Across The Plains

Across The Plains is a classic American travelogueby Robert Louis Stevenson. The book contains 12 chapters, each a story or essay unto itself. The title chapter is the longest, and is dividied into 7 subsections. It describes Stevenson's arrival at New York as an immigrant, along with hundreds of other Europeans, and his train journey from New York to San Francisco in an immigrant train.Contents1: Across The Plains (1.Leaves from the Notebook of an Emigrant Between New York and San Francisco; 2.The Emigrant Train; 3.The Plains of Nebraska; 4.The Desert of Wyoming; 5.Fellow-Passengers; 6.Despised Races 7.To the Golden Gates). (A travel description of Stevenson's railway journey across the USA).2: The Old Pacific Capital. (A reminiscence on Monterey in California).3: Fontainebleau. (A discourse on village communities of painters, such as those found at Fontainebleau)4: Epilogue to "An Inland Voyage". (Stevenson is arrested by a French village mayor for not having a licence to sing).5: Random Memories. I - The coast of Fife. (A discourse on events and people conjured up by Stevenon's memories of the coastal areas of Fife that he visited as a child).6: Random Memories. II - The education of an engineer. (Stevenson describes the time he went diving at Anstruther in Scotland, in a rubber suit with a great brass helmet).7: The Lantern-bearers. (Stevenson's memories of running about at night with his friends, each with a lantern hidden under his coat, which evolves into a discussion of the causes of joy).8: A Chapter on Dreams. (Discusses dreams, and an author known to Stevenson whose work was based on his dreams. This author turns out to be Stevenson himself, and mentions how Olalla and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde were both based on Stevenson's own dreams).9: Beggars. (A description of two beggars Stevenson had met, which evolves into a discourse on beggary in general, and charity, and concludes with recommending taxes as the best means of redistribution of wealth).10: Letter to a Young Gentleman who proposes to embrace a career in art.11: Pulvis et Umbra.12: A Christmas Sermon.Robert Louis Stevenson (13 November 1850 - 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist and travel writer, most noted for Treasure Island, Kidnapped, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and A Child's Garden of Verses.Born and educated in Edinburgh, Stevenson suffered from serious bronchial trouble for much of his life, but continued to write prolifically and travel widely, in defiance of his poor health. As a young man, he mixed in London literary circles, receiving encouragement from Andrew Lang, Edmund Gosse, Leslie Stephen and W. E. Henley, the last of whom may have provided the model for Long John Silver in Treasure Island. Stevenson spent several years in search of a location suited to his health, before finally settling in Samoa, where he died.A celebrity in his lifetime, Stevenson attracted a more negative critical response for much of the 20th century, though his reputation has been largely restored. He is currently ranked as the 26th most translated author in the world.Stevenson was visiting a cousin in England in late 1873 when he met two people who became very important to him: Sidney Colvin and Fanny (Frances Jane) Sitwell. Sitwell was a 34-year-old woman with a son, who was separated from her husband. She attracted the devotion of many who met her, including Colvin, who married her in 1901. Stevenson was also drawn to her, and they kept up a warm correspondence over several years in which he wavered between the role of a suitor and a son (he addressed her as "Madonna").[27] Colvin became Stevenson's literary adviser and was the first editor of his letters after his death. He placed Stevenson's first paid contribution in The Portfolio, an essay entitled, Roads.