Lee Harper Oswald

Robert Louis Stevenson treks through the French highlands hoping to heal his recently broken heart — prompted by the loss of one Mrs. Fanny Osbourne — and to gather notes for a new travelogue, “Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes.” Along with the fickle Modestine, his pack donkey, Stevenson journeys 120 miles through villages and valleys, encountering innkeepers and fellow travelers, a monk-filled monastery, a violent, angry mob, and more superstitious locals than one could adequately poke with a donkey goad. These things he’d expected, but not the mysterious figure trailing him, the murder, nor, above all, a confrontation with the notorious Beast of Gévaudan of 18th-century legend. Hunted, heart-sick, questioning his own sanity and senses, Stevenson forms unlikely alliances as he is forced to face an entire region of werewolves — and possibly worse — in order to reach his destination and desire, Alès and a long-for letter from his estranged love.

Preface

PART ONE

Part One: Chapter One

Part One: Chapter Two

Part One: Chapter Three

Part One: Chapter Four

Part One: Chapter Five

Part One: Chapter Six

Part One: Chapter Seven

Part One: Chapter Eight

Part One: Chapter Nine

PART TWO

Part Two: Chapter Ten

Part Two: Chapter Eleven

Part Two: Chapter Twelve

Part Two: Chapter Thirteen

Part Two: Chapter Fourteen

Part Two: Chapter Fifteen

Part Two: Chapter Sixteen

Part Two: Chapter Seventeen

Part Two: Chapter Eighteen

PART THREE

Part Three: Chapter Nineteen

Part Three: Chapter Twenty

Part Three: Chapter Twenty-One

Part Three: Chapter Twenty-Two

Part Three: Chapter Twenty-Three

Part Three: Chapter Twenty-Four

Part Three: Chapter Twenty-Five

PART FOUR

Part Four: Chapter Twenty-Six

Part Four: Chapter Twenty-Seven

Part Four: Chapter Twenty-Eight

Part Four: Chapter Twenty-Nine

Part Four: Chapter Thirty

Part Four: Chapter Thirty-One

Part Four: Chapter Thirty-Two

Part Four: Chapter Thirty-Three

Afterward