Description
8vo, IX, 214pp. Soft-cover with a small portrait of Ransome on the blue background with a detailed book description on the rear cover as well in as new condition, The interior is likewise in pristine unmarked condition. This is the first publication of a remarkable book by Ransome.originally commissioned in 1910, the manuscript, when nearly complete, was sequestered by Ransome’s second wife, Eugenia Shelepina, in 1914 (remembering she had been Trotsky’s secretary and Ransome did actually spy for England – was he infact a double-agent? and he never saw it again. It came to light by chance, long after his death.! When most books on Stevenson were biograpical or merely adulatory, Ransome intended this book to be the first true ‘critical study’. As such he does give an exceptonally personal and perceptive account of the strengths and weaknesses of Stevenson as a man and writer. Stevenson in fact remained a lifelong inspiration to Ransome. This is the only manuscript first draft of a work by him to survive and,as such, provides a unique insight into his working methods.