Under the Wide and Starry Sky

Posted on 17 December 2017 by Nancy Horan

The passionate and turbulent story of Robert Louis Stevenson and his tempestuous American wife, Fanny.At the age of thirty five, Fanny van de Grift Osbourne leaves her philandering husband in San Francisco and sets sail for Belgium to study art, with her three children and a nanny in tow Not long after her arrival, however, tragedy strikes, and Fanny and her brood repair to a quiet artists colony in France where she can recuperate There she meets Robert Louis Stevenson, ten years her junior, who is instantly smitten with the earthy, independent and opinionated belle Americaine.A woman ahead of her time, Fanny does not immediately take to the young lawyer who longs to devote his life to literature, and who would eventually write such classics as Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde In time, though, she succumbs to Stevenson s charms The two begin a fierce love affair, marked by intense joy and harrowing darkness, which spans decades as they travel the world for the sake of his health Eventually they settled in Samoa, where Robert Louis Stevenson is buried underneath the epitaphUnder the wide and starry sky,Dig the grave and let me lie.Glad did I live and gladly die,And I laid me down with a will. This be the verse you grave for me Here he lies where he longed to be Home is the sailor, home from sea,And the hunter home from the hill. Requiem, Robert Louis Stevenson Free Read Under the Wide and Starry Sky By Nancy Horan For Kindle ePUB or eBook – kino-fada.fr The historical fiction sub genre featuring characters who actually lived has become a favorite of mine e.g The Paris Wife, The Aviator s Wife, Loving Frank, Z, etc This fictionalized account of the relationship of Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson and his spunky, older American wife Fanny is my favorite so far Beautifully written and meticulously researched, this novel met all of my criteria for good historical fiction 1 Atmospheric Time, place, and emotion are wonderfully recreat The historical fiction sub genre featuring characters who actually lived has become a favorite of mine e.g The Paris Wife, The Aviator s Wife, Loving Frank, Z, etc This fictionalized account of the relationship of Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson and his spunky, older American wife Fanny is my favorite so far Beautifully written and meticulously researched, this novel met all of my criteria for good historical fiction 1 Atmospheric Time, place, and emotion are wonder...You know those books you just can t put down The ones you are so into that everything else just goes by the waste side This isn t one of them.As soon as I heard about this book, I grabbed hold of it and read it There were two reasons for this One I really enjoyed Nancy Horan s earlier book Loving Frank , about the passionate love affair between Mamah Borthwick Cheney and Frank Lloyd Wright Two the novel tells the story of Robert Louis Stevenson and his wild, strong willed American wife, Fanny I have had a soft spot for Robert Louis Stevenson since I was given his poetry to read as a little girl In particular, his poem The Lan As soon as I heard about this book, I grabbed hold of it and read it There were two reasons for this One I really enjoyed Nancy Horan s earlier book Loving Frank , about the passionate love affair between Mamah Borthwick Cheney and Frank Lloyd Wright Two the novel tells the story of Robert Louis Stevenson and his wild, strong willed American wife, Fanny I have had a soft spot for Robert Louis Stevenson since I was given his poetry t...Find this and other reviews at began Nancy Horan s Under The Wide Starry Sky with high hopes, but ultimately liked the idea that behind the piecethan the reality Though I found the narrative offered interesting perspective on Stevenson s personal life, the structure of the novel left much to be desired Be warned, possible spoilers ahead For one thing, I found the pacing of the novel particularly troublesome I ...What I ve learned is having faith is a truly rare gift, and that even if I m filled with that much faith, or confidence, that I still have my doubts, those moments where it feels like it will all go to hell, but it won t really matter because no one is paying attention anyway, and I can make whatever mistakes I need to make, and that ends up being another great gift the opportunity to fail miserably without the whole world watching Just when it seems like I m at my lowest point, and there s no What I ve learned is having faith is a truly ...I received an advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine books.I have to confess that I am not fully on board with the recent trend of books narrated by the spouses of historical figures It makes me cringe a little bit to think of these women, long gone and unable to defend themselves, having words put in their mouths and motives ascribed to them that may not be remotely accurate And invariably, it seems that these stories take on a chick lit flavor I received an advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine books.I have to confess that I am not fully on board with the recent trend of books narrated by the spouses of historical figures It makes me cringe a little bit to think of these women, long gone and unable to defend themselves, having words put in their mouths and motives ascribed to them that may not be remotely accurate And invariably, it seems that these stories take on a chick lit flavor that further devalues their story Under the Wide and Starry Sky is the story of Fanny Van de Grift Osbourne, an American expatriate living in France with her children Fanny has moved to France to separate herself from her philandering husband while she pursues life as an artist While in France, Fanny meets Robert Louis Stevenson and a long affair leads eventually to marriage and...I m so glad this book is over I really didn t like Fanny Stevenson She made me gnash my teeth and scream to myself, Oh no She can t be saying that or doing that She was quite the narcissist and put herself above anyone else She uprooted her children from Oakland to Belgium and then to Paris She thought she was an artist but when her daughter proved to be a better artist, the lessons started When her son falls desperately ill, she doesn t reach out to her husband for help until it s alm I m so glad this book is over I really didn t like Fanny Stevenson She made me gnash my teeth and scream to myself, Oh no She can t be saying that or doing that She was quite the narcissist and put herself above anyone else She uprooted her children from Oakland to Belgium and then to Paris She thought she was an artist but when her daughter proved to be a better artist, the lessons started When her son falls desperately ill, she doesn t reach out to her husband for help until it s almost too late She meets Robert Louis Stevenson called Louis and has only eyes for him She sends her 17 year old daughter, Belle, back to Paris by herself As the relationship deepens she sends her son willy nilly from schools to boarding schools without any input of what he wants Then she decides to return to Oakland and try to make another go with her husband Louis is abruptly thrown to the curb She gets ill in America and send for Louis A quite sickly man, Luis makes the arduous trek from London to Monterrey to...Robert Louis Stevenson and Fanny van de Grift Osbourne had a marriage that was both supportive and stormy before they were finally laid to rest under the wide and starry sky in Samoa They met in an artists colony in France in 1876, and Louis fell hard for the exotic American woman Fanny had come to Europe with her children to study art and leave her unfaithful husband Louis, a decade younger, had finished a law degree but wanted a life as a writer Louis had trouble with his lungs, but had Robert Louis Stevenson and Fanny van de Grift Osbourne had a marriage that was both supportive and stormy before they were finally laid to rest under the wide and starry sky in Samoa They met in an artists colony in France in 1876, and Louis fell hard for the exotic American woman Fanny had come to ...Phew just finished this It feels like I ve been reading this book for months There was nothing distinctly bad about it, just nothing all that notably good about it, either It just felt like it went on and on and on, and nothing notable ever really happened Except that s not true at all The two main characters led pretty extraordinary lives, particularly for their era They were resp...BOOK REVIEW Under the Wide and Starry Sky Intriguing Novel Biography of Robert Louis Stevenson and his Wife Fanny Van de Grift Osbourne StevensonREVIEWED BY DAVID M KINCHENStevenson had always wanted his Requiem inscribed on his tomb Under the wide and starry sky,Dig the grave and let me lie.Glad did I live and gladly die,And I laid me down with a will.This be the verse you grave for me Here he lies where he longed to be Home is the sailor, home from sea,And the hunter home from the hill BOOK REVIEW Under the Wide and Starry Sky Intriguing Novel Biography of Robert...

English
17 December 2017

Nancy Horan