Assoc for Scottish Literature's status

Assoc for Scottish Literature

Robert Louis Stevenson’s #shortstory “The Bottle Imp” was first published (in English) #OTD, 8 Feb 1891, in the New York Herald. It was originally published in #Samoan translation as “O le Fagu Aitu” in the missionary magazine O le sulu Samoa (The Samoan Torch)

A 👿 🧵 …

#Scottish #literature #supernatural #RobertLouisStevenson

1/8

A newspaper clipping from 1891, showing a title and the opening few lines of Robert Louis Stevenson’s short story "The Bottle Imp"

Assoc for Scottish Literature replied to Assoc for Scottish Literature's status

Interesting for all sorts of reasons—a #Hawaiian protagonist, a strong female character—“The Bottle Imp” is wonderfully elegant, & moves like a Swiss watch. It also contains a paradox, which arguably undermines Rational Choice Theory in #economics

#Scottish #literature #supernatural #RobertLouisStevenson

2/8
🖼️ William Hatherell, 1905

An engraved book illustration. A Hawaiian man stands on he left, golding a wide-brimmed hat against his chest. On the right, a European man – bald, with a beard but no moustache – proffers a long-necked, fat-bellied bottle. He casts a dark shadow on the wall behind him, between the two figures.

Caption: "'This is the bottle', said the man"

Assoc for Scottish Literature replied to Assoc for Scottish Literature's status

Stevenson’s “The Bottle Imp” has inspired a number of spinoffs, from the 2016 #opera THE DEVIL INSIDE, by Stuart MacRae & Louise Welsh …

#Scottish #literature #supernatural #RobertLouisStevenson

3/8
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/jan/22/the-devil-inside-scottish-opera-music-theatre-wales-stuart-macrae-louise-welsh

Assoc for Scottish Literature replied to Assoc for Scottish Literature's status

… to the trick-taking #cardgame FLASCHENTEUFEL, where the person left holding the bottle at the end of the game loses (& possibly goes to Hell, the rules are unclear on that point) …

#Scottish #literature #supernatural #RobertLouisStevenson

4/8

The box for the card game "Flaschenteufel" ("The Bottle Imp"). Palm trees are silhouetted against a deep blue night sky. A long-necked, round-bellied bottle, with a strange, grinning, sun-like face on the front, dominates the image. The bottle glows with an unearthly red light.

A spread of five colourfully illustrated cards. Each bears an illustration relating to Stevenson's short story "The Bottle Imp", as well as a number.

Assoc for Scottish Literature replied to Assoc for Scottish Literature's status

… to our own free online ezine on Scottish literature at https://thebottleimp.org.uk

#Scottish #literature #supernatural #RobertLouisStevenson

5/8

Against a red background, showing a lighthouse and a palm tree, stands a black-outlined, long-necked, round-bellied bottle. The head and shoulders of a long-nosed, skinny imp pokes out of the neck of the bottle. An old-fashioned fountain pen lies in front of the bottle.

Assoc for Scottish Literature replied to Assoc for Scottish Literature's status

You can download our free ebook of “The Bottle Imp” (also containing two other supernatural masterpieces by Stevenson, “Thrawn Janet” & “The Tale of Tod Lapraik”) from our website …

@bookstodon

#Scottish #literature #supernatural #RobertLouisStevenson

https://asls.org.uk/publications/books/free-publications/strangetales/

6/8