Author: Ian Stevenson

1Cow

By Robert Louis Stevenson

LibriVox volunteers bring you fourteen different readings of Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Cow, a weekly poetry project. (Summary by Annie Coleman)

2Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

By Robert Louis Stevenson

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a novella by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, first published in 1886. London lawyer Utterson is driven to investigate Edward Hyde, the unlikely protégé of his friend Dr Henry Jekyll, suspecting the relationship to be founded on blackmail. The truth is worse than he could have imagined. Jekyll’s ‘full statement of the case’, the final chapter of the book, explores the idea of dual personality that led him to his experiments, and his inexorable and finally fatal descent into evil. (Summary by David Barnes)

3Treasure Island

By Robert Louis Stevenson

Treasure Island is an adventure novel, a thrilling tale of "buccaneers and buried gold." Traditionally considered a coming of age story, it is an adventure tale of superb atmosphere, character and action, and also a wry commentary on the ambiguity of morality—as seen in Long John Silver—unusual for children's literature then and now. (Summary from wikipedia.org)

4Child's Garden of Verses

By Robert Louis Stevenson

Beloved by many generations of children, A Child's Garden of Verses is a beautiful collection of children's poetry. Sometimes thoughtful, sometimes whimsical, but always fun. (Summary by Arctura)

5Black Arrow - A Tale of the Two Roses

By Robert Louis Stevenson

The Black Arrow tells the story of Richard (Dick) Shelton during the Wars of the Roses: how he becomes a knight, rescues his lady Joanna Sedley, and obtains justice for the murder of his father, Sir Harry Shelton. Outlaws in Tunstall Forest organized by Ellis Duckworth, whose weapon and calling card is a black arrow, cause Dick to suspect that his guardian Sir Daniel Brackley and his retainers are responsible for his father's murder. Dick's suspicions are enough to turn Sir Daniel against him, so he has no recourse but to escape from Sir Daniel and join the outlaws of the Black Arrow against him. This struggle sweeps him up into the greater conflict surrounding them all. The story of the Wars of the Roses is told in miniature by The Black Arrow. (Summary from Wikipedia)

LibriVox volunteers bring you 17 different recordings of Foreign Lands by Robert Louis Stevenson. This was the weekly poetry project for the week of April 22nd, 2007.

7Treasure Island (version 2)

By Robert Louis Stevenson

A mysterious map, pirates, and pieces of eight! When young Jim Hawkins finds a map to pirates’ gold he starts on an adventure that takes him from his English village to a desert island with the murderous Black Dog, half-mad Ben Gunn, and (of course) Long John Silver. Arr Jim lad! R.L. Stevenson (1850-1894) was born in Scotland and travelled extensively in California and the south Pacific. (Summary by Adrian Praetzellis)

LibriVox volunteers bring you 13 different recordings of <em>The Wind</em> by Robert Louis Stevenson. This was the weekly poetry project for the week of March 2nd, 2008.

LibriVox volunteers bring you 16 different recordings of Summer Sun, by Robert Louis Stevenson. This was the weekly poetry project for the week of June 22nd, 2008.

10Kidnapped

By Robert Louis Stevenson

David Balfour, a lad of seventeen and newly orphaned, is directed to go and live with his rich uncle, the master of the estate of Shaws in the lowlands of Scotland near Edinburgh. His uncle, Ebenezer (as close a miser as Dickens' Ebenezer Scrooge), is shocked to suddenly have his young relative descend on him and tries to rid himself of David with an arranged accident. Failing that, he pays the captain of a brig to kidnap David and sell him into slavery in Carolina.<br /><br /> A collision in the fog brings onboard the brig a survivor, Alan Breck Stewart, who is carrying a dangerous amount of gold on his person. David warns him of a plan by the brig's captain and crew to overpower him and seize the money, and then finds himself fighting alongside Alan in a battle royale. By good fortune, Alan is handy with a sword and they have access to the firearms locker, and the pair so completely defeat the crew that barely enough hands remain to sail her. Limping to port, she is holed by rocks, and David finds himself a castaway. <br /><br /> Being in Alan's presence continues to be a chancey business. David is talking to Colin Roy Campbell, the King's Factor who has been oppressing Alan's people, when the man is shot to death, and David is chased as an accomplice. The two "take to the heather" and barely survive near brushes with redcoats as they thread through the Trossachs and other highland ranges of Scotland. Only after an arduous weeks-long trek through territory where they are actively hunted do they emerge in the more settled districts around the river Forth, only to find guards upon the bridge. With no money remaining, they must somehow cross to Queensferry, find Ebenezer's lawyer, and lay claim to David's inheritance in order to send Alan safely on to France. (summary by Mark F. Smith)

