Tales of Terror: Robert Louis Stevenson

Written by Robert Louis Stevenson

Narrated by Richard Mitchley and Robbie McNab

Robert Louis Stevenson. In the Scottish canon to be placed alongside Burns is high praise indeed but it’s a rightful place for one of Scotland’s finest novelists. Born in 1850 he managed to cram much into his 44 years travelling widely to France, the United States, Samoa and the South Seas. Of course he is widely feted for his classics Dr Jeckyll & Mr Hyde, Treasure Island and poetry volumes such as A Child’s Garden Of Verses. Here we concentrate on his short stories Olliah and The Body Snatchers. Both offer compelling examples of narration and suspense superbly reduced to their essence. This volume is brought to your ears by Richard Mitchley and Robbie McNab.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Copyright Group
• Release date: Jan 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781780001609

Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson was born on 13 November 1850, changing his second name to ‘Louis’ at the age of eighteen. He has always been loved and admired by countless readers and critics for ‘the excitement, the fierce joy, the delight in strangeness, the pleasure in deep and dark adventures’ found in his classic stories and, without doubt, he created some of the most horribly unforgettable characters in literature and, above all, Mr. Edward Hyde.

Reviews for Tales of Terror

[roarer-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this novel, chancing upon a film version of the story shortly afterwards. The escape from Edinburgh Castle may reflect a real event in 1799, when French prisoners-of-war were assisted in their escape by the Revd William Fitzsimmons, the incumbent of the Cowgate Episcopal Chapel; the escapees in 1799 headed for a ship in the Firth of Forth.

[chrisnewton-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I would call it a 19th century bathtub book (def: book suitable for reading in the bathtub). Writing is lovely, characterizations are disarming, storyline is farfetched. Its near-fatal drawback: RLS died before finishing it and the publisher gave it to Mr. Quiller-Couch to wrap up based on Stevenson's notes. Unfortunately, he turned a charming treat into a boring slog.