Under the Wide and Starry Sky in Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge

Jan 09, 2014 steen rated it it was ok · review of another edition

"And so begins a turbulent love affair that will last two decades and span the world..."

That's the concluding line for the blurb about Under the Wide and Starry Sky by Nancy Horan. So provocative and alluring, right?

It's a somewhat-fictional take on the romance between Fanny Osbourne and the prolific writer, Robert Louis Stevenson. Admittedly, despite being a Literature major, I didn't know much about RLS, particularly something as appealing as a romance that dashed through the world. It all sou "And so begins a turbulent love affair that will last two decades and span the world..."

That's the concluding line for the blurb about Under the Wide and Starry Sky by Nancy Horan. So provocative and alluring, right?

It's a somewhat-fictional take on the romance between Fanny Osbourne and the prolific writer, Robert Louis Stevenson. Admittedly, despite being a Literature major, I didn't know much about RLS, particularly something as appealing as a romance that dashed through the world. It all sounded so intriguing and mysterious and glamorous.

And that's the extent of it.

The novel itself is, for the most part, rather dreary. Fanny Osbourne is a woman on the run from an awful marriage to a philandering man, taking flight to Paris with her children under the guise of studying art. She immediately loses her youngest son, Hervey, to tuberculosis and becomes near penniless. Fanny holes up in a lakeside artists' colony, where she meets Bob Stevenson, one of the few to befriend the dreaded American that has invaded their peaceful haven. One thing leads to another and she meets his cousin, Robert Louis Stevenson, who is instantly smitten with the temperamental, outspoken woman.

From there, they bounce from home to home, plagued by Stevenson's poor health. Their travels are not inspired by a wanderlust or romantic intent to see the world together; really, it's a whirlwind search to find an ideal location for Stevenson's weak lungs.

It's hard to really love any of the characters. The condensed time frame makes for a stilted cast of characters; Fanny's daughter Bella becomes estranged but then resurfaces with little sense of emotion. Fanny's son Sammy is at boarding school for most of his childhood but winds up traveling with them.

What's really lacking in all of this is that grand sense of romance that makes your heart flutter as you cheer the characters on and get swept into their love story. An emotional connection was nearly impossible and, after awhile, the book became tedious; I didn't really feel a pulse of anything until towards the end. And can I just say that Fanny's sudden bout of madness comes out of nowhere? It's ultimately blamed on the fact that she never got over losing Hervey but, honestly, it's never really mentioned in the book after Hervey dies.

I really wanted to like this book but it just lacked that magical spark that sets your imagination roaring.

** Copy provided by Netgalley **

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Dec 27, 2013 Lydia Presley rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2013, fiction, historic-fiction, favorites

Books that center around historical figures that are outside of the non-fiction/biography realm can be a bit hit or miss for me. Did the author take too much license? Is the story too dry because they didn't decide to take a little license with it? It's a fine line to walk so when it's done well that book is definitely a keeper. Under the Wide and Starry Sky by Nancy Horan is one of those books. That said, I had a feeling I would be pleased with the book, in fact, due to my experience with her p ...more

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Nov 19, 2014 Susan rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2014, qpbc

I used to think that memoir was my favorite genre, but now I think entering middle age (ugh), that historical fiction is edging it out. I'm okay with that.

Under the Wide and Starry Sky is a historical fiction novel about Robert Louis Stevenson and his wife, Fanny Stevenson. It turns out, all I knew about R.L.S. is that he wrote Treasure Island and Jekyll and Hyde, and honestly, I wasn't too clear on the Jekyll and Hyde part. I didn't know he was Scottish (whoops), didn't know he was sickly, did ...more

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Feb 09, 2014 Ellen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction

I grew up reading and loving poems by Robert Louis Stevenson and knew he'd written the books Kidnapped and Treasure Island, but I knew nothing about the man himself or the source of his wild adventure stories.

Under the Wide and Starry Sky is about the incredible relationship between RL Stevenson and his wife, Fanny de Grift Osbourne, an American divorcee who he met in France in 1875. He was in France to escape his Scottish family's pressures to become a lawyer and to drink with his young artist I grew up reading and loving poems by Robert Louis Stevenson and knew he'd written the books Kidnapped and Treasure Island, but I knew nothing about the man himself or the source of his wild adventure stories.

Under the Wide and Starry Sky is about the incredible relationship between RL Stevenson and his wife, Fanny de Grift Osbourne, an American divorcee who he met in France in 1875. He was in France to escape his Scottish family's pressures to become a lawyer and to drink with his young artist friends. She was in France, ostensibly to study art, but really to escape her philandering husband. Such travel was an acceptable form of marital separation in her San Francisco social class.

Despite their almost ten year age difference and her marital status, they were drawn to each other and ultimately overcame the many obstacles which kept them apart and were married.

Since childhood, Stevenson had suffered from weak lungs and keeping him healthy became Fanny's mission in life. Even though his friends thought she was overly-protective, Fanny ignored them and took Stevenson wherever his doctors said he needed to go to keep his lungs from hemorrhaging so he could write. They lived in a santitorium in Davos, Switzerland, a coastal village in southern England and in France, but his health continued to worsen. Then they discovered that Stevenson's lungs thrived when he was onboard a ship sailing in the ocean. On a ship or on a tropical island, Stevenson regained his vitality and once again, was able to write. He took his ideas from his Pacific island travels and his vivid dreams and imagination. Fanny gave up everything, including her own art and mental health, to promote Stevenson's career.

This is an unconventional love story between two fiery geniuses---Stevenson's genius was in his writing and Fanny's was expressed in her willingness to sacrifice herself for her husband. I know this isn't politically correct today, however, in the context of that time period, Fanny became the real hero in this book for this reader. ...more

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