11Wrong Box

By Lloyd Osbourne and Robert Louis Stevenson

The Wrong Box is a comedy about the ending of a tontine (a tontine is an arrangement whereby a number of young people subscribe to a fund which is then closed and invested until all but one of the subscribers have died. That last subscriber then receives the whole of the proceeds). The story involves the last two such survivors and their relations, a train crash, missing uncles, surplus dead bodies and innocent bystanders. A farce really. (Summary by AJM)

12Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Version 2)

By Robert Louis Stevenson

After hearing Mr. Enfield's account of a distressing event involving Edward Hyde, the heir of his friend, Henry Jekyll, John Utterson is convinced that Jekyll's relationship with Hyde is built on something sinister. Utterson's concern for his friend is not unfounded but the reasons aren't quite what he, at first, believes. (Summary by Kristin Hughes)

13Amateur Emigrant

By Robert Louis Stevenson

In July 1879, Robert Louis Stevenson left Scotland to meet his future wife in her native California. Leaving by ship from Glasgow, Scotland, he determined to travel in steerage class to see how the working classes fared. At the last minute he was convinced by friends to purchase a ticket one grade above the lowest price, for which he was later thankful after seeing the conditions in steerage, but he still lived among the 'lower' classes. His comments on the experience make interesting reading. His father however was so shocked at the thought of his son associating with people 'beneath him' that the work was not published for a number of years, (Summary by annise)

14Olalla

By Robert Louis Stevenson

"Olalla" was a "shilling shocker" written for the Christmas season in 1885, just before the publication of Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The nameless protagonist of this Gothic tale, a wounded soldier, goes to the Spanish countryside to recuperate. He finds himself enthralled by the beautiful Olalla, the daughter of his hostess, whose family conceals a terrible secret. (Summary by Elizabeth Klett)

15Winter (Stevenson)

By Robert Louis Stevenson

LibriVox volunteers bring you 20 recordings of <em>Winter</em> by Robert Louis Stevenson. This was the Weekly Poetry project for November 22nd, 2009.

16Essays of Robert Louis Stevenson

By Robert Louis Stevenson

“Extreme busyness…is a symptom of deficient vitality; and a faculty for idleness implies a catholic appetite and a strong sense of personal identity.”<br /><br /> What comforting words for the idle among us! Like many of the best essayists, Stevenson is very much the genial fireside companion: opinionated, but never malicious; a marvellous practitioner of the inclusive monologue.<br /><br /> In this collection of nine pieces he discusses the art of appreciating unattractive scenery, traces the complex social life of dogs, and meditates in several essays upon the experience of reading literature and writing it. Perhaps his most personal passages concern death and mortality. Here we meet him at his most undogmatically optimistic, as he affirms a wholesome faith in “the liveableness of Life”. (Summary by Martin Geeson)

17That Affair at Elizabeth

By Burton Egbert Stevenson

A detective novel set in turn-of-the-century New York City, in which a young lawyer plays the sleuth. Packed with plot twists (and the ubiquitous romantic complication, of course). (Summary by Cathy Barratt)

18Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (version 3)

By Robert Louis Stevenson

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is the original title of a novel written by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson that was first published in 1886. It is about a London lawyer named Gabriel John Utterson who investigates strange occurrences between his old friend, Dr Henry Jekyll and the misanthropic Edward Hyde. The novella's impact is such that it has become a part of the language, with the phrase "Jekyll and Hyde" coming to mean a person who is vastly different in moral character from one situation to the next. Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was an immediate success and is one of Stevenson's best-selling works. Stage adaptations began in Boston and London within a year of its publication and it has gone on to inspire scores of major film and stage performances. ( Summary by Wikipedia )

