A Child’s Garden of Verses

poetry by Stevenson

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Article History

A Child’s Garden of Verses, volume of 64 poems for children by Robert Louis Stevenson, published in 1885. The collection, which Stevenson dedicated to Alison Cunningham (his childhood nurse), was one of the most influential children’s works in the 19th century, and its verses were widely imitated. Originally planned for a volume to be called Penny Whistles, the poems were inspired by a children’s book published in 1880. Stevenson wrote most of the poems as if he were a child writing for other children. The verses, set in a Victorian environment of enclosed gardens and a separate nursery for young children apart from the adult household, are timeless in their appeal.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Kathleen Kuiper.