Robert Louis Stevenson eBooks
eBooks di Robert Louis Stevenson editi da Rea NARRATIVA E ARGOMENTI CORRELATI
The Master of Ballantrae. E-book. Formato EPUB Robert Louis Stevenson - Rea, 2026 -
The Master of Ballantrae: A Winter's Tale is an 1889 novel by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, focusing upon the conflict between two brothers, Scottish noblemen whose family is torn apart by the Jacobite rising of 1745. He worked on the book in Tautira after his health was restored.The novel is presented as the memoir of one Ephraim Mackellar, steward of the Durrisdeer estate in Scotland. The novel opens in 1745, the year of the Jacobite rising. When Bonnie Prince Charlie raises the banner of the Stuarts, the Durie family—the Laird of Durrisdeer, his older son James Durie (the Master of Ballantrae) and his younger son Henry Durie—decide on a common strategy: one son will join the uprising while the other will join the loyalists. That way, whichever side wins, the family's noble status and estate will be preserved. Logically, the younger son should join the rebels, but the Master insists on being the rebel (a more exciting choice) and contemptuously accuses Henry of trying to usurp his place, comparing him to Jacob. The two sons agree to toss a coin to determine who goes. The Master wins and departs to join the Rising, while Henry remains in support of King George II.The Rising fails and the Master is reported dead. Henry becomes the heir to the estate, though he does not assume his brother's title of Master. At the insistence of the Laird (their father) the Master's heartbroken fiancée marries Henry to repair the Durie fortunes. Some years pass, during which Henry is unfairly vilified by the townspeople for betraying the rising. He is treated with complete indifference by his family, since his wife and his father both spend their time mourning the fallen favourite. The mild-tempered Henry bears the injustice quietly, even sending money to support his brother's abandoned mistress, who abuses him foully, and her child, who she claims is his brother's bastard.
L'isola del tesoro. E-book. Formato EPUB Robert Louis Stevenson - Rea, 2012 -
Robert Louis Stevenson raggiunse improvvisamente la notorietà nel 1883 con la pubblicazione del romanzo l’isola del tesoro. La storia narra di una vecchia mappa del tesoro ritrovata da un ragazzo, Jim Hawkins, nella valigia del capitano Bones, ospite alla locanda gestita da Jim e da sua madre. Le avventure di Jim riproducono la forma del viaggio di ricerca: un viaggio in un luogo strano e pericoloso alla ricerca di qualcosa di prezioso, durante il quale l'eroe s’imbatte in aiutanti, "guardiani della soglia" che rappresentano le prove che l’eroe deve superare con l'intelligenza o con la forza. Il romanzo può anche essere letto come un'allegoria morale, in cui si insegna come la bramosia e l’avidità non portino che alla frustrazione. In questo senso l'immagine più intensa è quella dei pirati, che la mappa conduce a una fossa vuota che può essere letta proprio come simbolo della futilità della loro ricerca.