Weir of Hermiston

Robert Louis Stevenson

Publisher: CLXBX

Summary

First published posthumously in 1896, Weir of Hermiston is widely regarded as one of Robert Louis Stevenson's most powerful and mature novels, a dark and compelling exploration of authority, justice, and human conflict.

Set in early 19th-century Scotland, the novel centers on the intense and tragic relationship between Archie Weir and his father, Adam Weir, the formidable Lord Hermiston. As a harsh and unyielding judge, Lord Hermiston embodies the rigid moral and legal authority of his time, ruling from the bench with uncompromising severity. Archie, sensitive and idealistic, struggles to reconcile his sense of justice and compassion with his father's cold absolutism.

Seeking refuge from this oppressive relationship, Archie retreats to the countryside, where he becomes entangled in a passionate and dangerous romance that draws him into a web of jealousy, betrayal, and violence. As personal loyalties clash with moral duty, the novel builds toward an inevitable and haunting tragedy.

Stevenson's prose in Weir of Hermiston is rich, atmospheric, and psychologically profound. Through vividly drawn characters and a stark Scottish landscape, he examines the destructive consequences of inflexible authority and the emotional cost of moral rigidity. Although left unfinished at Stevenson's death, the novel remains remarkably complete in its emotional power and thematic depth.

Weir of Hermiston stands as a masterwork of classic literature—somber, intense, and deeply human. It is an essential read for those who appreciate literary fiction that confronts the complexities of justice, family, and the darker corners of the human heart.

Available since: 02/09/2026.

Print length: 148 pages.

Other books that might interest you

The Passeur

Robert W. Chambers

More classic horror narrations on Jonathan Dunne Horror Stories & Audiobooks: https://www.youtube.com/@JonathanDunneHorrorAudiobooks 
Title: The Passeur 
Series Name: Timeless Terrors 
Series Entry: 126 
Author: Robert W. Chambers 
Narrator: Jonathan Dunne 
Original Publication: 1895 
Public Domain: Yes 
Description: 
The Passeur is a chilling exploration of fate, darkness, and the uncanny, written by Robert W. Chambers, master of psychological and supernatural horror. In this story, Chambers weaves a tense, atmospheric tale of a mysterious figure known as the “passeur” — a sinister guide who ferries souls across the threshold between life and death. 
The narrator becomes entangled in events that straddle the line between reality and nightmare, encountering spectral presences, cryptic warnings, and the inescapable pull of a destiny he cannot fully understand. Chambers’ narrative is rich in suspense, blending a brooding Gothic sensibility with moments of quiet, unsettling terror. The horror is subtle but pervasive, arising from the unknown, the unseen, and the inexorable forces that shape human life. 
Narrated by Amazon bestselling horror author Jonathan Dunne, this performance captures Chambers’ eerie atmosphere, mounting dread, and the uncanny tension that makes The Passeur a quintessential tale of late 19th-century supernatural horror — a story where crossing the threshold may reveal more than the living are ready to face.

Show book

The Scarlet Plague

Jack London

A world wiped out. A survivor who remembers. A warning that feels eerily close to our own.
Set in a devastated future, The Scarlet Plague follows an old man guiding his grandsons through the ruins of a once-thriving civilization. As they wander the empty landscape, he recounts the terrifying plague that swept across the globe—how society crumbled overnight, how fear replaced order, and how humanity was forced back to primitive survival.

Praised as "one of the earliest and most chilling visions of global collapse," Jack London's novella blends suspense, stark beauty, and unsettling realism. Its portrait of fragility, resilience, and the lessons forgotten by future generations remains strikingly relevant.

If you enjoy dystopian fiction, survival stories, and classics that echo with modern resonance, this powerful tale will grip your imagination.

Open the book—and walk through a world where one plague changed everything.

Show book

The Man Who Did Not Believe in...

