Praise for A Wilder Shore
"Engrossing . . . [Peri's] richly researched and vivid double portrait makes a convincing case that Fanny pulled off a rare feat, enabling Louis's genius to mature while releasing his boyish energies . . . I am grateful to Peri for telling the story of their marriage, in all its complexity, with sympathy and spirit."
--Phyllis Rose, The Atlantic "[A book] to lift your spirits . . . [Fanny's] support allowed Stevenson to write without distraction, and their circumvention of Victorian norms allowed for a marriage where love flourished."
--Washington Post
"[
A Wilder Shore] celebrates commitment and the enduring power of human imagination."
--Alta Journal
"An epic love story, rivaling that of the Fitzgeralds . . . The compelling narrative reads like a cross between Henry James and Louisa May Alcott, while Peri's deep knowledge and extensive research are woven seamlessly into the texture of the story."
--Booklist
"Journalist Peri draws on considerable archival sources to create a perceptive portrait of the unlikely marriage of Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) and Fanny Osbourne (1840-1914) . . . A richly detailed chronicle of two eventful lives."
--Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Peri offers a nuanced take on her subjects' relationship . . . This detailed history gives Osbourne her overdue turn in the spotlight."
--Publishers Weekly "Lavish with historical erudition yet wonderfully lucid,
A Wilder Shore brings fresh insight into the life of Robert Louis Stevenson and his wife, Fanny, herself a brilliant writer who, in a more just world, would be a household name. Camille Peri writes with such authority and novelistic brio, you'd hardly believe this is her debut. A remarkable achievement!"
--Abbott Kahler, author of Where You End
"A love story, an adventure story, two literary biographies in one:
A Wilder Shore is these things and more--and it's very, very good."
--Roddy Doyle, Booker Prize-winning author of Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha and The Women Behind the Door "Camille Peri's
A Wilder Shore is a deeply researched portrait of boundary-breaking bohemians Fanny and Robert Louis Stevenson. With astute critical evaluation of the great Scottish writer and his talented American wife's works, the book takes us around the globe on their truth-is-stranger-than-fiction adventures. A page-turner!"
--Holly George-Warren, author of Janis: Her Life and Music
