Congratulations to Professor Roslyn Jolly, whose book Robert Louis Stevenson in the Pacific: Travel, Empire, and the Author’s Profession has been shortlisted for the 2010 New South Wales Premier’s Prize for Literary Scholarship. The judges say the book is “unfailingly readable and engrossing”, and describe it as “a boon to Stevenson scholars, and a model of its kind for other readers”.
The winner of the prize is announced on May 17. For more information visit the awards website.
The book has also received praise elsewhere. Here’s a selection of the reviews:
‘We all sensed that another Stevenson was there all along, hidden in his texts, his letters, and his biographies, clouded over by the romantic legend he had himself spun out of his life and especially out of his final years in the South Seas. With the appearance of Roslyn Jolly’s Robert Louis Stevenson in the Pacific, this other Stevenson finally begins to emerge, which is why her book represents the most important breakthrough in Stevenson studies since the 1994 publication of the author’s Collected Letters.’ Richard Ambrosini, Università di Roma Tre, Italy
‘In its total effect, Robert Louis Stevenson in the Pacific presents an important contribution to the ongoing scholarly reappraisal of an extraordinarily diverse oeuvre, and, as a compelling account of Stevenson’s overlooked political dynamism and interdisciplinary fluency, adheres in spirit to its subject’s own idea of “writing as action in the world”.’ Times Literary Supplement
‘Handsomely produced, this book marks a major new turn in Stevenson studies.’ New Books on Literature
‘This carefully argued, well-supported, thesis-driven study examines in detail the biographical facts and limited but far-ranging writing Stevenson (1850-94) produced from 1887 to 1894, his South Seas days. …Including a splendid, useful works cited, this book will be especially valuable to those interested in travel and empire. … Highly recommended.’ Choice
Further information about Robert Louis Stevenson in the Pacific
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