Primary Source Material

The RLSM archive contains a large holding of original manuscripts, letters and notes produced by Robert Louis Stevenson, his family and friends. From Stevenson himself, the museum holds over fifty manuscripts, over a hundred letters, and several notes and signed pieces of ephemera (canceled cheques and the like).

Highlights include original pages for Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, St. Ives, The Master of Ballantrae, several complete poems, diary pages from his time in the South Seas, and the manuscripts for articles, such as “On the Art of Literature” and “On the Morals and Ethics of Life.”

Also included in the archive are hundreds of original letters and notes from Stevenson’s family and friends, particularly a large collection by his wife Fanny Van de Grift Stevenson, his mother Margaret Stevenson, and his stepdaughter Isobel Field. There are also literary manuscripts by Stevenson’s wife, stepdaughter, father Thomas Stevenson, stepson Lloyd Osbourne and step-grandson Austin Strong. These include important diaries from the family’s time in the South Seas and various unpublished materials.