Roger G. Swearingen
Resume and Publications

Updated: 27 August 2024

Publications

Books

     The Sea Fogs. Text edited with an Introduction.
     Illustrations by Gary Alphonso. Santa Rosa,
     California: Nawakum Press/David Pascoe, 2016.    


     The Hair Trunk or The Ideal Commonwealth: An
     Extravaganza. Edited with an introduction and
     notes from the manuscript in the Huntington
     Library, San Marino, California. Kilkerran,
     Scotland: Humming Earth / Zeticula, 2014.

     
     Robert Louis Stevenson in Australia: Treasures
     in the State Library of New South Wales.
     Commentaries created in support of an exhibition
     of Stevenson items by the State Library of New
     South Wales coordinated with 'RLS 2013: Stevenson,
     Time and History', the Seventh Biennial Robert
     Louis Stevenson Conference, hosted by the
     University of New South Wales, Sydney, 8 - 10
     July 2013. Distributed as a keepsake to
     Conference participants. 88 pages. July 2013.


     The Bottle Imp in English and Samoan. Introduction
     by Roger G. Swearingen. English text edited by
     Robert Hoskins. Samoan translation by the Rev.
     Arthur E. Claxton, with help from RLS. Samoan
     text prepared by Ben Taufua and Galumalemana
     Alfred Hunkin. Wellington, New Zealand:
     Steele Roberts, 2011. ISBN 978-1-877577-66-6.


     Robert Louis Stevenson's Edinburgh: A Concise
     Guide for Visitors and Residents. Edinburgh:
     City of Edinburgh Museums and Galleries, 2001.
     ISBN 0 905072 98 7. 84 pages, illustrated.
     
     
     The Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature,
     Volume 4: 1800-1900. Third Edition. Ed. Joanne
     Shattock, University of Leicester. Cambridge,
     January 2000. Entries for: Robert Louis Stevenson,
     Robert Alan Mowbray Stevenson.
     
     "Individual author entries include sections on
     manuscript locations, bibliographies, collected
     works, details of all individual works, contribu-
     tions to periodicals, letters, journals,
     translations, pseudonymous works, imitations and
     attributed or spurious works. The Cambridge
     Bibliography of English Literature is accepted
     internationally as the single most important
     reference work in its field."
     
     
     Robert Louis Stevenson and Samoa After 100 Years.
     Apia, Samoa: Robert Louis Stevenson Museum/
     Preservation Foundation, November 1999. 132 pages.
     
     Expanded and annotated version of December 1997
     talk given at Vailima.
     
     
     The Prose Writings of Robert Louis Stevenson: A Guide
     Archon, USA; Macmillan, London; 1980.
     
     A complete scholarly account of the more than 300
     prose works - novels, stories, essays - that Stevenson
     wrote. Each entry describes the manuscripts,
     publishing history, and composition of each work,
     often in great detail.
     
     
     Robert Louis Stevenson: The New Lighthouse on the
     Dhu Heartach Rock, Argyllshire.
     St. Helena, California: Silverado Museum, 1995.
     jointly with the Northern Lighthouse Board
     Edinburgh, and Scotland's Lighthouse Museum,
     Fraserburgh.
     
     First publication of this 4800-word essay written
     in 1872. Edition also includes previously unpublished
     sketches of people and landscapes by RLS made
     his trip to see the progress of the work in 1870 and
     a full-color reproduction of Sam Bough's painting
     the lighthouse and the rock during construction.
     
     
     Robert Louis Stevenson: An Old Song/Edifying
     Letters of the Rutherford Family.
     Wilfion Books, Scotland; Archon, USA; 1982. 
     
     First publication of these two works, with an
     introduction. An Old Song appears for the first time
     under Stevenson's name. It was published anonymously
     in 1877 and was never reprinted.
     
     
     Robert Louis Stevenson: The Amateur Emigrant. 1879-80.
     2 vols. Ashland, Oregon: Lewis Osborne, 1976-77.
     
     First complete publication from the original
     manuscript, with introductions to each volume.

Articles

     "Le regard de Robert Louis Stevenson
     sur les Cévenols, les Écossais des
     Hautes Terres et les habitants des
     îles du Pacifique Sud" ["Robert Louis
     Stevenson on the Cévenols, Highlanders, and
     South Sea Islanders"], Causses & Cévennes, 24:1
     (Jan-Feb-Mar 2019), 166-167, a translation by
     members of the Club Cévenol of a previously     
     unknown and unpublished passage from Stevenson's
     day-to-day journals in the Marquesas, not used
     by him in The South Seas (4 August 1888;
     Huntington Library 2412). This appears in a
     Stevenson issue of Causses & Cévennes (2019,
     no. 1) titled "Stevenson et les Cévennes:
     une histoire d'amour". 

     "La réputation de Robert Louis Stevenson en
     Écosse et dans le monde" ["Robert Louis
     Stevenson's Reputation in Scotland and
     Worldwide"], Causses & Cévennes, 24:1
     (Jan-Feb-Mar 2019), 170-172, this in the
     same Stevenson issue of Causses & Cévennes
     as the previous entry. Translated by Corinne
     Poujol with corrections in the next issue,
     24:2 (April-May-June 2019), 225.  

     "'On the Art of Literature' (1880) - a reading
     text," Journal of Stevenson Studies, 7 (2010),
     131-142.

     "A Tale of Two Tapa: Their History, Legend, and
     Celebrity Ownership by Robert Louis Stevenson,"
     The Journal of The Polynesian Society, 118
     (December 2009), 339-359.

     Letter: "Herbert Spencer at billiards," Times
     Literary Supplement, 13 November 2009, 6. 

     "Recent Studies in Robert Louis Stevenson -
     Survey of Biographical Works and Checklist of
     Criticism - 1970-2005," Dickens Studies Annual,
     38 (2007), 205-298.
     
     "Stevenson's final text of Kidnapped," Journal of
     Stevenson Studies, 3 (2006) 111-115. Excerpt from
     Review of Research, 2006.
     
     "Recent Studies in Robert Louis Stevenson - Letters,
     Reference Works, Texts - 1970-2005," Dickens Studies
     Annual, 37 (2006), 343-438.
     
     "Notes on the Port of St. Francis (1951)", Quarterly
     Newsletter, Book Club of California, 69 (Spring
     2004), 35-41. Separately reprinted in an edition of
     12 copies for Frank Stauffacher designed by Derek
     Bacchus, Kentfield, California, July 2015.
      
     "A New Lighthouse on the Dhu Heartach Rock,
     Argyllshire: A Previously Unpublished Essay by
     Robert Louis Stevenson," Northern Lighthouse Journal,
     Christmas 1995, pp. 26-28. Account of the editing and
     publication of RLS's essay.
     
     "'A Scotsman of the World': Robert Louis Stevenson
     after 100 Years," Edinburgh University Journal, 36
     (June 1994), 158-163.

     Review: Robert Louis Stevenson, Plain John Wiltshire
     on the Situation (French Publishing Corporation,
     1979), in Fine Print, 16 (Summer 1990), 92-93.
     
     "Introduction," Robert Louis Stevenson: An Inland
     Voyage/Travels with a Donkey.
     Written for the Chambers Centenary Edition, Edinburgh:
     Chambers, 1981.  Not published; series cancelled.

     "Robert Louis Stevenson & the Goats: Monterey County
     Ranch Discovered," Quarterly Newsletter,Book Club of
     California, 46 (Summer 1981), 65-67.

     "'An Old Song' (1877): Robert Louis Stevenson's
     First Published Story, A New Discovery in the Yale
     Libraries," Yale University Library Gazette, 54
     (January 1980), 101-13.

     "Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)" Bernard M.
     Rosenthal, Inc., List 41.  San Francisco, 1979.
     16-page catalogue.

     "'Essays on the Enjoyment of the World': The Place
     of Travels with a Donkey in Stevenson's Work and
     Literary Career," Cahiers Victoriens & Edouardiens,
     8 (Montpellier, April 1979), 25-38.

     "Guyon's Faint," Studies in Philology, 74 (April
     1977), 165-85.

     Review: Irving S. Saposnik, Robert Louis Stevenson
     (Twayne, 1974), in Studies in Scottish Literature,
     12 (April 1975), 284-90.

     "The Prose Writings of Robert Louis Stevenson:
     An Index and Finding-List, 1850-1881," Studies in
     Scottish Literature, 11 (January 1974), 178-96;
     11 (April 1974), 237-49.

Lectures, Talks, Radio and Television

      "Travelers in the Cévennes: Robert Louis Stevenson
     (September 1878), Tony Foster and James Ravilious
     (May 1982)". Slide lecture at The Foster Museum,
     Palo Alto, California. 11 November 2023.

     "The Life and Times of Robert Louis Stevenson in
     Monterey". Slide lecture with audio for the Carmel
     Woman's Club, Carmel, California. 21 March 2022.

     "Inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson – A Life-Long
     Treasure Hunt". Slide lecture with audio for a joint
     gathering of the Historical Society of Pacific Grove
     and the RLS Club of Monterey. 28 August 2021.

     "Stevenson's Scotland: Shaping the Modern Myth".
     Slide lecture with audio. Robert Louis Stevenson
     Museum, St. Helena, California, 15 November 2018.

     "Robert Louis Stevenson, A Scot Abroad in Napa
     Valley: Some Often-Forgotten Details About The
     Silverado Squatters." Slide lecture. St. Helena
     Public Library, 10 May 2018. Sponsored by the
     Robert Louis Stevenson Museum, St. Helena.

     "Two Pieces of Paper and Why They Matter: Original
     Manuscript Pages from Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in the
     Robert Louis Stevenson Museum". Slide Lecture. St.
     Helena Public Library, 7 November 2017.

     "Did Robert Louis Stevenson Ever Meet Mark Twain?
     - And Other Biographical Byways." Slide lecture.
     Monterey Public Library, Monterey, California,
     8 November 2011.

     "Remarks on the Re-Dedication of the Robert
     Louis Stevenson Memorial Tablet, Mt. St. Helena,
     7 May 2011." Remarks at the unveiling and at
     the reception following, 7 May 2011.

     "Did Robert Louis Stevenson Ever Meet Mark Twain?
     - And Other Biographical Byways." Slide lecture.
     Robert Louis Stevenson Silverado Museum, St.
     Helena, California, 6 April 2011.

     "Robert Louis Stevenson House: Biography of a
     Building." Slide lecture. Monterey Public Library,
     Monterey, California, 14 November 2007.

     "The Master of Ballantrae: A Conversation."
     Plenary session with Nicholas Rankin, Robert
     Louis Stevenson Conference, Saranac Lake,
     New York, 19 July 2006.

     "Some Early Visitors to Monterey: Artistic Monterey
     in the 1870s." Slide lecture. Stevenson House,
     Monterey State Historic Park, 27 August 2005.

     "Great Books: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." The Learning
     Channel, 9 December 2003. On-screen appearance and
     script consultation for the hour-long program
     produced by Judith Dwan Hallet for the Cronkite-Ward
     "Great Books" series.

     "Introduction: Notes on the Port of St. Francis
     (1951)." Book Club of California, San Francisco,
     10 November 2003. Introduction to a showing of
     the avant-garde film by Frank Stauffacher. The
     film is narrated by Vincent Price using the text
     of Robert Louis Stevenson's essay "A Modern
     Cosmopolis" (1882).

     "Robert Louis Stevenson in Monterey: What Do
     We Really Know?" Monterey Public Library,
     Monterey, California, 9 November 2002.

     "Talk of the Nation: Book Club of the Air -
     Treasure Island." Hour-long discussion with
     Ray Suarez and callers, National Public Radio.
     19 August 1999. A Real Audio version of the
     program is available in the NPR Archive,
     http://www.npr.org/programs/totn/ - Talk of
     the Nation, 19 August 1999, Book Club of the Air.

     "Robert Louis Stevenson and Samoa After 100 Years."
     Annual Lecture, Robert Louis Stevenson Museum,
     Vailima, Samoa. 3 December 1997.

     "Robert Louis Stevenson: From Author to Classic."
     Autumn Meeting, Gleeson Library Associates,
     University of San Francisco. November 1997.

     "Robert Louis Stevenson and Lighthouses." Maritime
     Museum, Stanton Center, Monterey, California. Slide
     lecture, 9 November 1995. Repeated: Silverado Museum,
     St. Helena, California, 26 February 1996.

     "Stevenson in Fine-Printing Editions." Book Club of
     California, San Francisco. January 1995.

     "Why Monterey Still Matters." Annual Meeting, Old
     Monterey Preservation Society. January 1995.

     "Stevenson's Travels." BBC-Scotland, November-December
     1994. On-screen appearance and script consultation.

     "Some Resources in the United States for Studying
     the Stevenson Family of Engineers." The Stevenson
     Family of Engineers Symposium, Edinburgh, Scotland.
     Institution of Civil Engineers and the National
     Museums of Scotland. 16 April 1994.

     "Robert Louis Stevenson: Why Monterey Matters."
     Old Monterey Preservation Society, 23 January 1993.

     "Talofa, Alii: Robert Louis Stevenson's First Year
     in Samoa, 1890-1891." St. Andrews Society of San
     Francisco, 22 September 1990.

     "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as Self-Consuming Artifact."
     University of Edinburgh, 22 June 1982.

     "Stevenson in California: Episode or Turning-Point?"
     Stevenson Napa Valley Centennial Celebration,
     California Historical Society/Napa Historical Society.
     16, 17 May 1980.
     
     "Scholars and Collectors: Some Recent Examples from
     Robert Louis Stevenson." Sacramento Book Collectors
     Club, 11 April 1980.
     
     "Stevenson's Darker Romances: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,
     The Master of Ballantrae, The Ebb-Tide."
     Winter Lecture, Gleeson Library Associates,
     University of San Francisco. 17 February 1980.
     
     "Kidnapped, The Mayor of Casterbridge, and Huckleberry
     Finn: Three Variations on Some Central Themes of the
     1880's." Modern Language Association seminar, New
     York, December 1976.
     
     "Stevenson and American Literature." Modern Language
     Association seminar, San Francisco, December 1975.

Grants and Research

     Huntington Fellowship, Huntington Library,
     San Marino, California. March 2014.

          Research in Stevenson's day-to-day journals for
          Robert Louis Stevenson’s The South Seas: A Complete
          Edition from the Manuscripts.


     Visiting Fellow, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript
     Library, Yale University, John D. and Rose H. Jackson
     Fellowship. October 2004.

          Research for Robert Louis Stevenson: Spirit of
          Adventure, taking in many newly-acquired items.
          Also assisting the library and fellow scholars
          in the identification and cataloguing of
          Stevenson's notebooks and other manuscript
          materials.

     American Council of Learned Societies, Grant-in-Aid,
     1978-79.
     
          Seven weeks completing research for The Prose Writings
          of Robert Louis Stevenson. New Haven, New York,
          Boston, Princeton, Philadelphia.
     
     Club Cevénol, Alés, France. September 1978.
     
          Opening speaker at centennial celebration of Robert
          Louis Stevenson's Travels with a Donkey.
     
     Edinburgh, Scotland. 1973-74, 1976, 1978, 1982, 1985,
     1989, 1994, 1997, 2000.
     
          Fifteen months in 1973-74 and additional trips later.
          Research on the life and works of Robert Louis
          Stevenson.

Education

     Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut  06520
     Ph.D., English Literature, 1970.
     
          Dissertation: "The Early Literary Career
          of Robert Louis Stevenson, 1850-1881: A
          Bibliographical Study."
          Dissertation Abstracts, 32 (1971), 459-A.
          Advisor: Professor A. Dwight Culler.
     
     University of California, Berkeley  94720
     A.B., English, 1965.
     
          Phi Beta Kappa, Honors in English.
          Summer Honors Seminar, 1964.
          H. W. Hill Scholarship, 1964-65.
     
     Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, California  91711

          Two years, intended major in chemistry.
          1960-1962.

     Lick-Wilmerding High School, San Francisco  94112

          College preparatory.  Graduated 1960.

Employment

-------------------------------------------------
1984-2007
Web Site Architect
Learning Products Specialist
Senior Technical Writer
Hewlett-Packard Company
Agilent EEsof EDA
Agilent Technologies, Inc.
1400 Fountaingrove Parkway
Santa Rosa, California  95403-1799

-------------------------------------------------
1979-83
Lecturer in Scientific Writing
Department of English
University of California-Davis
Davis, California  95616

1979
Rare Books Cataloguer
Bernard M. Rosenthal, Inc., Booksellers
251 Post Street
San Francisco, California  94108
  and
Brick Row Book Shop/Franklin Gilliam
251 Post Street
San Francisco, California  94108
 
1977-79
Independent research.
Grant from American Council of
Learned Societies, New York.

1969-77
Assistant Professor of English
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina  27514