A Child's Garden of Verses (1885) is a collection of about sixty-five poems by Robert Louis Stevenson. Written from a child's point of view, they evoke play, bedtime, illness and the imagination, and have been read to children ever since.
A sickly childhood
Stevenson was often ill as a child in Edinburgh and spent long days in bed, cared for by his devoted nurse, Alison Cunningham, whom he called Cummy.
The poems recall those days: toy soldiers on the counterpane, the lamplighter passing in the street, travelling in imagination to faraway lands.
A child's voice
The poems use simple rhythms and rhymes and speak as the child would, without moralising. The child's own shadow, the wind, the swing and the land of nod become small adventures.
The book is dedicated to Alison Cunningham, in a poem thanking her for nursing him through the long nights of his childhood.
Lasting success
Printed in trial proofs as Penny Whistles in 1883, then published in 1885, the book quickly became a classic of children's literature.
It has been illustrated by many artists, including Jessie Willcox Smith in 1905, and several poems have been set to music.
Anecdotes
Written between other books
Stevenson wrote many of the poems while recovering from illness in the south of France, around the time he was working on Treasure Island.
A real lamplighter
The poem about Leerie the lamplighter recalls the man who lit the gas lamps on Heriot Row in Edinburgh, where Stevenson grew up; a lamp outside the house still bears a plaque.
Frequently asked questions
Who was the book dedicated to?
To Stevenson's childhood nurse, Alison Cunningham.
How many poems does it contain?
About sixty-five.
What was its working title?
Penny Whistles.