Robert Louis Stevenson, Science, and the Fin de Sicle [Hardcover]

In this fascinating book, Reid examines Robert Louis Stevenson's writings in the context of late-Victorian evolutionist thought, arguing that an interest in 'primitive' life is at the heart of his work. She investigates a wide range of Stevenson's writing, including Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Treasure Island as well as previously unpublished material from the Stevenson archive at Yale. Reid's interpretation offers a new way of understanding the relationship between his Scottish and South Seas work. Her analysis of Stevenson's engagement with anthropological and psychological debate also illuminates the dynamic intersections between literature and science at the fin de si?cle.List of Figures Acknowledgements Textual Note Introduction: Stevenson, Evolution, and the 'Primitive' PART I: '[O]UR CIVILISED NERVES STILL TINGLE WITH...RUDE TERRORS AND PLEASURES': ROMANCE AND EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY Stevenson and the Art of Fiction Romance Fiction: 'Stories Round the Savage Camp-fire' PART II: 'DOWNWARD, DOWNWARD LIES YOUR WAY': DEGENERATION AND PSYCHOLOGY 'There was Less Me and More Not-me ': Stevenson and Nervous Morbidity 'Gothic Gnomes': Degenerate Fictions PART III: STEVENSON AS ANTHROPOLOGIST: CULTURE, FOLKLORE, AND LANGUAGE 'The Foreigner at Home': Stevenson and Scotland '[T]he Clans Disarmed, the Chiefs Deposed': Stevenson in the South Seas Conclusion Notes Works Cited Index

'One of the many strengths of this volume is how its discussion of evolution, degeneration and anthropology affords us a clearer picture of Stevenson's development as a writer, and as a serious critic of cultural conflict and change... Robert Louis Stevenson, Science and the Fin de Si?cle is a welcome addition to Stevenson studies.' - Linda Dryden, Journal of Stevenson Studies

'Reid's critical faculties are sharp and original, and her research is judicious, wide-ranging and deftly - almost weightlessly - deployed... Reid's book succeeds remarkably at deepening our understalóÑ