The Silverado Squatters

"The scene of this little book is on a high mountain. . . . As I recall the place-the green dell below; the spires of pine; the sun-warm, scented air . . . I slowly awake to a sense of admiration, gratitude, and almost love."

-Robert Louis Stevenson, The Silverado Squatters




The Silverado Squatters (1888), by Robert Louis Stevenson, describes experiences the author shared with his fiancée, Fanny, after he travelled from Scotland to California to help her recover from a serious illness. Once married, they traveled to the Napa Valley where, short on funds, they spent their honeymoon in an abandoned bunkhouse in a rundown mining camp. The book is part of a trilogy that also includes Across the Plains and The Amateur Emigrant and is based on a journal where the author recorded his observations and the couple's daily experiences (including being among the first to use a telephone).