Jerome K. Jerome

Jerome Klapka Jerome was born on the 2nd May 1859 at Belsize House in Caldmore, Walsall, England.
His family were reduced to poverty whilst he was a toddler owning to failed investments in the local mining industry.
After several moves in declining circumstances Jerome became a pupil at St Marylebone Grammar School. His aim then was to go into politics, or even become a man of letters, but with the death of his father, when he was thirteen, and his mother two years later, now meant that he had to support himself and leave all thoughts of education behind.
He spent four years working for the London and North Western Railway, initially collecting coal that fell along the railway lines. Thereafter, using the name Harold Crichton, he tried his hand at acting but the repertory company he joined was stretched in its resources and, at times, relied on the actors to purchase their own props and costumes. After three years he tried journalism, teaching and work as a solicitor’s clerk. All came to nothing. Finally, in 1885, he had some success with ‘On the Stage―and Off’, a comic memoir collection of his stage experiences and his early attempts at acting.
Shortly thereafter he married and his honeymoon on the Thames became the inspiration for ‘Three Men in a Boat’. This of course was a wild success, both critically and commercially, but also his creative high point.
Although he was now able to write full time, he was never able to attain all the heights of that classic humorous novel. He remained a prolific writer of novels, plays and short stories and its from those classic works that these stories have been mined.
Jerome K Jerome died in Northampton General Hospital on the 14th June 1927 two weeks after suffering a paralytic stroke and a cerebral haemorrhage on a motoring tour. He was 68.

Show book

Anna Karenina (Part 4)

Leo Tolstoy

Part 4: When Anna and Vronsky continue seeing each other, Karenin consults with a lawyer about obtaining a divorce. During the time period, a divorce in Russia could only be requested by the innocent party in an affair and required either that the guilty party confessed or that the guilty party be discovered in the act of adultery. Karenin forces Anna to hand over some of Vronsky's love letters, which the lawyer deems insufficient as proof of the affair. Stiva and Dolly argue against Karenin's drive for a divorce.
Anna Karenina is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in book form in 1878. Many writers consider Anna Karenina the greatest work of literature ever, and Tolstoy himself called it his first true novel. It was initially released in serial installments from 1873 to 1877 in the periodical The Russian Messenger.

Show book

The Classic Collection of...

William Shakespeare

The Classic Collection of William Shakespeare invites listeners on an immersive journey through the timeless power of language, love, betrayal, ambition, and imagination. This curated selection of Shakespeare's greatest plays—including Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth, and A Midsummer Night's Dream—captures the full spectrum of the human experience in words that still breathe fire centuries later.
Presented in rich, clear narration, this audio edition brings new vitality to the Bard's legendary works. Whether you're discovering Shakespeare for the first time or returning to his world with fresh ears, each performance highlights the musicality, wit, and emotional depth that have made these plays eternal.
No summaries, no simplifications—just Shakespeare as he was meant to be heard. Let the poetry unfold. Let the voices speak. Let the magic begin.
Perfect for fans of classic literature, drama lovers, students, and those seeking the soul of storytelling in its purest form. 
Contents

- Titus Andronicus
- The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet
- A Midsummer Night's Dream
- The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
- The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
- Troilus and Cressida
- The Tragedy of Othello, Moor of Venice
- The Tragedy of King Lear
- The Tragedy of Macbeth
- The Life of Timon of Athens
- Antony and Cleopatra
- The Tragedy of Coriolanus
- Cymbeline, King of Britain

Show book

A Christmas Inspiration

Lucy Maud Montgomery

Christmas is not in the lights, nor the gifts, nor the glittering decorations—it is in the hands that give, the hearts that open, the kindness that expects nothing in return. A Christmas Inspiration is a tale that shimmers with the quiet beauty of generosity, a story where one small act of warmth illuminates the season far brighter than any candle. With Montgomery's signature grace, the narrative unfolds like freshly fallen snow—soft, luminous, and filled with the hush of something deeply, unmistakably good. This is Christmas distilled to its essence: not what we receive, but what we choose to give.

Show book