Familiar Studies of Men & Books, Literary Papers

by Robert Louis Stevenson

Statement by the author: Not the most erudite of men could be perfectly prepared to deal with so many and such various sides of human life and manners.

Genres: Essays, Books About Books, Nonfiction

236 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 1882

About the author

Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, and travel writer, and a leading representative of English literature. He was greatly admired by many authors, including Jorge Luis Borges, Ernest Hemingway, Rudyard Kipling and Vladimir Nabokov.

Most modernist writers dismissed him, however, because he was popular and did not write within their narrow definition of literature. It is only recently that critics have begun to look beyond Stevenson's popularity and allow him a place in the Western canon.

Reviews

[Neil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, engaging essays by Stevenson about a variety of Scottish, French, American, and Japanese writers / figures (as well as Samuel Pepys--the one Englishman to slip by). The ones about French medieval writers Charles of Orleans and Francois Villon are especially good, as are the ones on Hugo, Whitman, and Pepys. One might not always agree with Stevenson's neglect of the works for the men or, alternatively, his conclusions about these writers, but the essays provide a fascinating glimpse of how Stevenson negotiates literary history. Most of these essays started as periodical articles from the 1870s and 1880s in journals such as the Cornhill, and the entire collection was published in 1882.

Note that I did not read the edition I have marked here. The first English edition of Familiar Studies is available on Google Books and archive.org for free. That's where i read it.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

The section on Knox is biased to the point of slander. Thankfully, both Knox and I are way past caring.

[Martyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall a rather dull read, and much of it indeed, to me, incomprehensible. I didn't understand half of what Stevenson was going on about. But in amongst all the incomprehension and tedium I did learn things about all of these men which I never knew before (I didn't really know anything much about any of them before). It was interesting in parts. The British characters were those I found most interesting – Burns, Pepys and Knox. I was glad the Knox article was last. It made me press on to get to it as that was the section I was most keen to read. But I approached it with a degree of trepidation, expecting Stevenson to demolish Knox and ride roughshod over his character. But I was actually pleasantly surprised at how sympathetically or considerately Stevenson seemed to deal with him and speak of him, with a mixture of praise and admiration - and of criticism. I can't imagine ever desiring to read this book again, but it has given me an introduction to all of these men which I think I am thankful for.

[Booksnpieces · Rating 1 out of 5]

I normally like reading Stevenson but I found this hard work.

[Francisca · Rating 2 out of 5]

*2,75 or something like that*

This book was not as interesting as I expected it to be.

Initially, I thought it would give me a inside look on Robert Louis Stevenson's literary tastes, but it turned out to be a dry history lesson about people I could not care about (except Whitman.)