Arthur Ransome's Long-Lost Study of Robert Louis Stevenson
Author(s): Kirsty Nichol Findlay (Author)
Publisher: Boydell Press
Publication Date: 15 Sept. 2011
Language: English
Print length: 232 pages
ISBN-10: 1843836726
ISBN-13: 9781843836728
Book Description
The Swallows and Amazons author’s lost study of the author of Treasure Island, finally available with a substantial introduction detailing its rediscovery and Ransome’s extraordinary early career. This is the first publication of a remarkable book by Arthur Ransome, originally commissioned in 1910. The manuscript, nearly complete, was sequestered by Ransome’s wife in 1914, and he never saw it again. It came to light only bychance, long after his death. Arthur Ransome here gives an exceptionally personal and perceptive account of the strengths and weaknesses of Stevenson as man and writer. Writing when most books on Stevenson were biographicalor merely adulatory, he intended his to be the first ‘critical study’. The result is a fascinating and eager exposition by a yet-to-become-novelist of the writer who was to remain a lifelong inspiration. Here he wrestles to identify techniques that later underpin his Swallows and Amazons. Moreover, this is the only manuscript first draft of a work by Ransome to survive, and as such provides a unique insight into his working methods. The appendices include all other extant material relating to Stevenson by Ransome, from his very first story (written at the age of eight, and hitherto published only privately) to working notes and articles in literary periodicals. The editor’s substantial introduction gives a full account of the extraordinary history of the manuscript’s development, disappearance, and rediscovery, and adds a new and enlightening chapter to the tumultuous story of Ransome’s first marriage, early career, and escape to Russia. KIRSTY NICHOL FINDLAY taught at the University of Waikato, and since retiring has been a Moderator in Drama for Trinity College London. Her publications relate to her specialinterests: Renaissance, Commonwealth, and children’s literature.
Editorial Reviews
Review
A brave publishing venture. To be invited to eavesdrop on the way an adventurous writer responds to a pioneer of an earlier generation at a time when the world was about to change is illuminating on many levels. It tells us a great deal about Arthur Ransome. […] In bringing Ransome’s study to light Kirsty Nichol Findlay has done us a real service. –THE SCOTSMAN, 25 September, 2011
What trouble [the editor] and the publishers have gone to, snatching the text back from oblivion and presenting it so beautifully – a long-lost manuscript by Dickens or Austen couldn’t have had finer treatment. –THE LITERARY REVIEW
The chance to observe – freshly – an author’s formative processes long after the completion of his work, and indeed his death, is rare, if not unique. That is the fascination of [this book] … an extremely handsome edition. –NEWSLETTER OF THE NANCY BLACKETT TRUST, Winter 2011
This are find is invaluable for its relevance to both Ransome and Stevenson and to the study of critical analysis. Recommended. –CHOICE, March 2012
[An] extremely interesting and scholarly work. […] This is a book that anyone interested in either of the protagonists should undoubtedly read. –ROYAL CRUISING CLUB NEWSLETTER, January 2012
About the Author
KIRSTY NICHOL FINDLAY taught at the University of Waikato, and since retiring has been a Moderator in Drama for Trinity College London. Her publications relate to her special interests: Renaissance, Commonwealth, and children’s literature.
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