Ian Rankin unveils new Robert Louis Stevenson statue in Edinburgh

Ian Rankin has unveiled a new bronze statue of Robert Louis Stevenson in Colinton, Edinburgh - the first outdoor statue of the writer in the city of his birth. The statue, created by sculptor Alan Beattie Heriot, shows a young Robert Louis Stevenson engrossed in a book. The statue's location, a garden in the grounds of Colinton Parish Church, is a poignant one as the young Robert would have walked through the garden many times on his way to visit his grandfather, Reverend Dr Lewis Balfour. The gardens are said to have inspired his verse collection 'A Child's Garden of Verses'.

At the unveiling ceremony, three plaques about Robert Louis Stevenson were unveiled by local school children, who also enjoyed taking part in Victorian-themed games and entertainment. The Colinton Community Conservation Trust has announced that the £34,000 cost of the statue was raised 'mostly from the local community' and this is the first phase of a public art project which will also see the statue 'a walk with Robert Louis Stevenson' installed once funds are raised, as part of a Robert Louis Stevenson trail around the village of Colinton.



The project is supported by author Ian Rankin who spoke of his debt to the city of Edinburgh and to Louis Stevenson: 'In a way they both changed my life. Without Edinburgh's split nature Stevenson might never have dreamt up Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and without Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde I might never have come up with my alter ego Detective Inspector John Rebus.'

(Images copyright Colinton Community Conservation Trust)

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