Fanny Stevenson: A Romance of Destiny rates as one of the better biographies I've read in the last five years. I believe this one will be one that I remember and refer back to often.

Fanny's life contained much diversity, adventure, travel and love's ups and downs. She certainly was a unique individual and clearly had some charisma where men were concerned, although I am still baffled as to why that was considering the chauvinistic era in which she lived. IMO Fanny serves as pre-feminist. She nursed and served Robert Louis Stevenson but couldn't be labeled as servile, if that makes any sense. She did not hesitate to give opinions and could bully others if they stood in the way of helping someone she loved. Strong-willed would be an understatement in describing Fanny.

Since I am a fan of RLS, I enjoyed seeing his life through Fanny's eyes. It isn't the rose-coloured view presented by most of his biographers. His passion and loyalty towards Fanny and his friends impressed me. (view spoiler)[During Fanny's bouts with "mental illness" in Samoa, I almost cried the way he sacrificed his ill-health to nurse her back to health and then died of a stroke shortly after. Speaking of Fanny's mental illness, is it coincidental that she didn't suffer from it again after RLS died? Personally, I think she was overstressed and close to a breakdown. She bore the brunt of running the estate and nurturing a mostly selfish, dependent family. (hide spoiler)]

A couple highlights of the book:

*Fanny's fashion sense: wear the current style, but add at least one item that expresses your individual personality.

*There is enough travel, drama and adventure for a couple of lives

*The devotion and loyalty between Fanny and RLS is touching

*This is my first time seeing a Notes section layout such as this one has. I liked it a lot!

The only drawbacks:

*Even after reading this book I still don't feel like I know Fanny as much as know about her. I don't blame the author for this because most information about her is written by her enemies who felt she stole RLS from them. However, the author did a wonderful job of reconstructing her life from letters and such.

*The other drawback is only a minor one and a personal peeve. I detest it when authors write lines such as 'She didn't know this would be the last time ...' or 'Little did she know that....' I hate being told something before it happens in a biography. I like to know what happens in the order it happens. Fortunately, this book indulges in only a minor amount of this tactic.

Fanny Stevenson = a solid 4.0 stars