Stevenson's first published fiction, New Arabian Nights collects two story cycles (The Suicide Club and The Rajah's Diamond), plus a couple other unrelated short stories. The story cycles involve a character called Prince Florizel of Bohemia, who is a precursor to Sherlock Holmes in some degree, but the New Arabian Nights contain more suspense than mystery.
The three stories that make up The Suicide Club exemplify both the strengths and weaknesses of Stevenson's unique approach. Each has a clever premise and each is well executed, but the stories almost seem like glimpses into a larger unwritten tale that would have been much better. The idea of the Suicide Club alone could have made a full-fledged suspense classic. The four stories in The Rajah's Diamond hang together more comfortably and give a fuller picture of the complete story underlying each individual episode. Since it's about the trouble caused by the theft of a priceless diamond, it incorporates a bit of humor as well.The seven stories in the New Arabian Nights form the bulk of the volume, but the two additional stories are not to be missed. "The Sire de Maletroit's Door" puts a young man in the wrong place at the wrong time, while "Providence and the Guitar" is a hilarious, heartfelt story about an itinerant musician couple's exceedingly harsh reception at a small town. It includes a realistic reflection on married love, especially when the husband is an artist instead of a reliable breadwinner.
Arbitrary rating: 4 out of 5 unwritten suspense classics
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