19More New Arabian Nights: The Dynamiter

By Robert Louis Stevenson and Fanny van DerGrift Stevenson

More New Arabian Nights: The Dynamiter (1885) is a collection of linked short stories by Robert Louis Stevenson and Fanny Vandegrift. Three gentlemen of little means and no occupation meet in the Bohemian Cigar Divan, a tobacco shop with couches to sit and smoke. They read of a reward offered for information as to the whereabouts of a man with big moustaches and a sealskin coat. They agree among themselves that they will separate and search for the man so as to claim the reward. The stories that follow concern their adventures. They meet again in the cigar divan in an epilogue to their travels. (Summary by Don W. Jenkins)

LibriVox volunteers bring you 22 recordings of The Vagabond by Robert Louis Stevenson. This was the Weekly Poetry project for January 22, 2012.<br><br>The Vagabond appeared in Stevenson's Songs of Travel and Other Verses, which was published after his death. It expresses the love of travel and adventure he always nurtured. Near the end of his life Stevenson emigrated to Samoa and became very involved in local politics, severely criticising the European officials he encountered. He was buried close to his new home, in the land he had come to love. (Summary by Lucy Perry)

21Ebb-Tide

By Lloyd Osbourne and Robert Louis Stevenson

Three men down on their luck in Tahiti agree to ship out on a vessel whose officers have died of smallpox. Their desperate venture inspires them to a further idea: they will steal the schooner and its cargo of champagne, sell them, and live a plentiful life. The thought is intoxicating... and so is the cargo, which they sample. Inattention nearly brings them to grief in a sudden storm. This sobering experience is followed by another - apparently the dead officers had a similar ambition! - and their dreams of riches vanish.<br><br>Then, nearly out of provisions and deep in the heart of the Pacific where the chart shows no land - they happen on a small isle only hinted at in the records and never mapped. Saved! But what is this? The island hides a pearl fishery?<br><br>In the ebb-tide of fortune, what new villainy will the three attempt? (Summary by Mark F. Smith)

22New Arabian Nights

By Robert Louis Stevenson

New Arabian Nights is a collection of short stories which include Robert Louis Stevenson's earliest fiction as well as those considered his best work in the genre. The first and longest story stars Prince Florizel of Bohemia who appears in the later collection of stories "More New Arabian Nights: The Dynamiter." (Summary by Don W. Jenkins)

23Treasure Island (version 3, dramatic reading)

By Robert Louis Stevenson

When a rough old seaman calling himself "the Captain" appears at the inn owned by Jim Hawkins' father, young Jim little dreams what adventures will follow in the man's wake. Soon, the once-peaceful inn is threatened by pirates, Jim's father is laid in his grave, and Jim finds himself in possession of a map showing the location of treasure buried by the legendary and notorious Captain Flint. Along with a group of brave men: the sensible Dr. Livesey, the fearless and unflagging Captain Smollett, and the blustering but well-meaning Squire Trelawney, Jim sets out in quest of the treasure. Many perils, from wild animals to murderous villains to stormy seas will beset him on the way. And ever in the background, smiling and enigmatic, lurks the one-legged ship's cook, Long John Silver. One of the best-loved adventure stories of all time, Treasure Island is a pirate classic that delights readers today as much as when Stevenson first wrote it. (Summary by Eden Rea-Hedrick)<BR><BR> Cast listing:<BR>Jim Hawkins, Dedication and Introductory Poem: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/7131">Eden Rea-Hedrick</a><br>Billy Bones, "the Captain", Dr. Livesey, Long John Silver: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/3664">Barry Eads</a><br>Black Dog: <a href="http://www.BritTexVoice.com">Phillip J Mather</a><br>Mrs. Hawkins, Dick: <a href="http://elizabethklettaudio.com">Elizabeth Klett</a><br>Pew, George Merry: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/7170">alanmapstone</a><br>Mr. Dance: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/4705">Algy Pug</a><br>Pirate 1: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/6754">ToddHW</a><br>Pirate 2: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/7592">justinschw</a><br>Pirate 3: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/6548">Kristingj</a><br>Squire Trelawney: <a href="http://timberdine.co.uk/">Andy Minter</a><br>Tom Redruth: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/7371">MarcyT</a><br>Tom Morgan: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/7791">Robin King</a><br>Captain Smollett: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/6553">DublinGothic</a><br>Israel Hands: <a href="http://www.techsmiths.blogspot.com/">Mark F. Smith</a><br>Captain Flint (a parrot): <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/3157">TriciaG</a><br>Job Anderson: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/7644">Raphael Platt</a><br>Tom, Joyce: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/7138">CaprishaPage</a><br>Ben Gunn: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/6511">csjesi1</a><br>Abraham Gray: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/2911">David Lawrence</a><br>Hunter: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/6947">Grace</a><BR><BR> Edited by <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/6754">ToddHW</a>.

