Weir of Hermiston

Robert 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

Browdean Farm - From their pens...

A M Burrage

Alfred McLelland Burrage was born in Hillingdon, Middlesex on 1st July, 1889. His father and uncle were both writers, primarily of boy’s fiction, and by age 16 AM Burrage had joined them.  The young man had ambitions to write for the adult market too.  The money was better and so was his writing. 
From 1890 to 1914, prior to the mainstream appeal of cinema and radio the printed word, mainly in magazines, was the foremost mass entertainment.  AM Burrage quickly became a master of the market publishing his stories regularly across a number of publications. 
By the start of the Great War Burrage was well established but in 1916 he was conscripted to fight on the Western Front. He continued to write during these years documenting his experiences in the classic book War is War by Ex-Private X. 
For the remainder of his life Burrage was rarely printed in book form but continued to write and be published on a prodigious scale in magazines and newspapers.  In this volume we concentrate on his supernatural stories which are, by common consent, some of the best ever written.  Succinct yet full of character each reveals a twist and a flavour that is unsettling…..sometimes menacing….always disturbing.

Show book

Sherlock Holmes: The...

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax is one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and one of eight stories in the volume, His Last Bow. 
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (May 22, 1859 - July 7, 1930) was a British author most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, which are generally considered a major innovation in the field of crime fiction. 
Public Domain (P)2017 Listen & Live Audio

Show book

Persuasion

Jane Austen

Eight years ago, she let him go. Now he's back—and her heart is no longer hers to command.
At nineteen, Anne Elliot was persuaded to refuse the man she loved: the earnest, ambitious Frederick Wentworth. When he returns as a confident naval captain, their worlds collide once again. Old wounds reopen, unspoken feelings rise, and Anne must face the heartbreaking possibility that she may have lost her last chance at happiness.

Praised as "Austen's most mature and deeply emotional novel," Persuasion explores longing, resilience, and the quiet strength of a woman who learns to trust her own heart. Its graceful prose and unforgettable love story continue to move readers everywhere.

If you cherish slow-burn romance, heartfelt emotion, and stories of love reclaimed, this classic will stay with you long after the final page.

Open the book—and rediscover the love that time could not erase.

Show book

The Lame Priest - Settlers and...

Susan Morrow writing as S Carleton

Susan Morrow was born in Halifax in Nova Scotia in 1864.   
 
Little is known of her life although she preferred to write under pseudonyms, one of which she shared with her sister, or as S Carleton, an abbreviated version of her name which gave the illusion of a male identity presumably to give her books a more rugged and male personality given their content. 
 
Her books only seem to have been published from 1900 onwards when she was in her mid-30’s by which time she had married and became Susan Carleton Jones. 
 
She died in 1926.   
 
In ‘The Lame Priest, a story of life on harsh terrain is amplified by the possibility that a werewolf lurks nearby.

Show book

Our Mutual Friend - Book the...

Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens was a writer and social critic who created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime, and by the twentieth century critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories enjoy lasting popularity.
BOOK THE FIRST: THE CUP AND THE LIP: In these times of ours, though concerning the exact year there is no need to be precise, a boat of dirty and disreputable appearance, with two figures in it, floated on the Thames, between Southwark bridge which is of iron, and London Bridge which is of stone, as an autumn evening was closing in.

Show book

The Light Princess

George MacDonald

A delightful and whimsical fairy tale from the master of fantasy, The Light Princess by George MacDonald is a timeless story of enchantment, love, and self-discovery. When a royal curse robs a princess of her gravity—both physical and emotional—she is left floating above the world, unable to feel the weight of life’s joys and sorrows. As she drifts through her days, untouched by hardship, only a journey of true love and sacrifice can bring her back down to earth. 
Blending humor, adventure, and profound insight, The Light Princess is a captivating tale that explores the importance of empathy, resilience, and the balance between lightness and depth. Narrated by Tony J. Martin, this audiobook brings to life MacDonald’s lyrical prose, enchanting listeners of all ages with its fairy-tale magic.

Show book