Weir of Hermiston

The Lords of Hermiston ( Hermiston Weir of ) is an unfinished novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, which was published posthumously in 1896. Many literary critics consider this work for Stevenson's most mature literary achievement. It is dedicated to his wife Fanny.

About the artwork

The plot is located in or around Edinburgh and plays during the Napoleonic wars. Protagonist is Archie Weir, son of the Lord Chief Justice Adam Weir, which is modeled on the infamous "hanging judge" Robert MacQueen Lord Braxfield ( 1722-1799 ). After a public criticism of the father Archie is banished to the family estate Hermiston, where he fell in love with the niece of the housekeeper Kirstie ( Christina ). At the time of the emergence of a dodgy rival aborts the recording of the novel. From the correspondence Stevenson's continuation of the action is clear: The rival seduces the young girl, and in the following dispute between him and Archie Weir he finds death. Archie's father, the Lord Chief Justice, head of the investigation and must identify the offender in his own son. The usually hard man shattered by the realization that he must condemn his son to death. The end of the novel must remain open. Presumably, Stevenson would have chosen no happy ending, as he had expressed the view that a tragic scale novel must also end tragically.

There are two female characters in the book with the name Kirstie: Archie's mistress is splendidly described as a woman who is ready to take action against all conventions.

Influence on popular culture

In 1969, Jack Bruce sang the song Weird of Hermiston, whose title is a corruption of the novel's title.