“Don't
judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.”
– Robert Louis Stevenson
Stevenson, born on Nov. 13, 1850,
was one of the world’s most versatile and “translated” authors. This Scottish-born writer left us everything
from Treasure Island to Kidnapped to The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and a host of great characters like the pirate
Long John Silver, and Jekyll and Hyde (also a lasting descriptive phrase).
Stevenson’s creativity included
essays, short stories and poetry for both adults and children (A Child’s Garden of Verses – with
lasting poems like My Shadow: “I have a little shadow that goes in and out
with me, And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.”), and
music. An accomplished pianist, he
wrote or arranged more than 120 original pieces for various combinations of flageolet,
flute, clarinet, violin, guitar, mandolin, and piano, including ten songs
written to his own poetry. 
Stevenson’s many travels led to his
connection with American Fanny Osbourne – their love story becoming one for the
ages. For a great read, check out my
good friend Mark Wiederanders’ novel Stevenson’s
Treasure – a truly wonderful tale.
Stevenson’s many travels led to his
connection with American Fanny Osbourne – their love story becoming one for the
ages. For a great read, check out my
good friend Mark Wiederanders’ novel Stevenson’s
Treasure – a truly wonderful tale.
Stevenson always seemed to be able
to connect with readers from all walks of life and when asked why, he simply
said, “The difficulty of literature is not to write, but to write what you
mean; not to affect your reader, but to affect him precisely as you wish
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