St. Ives (Unfinished‪)‬

A French prisoner of war escapes from Edinburgh Castle and takes to the roads of Scotland and England, pursued, disguised and falling in love. St. Ives is Robert Louis Stevenson's last novel, an adventure story full of escapes, mistaken identities, inns and country houses, told by a narrator who is proud, resourceful and very funny about his own predicaments. It was left unfinished at Stevenson's death in 1894 and published in 1897, and its open ending is part of its fascination.

This edition is for readers who enjoy classic adventure fiction, historical settings and the company of a lively narrator. It will appeal to students of the nineteenth-century novel, to book clubs looking for a story with plenty of incident and moral texture, and to anyone who has enjoyed Stevenson's better-known works and wants to see him trying something new.

The book contains the complete text of Stevenson's thirty chapters, ending where his manuscript breaks off (without the later completion by another hand), a new introduction for first-time readers, a character guide, a summary of the story, a discussion of its themes, a glossary of period words and phrases, and questions for reading groups.