancheflour:
Ȝerne he wule þe bidde and preie
Þat þu legge þe cupe ...
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1
vote
Why did blood build the House of Shaws in Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson?
Stevenson himself wrote that historical accuracy was not his prime aim in writing the novel and there is no actual historical house of Shaw to point to specific instances of blood being shed to build ...
- 250
1
vote
How many members of Captain Flint's crew are known?
Allardyce, he was the skeletor compass. And Darby McGraw.
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