"It shall be finished!" Robert Louis Stevenson made this proud boast in a letter to Sydney Colvin. He was referring to his latest project, The Great North Road, a rollicking tale of highwaymen, murder, mayhem and doomed love, hoping it would emulate the success of Treasure Island. He had written nineteen thousand words before he abandoned the narrative in 1886.
In fact, the prolific but inconsistent Stevenson had left a total of fourteen unfinished works at the time of his death including the acclaimed novel Weir of Hermiston. In his introduction Campbell considers why Stevenson left so many works of fiction unfinished.
Finally, Stuart Campbell has taken it upon himself to complete The Great North Road. Acting as a literary sleauth he has located a list of twenty-five intended chapter headings and, after a robust discussion with the abandoned characters, he has concluded the unfinished tale. |
