The Amateur Emigrant, Robert Louis Stevenson
The Amateur Emigrant, Robert Louis Stevenson
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The Amateur Emigrant

Author: Robert Louis Stevenson

Narrator: Donal Donnelly

Unabridged: 4 hr 30 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 01/14/2008


Synopsis

This is the sparkling record of the haphazard six-thousand-mile odyssey that twenty-five-year-old Stevenson made in pursuit of his future wife, Fanny. The two had met and fallen in love during a trip to France, but when Fanny's first husband called her home to California, Stevenson soon followed from Scotland. The sickly Stevenson first made a turbulent Atlantic crossing, like so many nineteenth-century immigrants, as a steerage passenger in a steamer of dubious seaworthiness. After a frenetic stopover in New York City, he embarked on a two-week, three-thousand-mile trip across the continent-the fastest and cheapest way then possible-by emigrant train. Finally arriving in the frontier town of San Francisco to win Fanny over, he was quickly captivated by California. Stevenson's often hilarious impressions of the young country, its rambunctious and colorful inhabitants, and the still-untamed continent are among his most vivid writings

About Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Louis Stevenson, a Scottish essayist, poet, and author of fiction and travel books, was born in 1850 in Edinburgh. As a child, he suffered from tuberculosis and spent much of his time in bed composing stories before he could even read. His father was a prosperous joint-engineer to the Board of Northern Lighthouses. Stevenson studied engineering at Edinburgh University but, due to his ill health, had to abandon his plans to follow in his father's footsteps. He changed to law and passed the Scottish bar in 1875. Stevenson then took some time to travel to warmer countries in an attempt to improve his health. These experiences provided much material for his works.

Instead of practicing law, Stevenson devoted himself to writing travel sketches, essays, and short stories for magazines. While on a trip to France, he met Fanny Osbourne, whom he married in California in 1880. They later returned to Scotland but moved often, in search of better climates.

Stevenson is especially known for his adventure novels. His first success was the romantic adventure story Treasure Island. His other prominent works include Kidnapped, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and The Black Arrow. Characteristic of Stevenson's novels is a skillful use of horror and supernatural elements. His stories are often set in colorful locations, where his characters can forget the restrictions of Victorian social manners. Arguing against realism, Stevenson underlined the "nameless longings of the reader," or the desire for experience.

In 1885 Stevenson published A Child's Garden of Verses, which was dedicated to his childhood nurse and has since been made into popular songs. His last work, Weir of Hermiston, was left unfinished, but it is considered his masterpiece. From the late 1880s until his death, Stevenson lived with his family in Samoa. He enjoyed a period of comparative good health but died of a brain hemorrhage in 1894.


Reviews

In "Emigrante per diletto" Stevenson racconta il suo viaggio per nave dalla Scozia agli Stati Uniti, proseguito poi via treno fino a San Francisco nel testo "Attraverso le pianure" contenuto nello stesso volume. Con l'acume e la bonomia che lo caratterizzano, Stevenson racconta soprattutto i persona......more

Goodreads review by Gianni

Due racconti che narrano il viaggio, in nave e in treno, che porta Stevenson da Glasgow a S. Francisco. Stevenson si mostra attento, curioso, a tratti anche ironico, capace di riflessioni critiche sulla natura umana e sulla società, sulle motivazioni che spingono moltitudini di uomini, donne, vecchi......more

Goodreads review by Ciara

Not a whole lot happens during Stevenson's trip from Scotland to San Francisco, but he does find quite a bit to say about the six thousand mile journey. Mostly, he complains, but I like the way he complains. The Amateur Emigrant is a witty 19th century travelogue full of first-hand descriptions and......more

Goodreads review by Tony

I picked this up because I've always enjoyed Stevenson's fiction, and I'd heard this account of his trip across the United States in 1879 was an outstanding example of travel writing. It is indeed that, but not quite in the way that I expected. His trip was originally documented in three separate pu......more