Robert Louis Stevenson (Magill’s Choice: 100 Masters of Mystery and Detective Fiction)

Contribution

Robert Louis Stevenson must be seen as an unknowing progenitor of the mystery/detective genre. He was essentially a romantic writer attempting to be taken seriously in a mainstream literary world caught up in the values of realism and naturalism. As a romantic writer, he strongly affirmed the preeminent right of incident to capture the reader’s attention. He countered Jane Austen’s polite cup of tea with Dr. Jekyll’s fantastic potion; he left the discreet parsonage to others, while...

[The entire page is 3044 words long]

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the: