By Robert Louis Stevenson. Edited by Colin Heston

“Records of a Family of Engineers” is a unique and deeply personal work by Robert Louis Stevenson, chronicling the remarkable legacy of his own family—particularly his grandfather, Robert Stevenson, and father, Thomas Stevenson—who were among the most influential civil engineers in 19th-century Scotland. This volume, presented as Volume XVI of the Swanston Edition, offers a rare blend of biography, historical narrative, and technical insight, all rendered in Stevenson’s elegant and reflective prose.

The book focuses primarily on the life and work of Robert Stevenson (1772–1850), the pioneering engineer best known for designing and constructing the Bell Rock Lighthouse, one of the greatest engineering feats of its time. Through a series of vivid sketches and recollections, Stevenson documents the challenges, triumphs, and innovations that defined his grandfather’s career, including perilous sea work, the development of lighthouse technology, and the broader evolution of maritime safety in the British Isles.

What sets this work apart is its intimate perspective. Stevenson writes not only as a literary figure but as a descendant and observer of a family tradition steeped in precision, discipline, and public service. His narrative is rich with technical detail, yet always accessible, offering insights into the tools, methods, and philosophies that shaped early civil engineering. At the same time, he reflects on the moral and emotional dimensions of his forebears’ work—their courage, perseverance, and sense of duty.

The Swanston Edition enhances this text with scholarly annotations, historical context, and careful editorial work, making it an invaluable resource for readers interested in the history of engineering, Scottish heritage, and Stevenson’s broader literary output. It stands as both a tribute to a family legacy and a meditation on the intersection of science, craftsmanship, and human endeavor.

Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2025. 292p.

By Francis Bacon with an Introduction by Oliphant Smeaton

Francis Bacon, Baron Verulam and Viscount St Albans, was bom at York House, Strand, on 22nd January the younger son, by his second wife, of Sir Nicholas Bacon. Eord Keeper of the Great Seal. Almost from birth Francis was a delicate child, and suffered from prolonged ill health, a circumstance to “which some biographers have attributed the gravity of manner even in youth characteristic of him. Probably it was due rather to his intense absorption, even in early childhood, in studies commonly assigned to youths considerably his seniors. Though his earlier boyhood is almost a blank to us, save that he spent it between the family residence in London, situated near the present Strand and the Thames, and the country seat, yet we obtain interesting light upon the facts of his career when he emerges from the domestic seclusion of home to proceed in his thirteenth year with his brother

LONDON J. M. DENT & SONS LTD: NEW YORK E. P. DUTTON & CO INC, 1561-1626, 221p.