New Arabian Nights

Resumen del libro

Stevenson published this collection of his early fiction in 1882, after the pieces had appeared in various magazines. The first half features two popular detective-story cycles, The Suicide Club and The Rajah's Diamonds, which deal with a macabre secret society and the intrigues and escapades involving exotic jewels. The second half brings together unrelated pieces, including the seminal The Pavilion on the Links' described by Conan Doyle as the first short story in the world which is set in a cottage surrounded by quicksand and tells the story of two old friends who become rivals for the affection of a woman.

An eclectic, entertaining compilation, New Arabian Nights represented a milestone in Stevenson's creative development and confirmed his reputation as one of the finest storytellers in the English language.


From my very childhood Robert Louis Stevenson was an incarnation of happiness for me. Jorge Luis Borges

Biografía del autor

Robert Louis Stevenson (Edimburgo, Gran Bretaña, 1850 x{0026} x02013; Vailima, Samoa, 1894), hijo de un dominante constructor de faros, tuvo desde niño varias crisis pulmonares que le llevaron a una constante y nostálgica peregrinación en busca de climas más cálidos, hasta que en 1888 embarca hacia los mares del Sur y se establece en Samoa con su mujer, cumpliendo así el sueño de su corta vida. Sus estudios de náutica, que más tarde abandonaría por los de derecho, le permitieron entrar en contacto con las gentes y costumbres marineras, ingredientes fundamentales en algunas de sus obras más conocidas, como La isla del tesoro, La flecha negra o El extraño caso del Dr. Jekyll y Mr. Hyde.