'The Land of Counterpane'

'The Land of Counterpane' is a poem featured in Robert Louis Stevenson's 1885 collection 'A Child's Garden of Verses'. The collection revolves around the adult Stevenson's recollections of childhood play and imagination — as well as recounting the solitude and suffering he endured as a result of his lifelong chronic illnesses.

This poem is a good encapsulation of both these major themes. The young Stevenson often only had his own imagination and the tales of his beloved nurse, Cummy, to amuse him: with his mind left to wander, it is no surprise that he developed superpowers of inventiveness.

[Shelfmark F.5.e.8]