24Gloved Hand

By Burton Egbert Stevenson

Mr. Lester, a private investigator, and his friend Godfrey are caught up in a strange case that takes them to a large estate in the country where at midnight they witness a mysterious "falling star" that appears to burst into a shower of sparks over two white robed figures standing in the air. There is a young lady in a flowing white dress and many more twists and complications before the mystery is solved. (Summary by Don W. Jenkins)

25Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes

By Robert Louis Stevenson

A classic of travel writing, this book recounts Stevenson's adventures on an extended walk through uplands and mountains in south-western France. Humorous on his own failings as a traveller, and on his travails with Modestine the self-willed donkey, it is also an exploration of peasant life in an area marked by the violence of the wars of religion. This version includes the fragment "A mountain town in France", originally intended as the opening chapter, but often omitted and published as a separate essay. (Summary by Patrick Wallace)

26Not Yet my Soul

By Robert Louis Stevenson

LibriVox volunteers bring you 15 recordings of Not Yet my Soul by Robert Louis Stevenson. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for May 19, 2013.<br><br>Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson (13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist, and travel writer. His most famous works are Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.<br>The following poem comes from his collection entitled Underwoods, first published in 1887.

A film company shooting a movie in Egypt becomes embroiled in events that happened in ancient Egypt. A supernatural adventure story about a pharaoh's curse and reincarnation... but with film directors and movie stars as our protagonists. (Written 5 years before King Tut was found!) (Summary by ChuckW)

28Treasure Island (Version 4)

By Robert Louis Stevenson

This is the extraordinary tale of a boy, Jim Hawkins, who comes into possession of Captain Flint's treasure map, after a buccaneer takes a room at his inn and later dies. The map spreads its ill luck to all who know of it.<br /><br /> A local squire outfits a ship to voyage to the Treasure Island, unearth the treasure, and bring it home. Little does he suspect that the man he has hired aboard as cook was formerly Flint's quartermaster, who then connives to hire many of his old mates.<br /><br /> Once ashore, pirates being pirates, what follows is a mutiny. Jim and a handful of honest men find themselves harried and hunted by the rest of the crew.<br /><br /> The pirate treasure, amassed by so much blood and death, is about to reach out and claim more victims! (Summary by Mark Smith)

29Children's Classics in Dramatic Form

By Augusta Stevenson

This is a collection of short stories by the Brothers Grimm, Aesop, H. C. Andersen, and more authors, turned into short children's plays by Augusta Stevenson. This collection has seventeen plays in which characters come together and form a classic children's story. (Summary by francesb) <BR><BR>Cast list:<BR> <a href="https://librivox.org/reader/8625">mepreckel</a>, <a href="https://librivox.org/reader/9123">Shakira</a>, <a href="https://librivox.org/reader/8721">Onlam</a>, <a href="https://librivox.org/reader/8425">silverquill</a>, <a href="https://librivox.org/reader/8470">GardenerOfStars</a>, <a href="https://librivox.org/reader/8883">LydiaCW</a>, <a href="https://librivox.org/reader/8790">possum2364</a>, <a href="https://librivox.org/reader/6754">ToddHW</a>, <a href="https://librivox.org/reader/4064">Margaret</a>, <a href="https://librivox.org/reader/3157">TriciaG</a>, <a href="https://librivox.org/reader/8308">hallejk</a>, <a href="https://librivox.org/reader/6492">HughGil</a>, <a href="https://librivox.org/reader/8923">abendlied</a>, <a href="https://librivox.org/reader/9423">jerrica</a>, <a href="https://librivox.org/reader/7925">etel13</a>, <a href="https://librivox.org/reader/8012">WoollyBee</a>, <a href="https://librivox.org/reader/4742">Little_Tee</a>, <a href="https://librivox.org/reader/4667">m8b1</a>, <a href="https://librivox.org/reader/2911">aradlaw</a>, <a href="https://librivox.org/reader/6449">arnaldo4455</a>, <a href="https://librivox.org/reader/8677">MrsHand</a>, <a href="https://librivox.org/reader/6167">Janet99</a>, <a href="https://librivox.org/reader/9228">kcotter13</a>, <a href="https://librivox.org/reader/6544">JoFriday21</a>, <a href="https://librivox.org/reader/9508">jessieyun0404</a>, <a href="https://librivox.org/reader/7708">Savvy0712</a>, <a href="https://librivox.org/reader/9331">RosslynCarlyle</a><br> <br> <b>Edited by: Michele Eaton, Maria Therese and David Olson</b>

