On this day, 122 years ago, January 24, 1889, Robert Louis Stevenson, the famous author of such novels as Treasure Island and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, arrived in Hawaii with his family aboard his yacht the Casco. Prior to landing in Hawaii, the Casco cruised around the Pacific including the Marquesas, the Paumotus and Tahiti.
During his stays in Hawaii, Stevenson befriended King Kalakaua and his niece Princess Kaiulani (see To Princess Kaiulani below). He also visited the leper colony on Molokai not long after the death of Father Damien and became a fervent supporter of his work at a time when Damien was criticized (see An Open Letter to Reverend Doctor Hyde of Honolulu below).
Ultimately his travels took him to his final home in Samoa—he purchased an estate at Vailima— where he would pass away at the age of 44 from a stroke. There, the Samoans, who treated him with utmost reverence (he even had a Samoan name, Tusitala, which was a rough Samoan translation of “Teller of Tales”) cleared a path and carried him to the summit of Mt. Vaea where he was buried.
Robert Louis Stevenson is a part of our literary history and that of our greater Pacific brethren. He is one in a long list of authors that fell in love with and wrote about Hawaii, a list that includes such luminaries as Mark Twain, Jack London, and Herman Melville. Below are just a couple of book selections, mostly from local publishers, that you can read in order to get a sense of Stevenson’s Pacific writings. Of course, there are always his classics such as Treasure Island as well. If you’re interested in Stevenson’s work, the RLS website compiled a short list of his works by decade for you to peruse.
Some Hawai’i related work and references:
Letter: Father Damien: An Open Letter to the Reverend Doctor Hyde of Honolulu [link: Google books]
Robert Louis Stevenson, His Best Pacific Writings selected by Roger Robinson (Bess Press, 2003) which contains two entries credited to his period in Hawaii titled “Best hand at the wheel” and “Melancholy Landing.” In the back of the book is a collection of Stevenson’s poetry including one to his good friend “To Princess Kaiulani” and one about “The High Winds of Nuuanu.” The rest of the book contains a wealth of writings from his Pacific voyaging period covering a host of islands and subjects.
Travels in Hawaii by Robert Louis Stevenson (University of Hawaii Press, 1991) also contains many of the familiar poems in the previous book among other works of his while traveling around Hawaii. While I have not read this book, a review on Amazon did mention that many of the writings are letters about subjects having little to do with his surroundings.
A Footnote to History: Eight Years of Trouble in Samoa by Robert Louis Stevenson (University of Hawaii Press, 1996) – While this book is not about Hawaii, it does provide a fascinating first-hand account of nineteenth century colonialism as three countries vie for the future of Samoa. Also, this version is published by UH Press!
The April of Her Age: The Buried Treasure of Robert Louis Stevenson & Princess Victoria Kaiulani by John Cummins Mebane (Windward Publishing Company, 1994) – I’m only including this here as an anomaly. I haven’t read it, but based on the book’s description, the rather repellent subtitle and user reviews from Hawaii people, it seems like somewhat of an interesting train wreck. Might be worth tracking down just for the sheer lunacy of its premise.
Sources
http://www.tusitala.co.uk/tusitala-restaurant-edinburgh.html
http://people.brandeis.edu/~teuber/stevensonbio.html
http://www.robert-louis-stevenson.org/timeline
