Under the Wide and Starry Sky
by Nancy Horan
Under the Wide and Starry Sky by Nancy Horan holds a well received rating of 3.57 out of 5, based on 12.1K reader ratings. First published in 2014. The book spans 474 pages.
About Under the Wide and Starry Sky
The passionate and turbulent story of Robert Louis Stevenson and his tempestuous American wife, Fanny.At the age of thirty-five, Fanny van de Grift Osbourne leaves her philandering husband in San Francisco and sets sail for Belgium to study art, with her three children and a nanny in tow. Not long after her arrival, however, tragedy strikes, and Fanny and her brood repair to a quiet artists' colony in France where she can recuperate. There she meets Robert Louis Stevenson, ten years her junior, who is instantly smitten with the earthy, independent and opinionated belle Americaine.A woman ahead of her time, Fanny does not immediately take to the young lawyer who longs to devote his life to literature, and who would eventually write such classics as Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In time, though, she succumbs to Stevenson's charms. The two begin a fierce love affair, marked by intense joy and harrowing darkness, which spans decades as they travel the world for the sake of his health. Eventually they settled in Samoa, where Robert Louis Stevenson is buried underneath the epitaph:
Under the wide and starry sky,Dig the grave and let me lie.Glad did I live and gladly die,And I laid me down with a will.
This be the verse you grave for me:Here he lies where he longed to be;Home is the sailor, home from sea,And the hunter home from the hill.(Requiem, Robert Louis Stevenson)
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Author | Nancy Horan |
| Published | 2014 |
| Pages | 474 |
| Genres | Historical Fiction, Fiction, Romance |
| Average Rating | 3.57 / 5.00 |
| Total Ratings | 12,105 |
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Frequently Asked Questions
What genre is Under the Wide and Starry Sky?
Under the Wide and Starry Sky is categorized as Historical Fiction, Fiction, Romance. Its primary genre classification is Romance.
Is Under the Wide and Starry Sky worth reading?
Based on 12.1K reader ratings, Under the Wide and Starry Sky has an average score of 3.57 out of 5.00, which is considered "Well Received."
How many pages is Under the Wide and Starry Sky?
Under the Wide and Starry Sky has 474 pages.
Who wrote Under the Wide and Starry Sky?
Under the Wide and Starry Sky was written by Nancy Horan. It was first published in 2014.
What is the ISBN for Under the Wide and Starry Sky?
The ISBN-13 for Under the Wide and Starry Sky is 9780345516530.0.
Data sourced from community book ratings and reviews. Last updated: April 15, 2026