30Inland Voyage

By Robert Louis Stevenson

As a young man, Stevenson wished to be financially independent and began his literary career by writing travelogues. This is his first published work, written at a time when travel for pleasure was still a rarity. He and a friend traveled by canoe through France and Belgium and he relates how they were thrown in jail, mistaken for traveling salesmen and became embroiled in gypsy life. - Summary by Lynne Thompson

31American Men of Mind

By Burton Egbert Stevenson

“American Men of Mind” is a collection of short biographies of men of note in various disciplines. It is an absorbing collection of short biographies of men who made a difference in American history; most beginning life in very humble circumstances, both in the United States and in foreign countries. Although “men” is mentioned in the title, Mr. Stevenson also relates biographies of several women.<br><br>This is a most interesting read.<br>(William Tomcho)

32Wrecker

By Lloyd Osbourne and Robert Louis Stevenson

The Wrecker (1892) is a novel written by Robert Louis Stevenson in collaboration with his stepson Lloyd Osbourne. The story is a 'sprawling, episodic adventure story, a comedy of brash manners and something of a detective mystery'. It revolves around the abandoned wreck of the Flying Scud at Midway Island. Clues in a stamp collection are used to track down the missing crew and solve the mystery. It is only in the last chapter that different story elements become linked. - Summary by Wikipedia

33American Men of Action

By Burton Egbert Stevenson

In this book, Burton Egbert Stevenson writes a brief biography of some of the most noteworthy men in American history. He begins at the very beginning of the history of America with Christopher Columbus and proceeds forward with the story of people who made America what it is today by their respective vocations. It is interesting to note that the vast majority of the subjects started in poverty and excelled financially and in stature.<br><br>He makes something that could be very dull, a very readable and enjoyable book. (Summary by William Tomcho)

Von seinem Cousin Mr. Utterson erfährt Mr. Enfield zuerst von dem zwielichtigen Mr. Hyde, der durch sein besonders brutales Verhalten auffällt und auf alle, die ihm begegnen, einen gemeinen und bösartigen Eindruck macht. Als Mr. Enfield erfährt, dass dieser Hyde offenbar ein Bekannter von seinem Freund Dr. Jekyll ist, ist er sehr besorgt. Hat dieser Hyde etwas gegen Jekyll in der Hand? Wird Jekyll von ihm erpresst? Als Mr. Hyde auf offener Straße einen brutalen Mord begeht und daraufhin untertaucht, scheint sich zunächst alles zum Guten zu wenden. Doch nach einiger Zeit wird Dr. Jekylls Verhalten immer seltsamer und es wird klar, dass Mr. Hyde zurück ist. (Zusammenfassung von Hokuspokus)

35Holladay Case

By Burton Egbert Stevenson

Stevenson's introduction of the protagonist Lester (law clerk with New York firm Graham & Royce) finds him occupying a front row seat in the murder trial of Wall Street multi-millionaire Hiram Holladay. Scandalously, suspicion points very solidly on the banker's loving daughter, Frances. Lester proves himself a useful aide to the firm's senior partner, Mr. Royce, in his attempt to prove the lovely Frances innocent. - Summary by Cate Barratt