Guess Who's Birthday It Is!

Today when I went to Google I saw the above image and thought is was rather neat. The reason for the image? Apparently today was author Robert Louis Stevenson's 160th birthday! I thought it was pretty cool!



Robert Louis Stevenson was born in Edinburg, Scotland on November 16, 1850. My favorite of his works are Treasure Island and Kidnapped, I have very fond memories of my mom reading both of those books to my siblings and I when we were younger. But I must confess to not knowing very much about the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde beyond the simple story line. I have enjoyed his A Child's Garden of Verses and can quote a few of the poems from that. I found some interesting quotes by him:

"Absences are a good influence in love and keep it bright and delicate." - Robert Louis Stevenson

"You can give without loving, but you can never love without giving." - Robert Louis Stevenson

I found this photo of Stevenson's wife Fanny Vandegrift Osbourne Stevenson and thought she was rather lovely. They didn't have any children but were fairly happy it seems.

"Every heart that has beat strongly and cheerfully has left a hopeful impulse behind it in the world, and bettered the tradition of mankind." - Robert Louis Stevenson

"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant." - Robert Louis Stevenson

"Compromise is the best and cheapest lawyer." - Robert Louis Stevenson

"Keep your eyes open to your mercies. The man who forgets to be thankful has fallen asleep in life." - Robert Louis Stevenson

"Keep your fears to yourself, but share your courage with others." - Robert Louis Stevenson

This is a painting of Robert Louis Stevenson and his wife. It's rather a bold style! I love how he almost seems to be pacing the room "creating" in his mind!

"Books are good enough in their own way, but they are a poor substitute for life." - Robert Louis Stevenson

"I am in the habit of looking not so much to the nature of a gift as to the spirit in which it is offered." - Robert Louis Stevenson

"It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men's hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air that emanation from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit." - Robert Louis Stevenson

"It's a pleasant thing to be young, and have ten toes." - Robert Louis Stevenson

"Quiet minds cannot be perplexed or frightened but go on in fortune or misfortune at their own private pace, like a clock during a thunderstorm." - Robert Louis Stevenson

"So long as we love, we serve; so long as we are loved by others, I should say that we are almost indispensable; and no man is useless while he has a friend." - Robert Louis Stevenson

"Talk is by far the most accessible of pleasures. It costs nothing in money, it is all profit, it completes our education, founds and fosters our friendships, and can be enjoyed at any age and in almost any state of health." - Robert Louis Stevenson

Well, I got rather carried away with the quotes. He has some silly things to say but some of them are rather lovely or quite true. Thank you for taking some time to consider this famous author with me! Doesn't it just make you want to read Kidnapped? That was my favorite of his books.

Your's Very Truly,