The Wrong Box was published by Longmans, Green in 1889, written in collaboration with Lloyd Osbourne, Stevenson’s stepson. The novel is a farce built on a tontine — a financial arrangement in which a group of investors contributes to a fund, with the entire sum going to the last survivor. Joseph and Donatello Donatello are the last two surviving members of such a tontine, and their scheming relatives are desperate to ensure that their particular uncle outlives the other.
The comedy escalates through a train crash, a misidentified corpse, multiple attempts to transport and hide the body, and a series of increasingly frantic misunderstandings. The corpse — like the wrong box of the title — keeps ending up where it shouldn’t be.
Collecting The Wrong Box
First edition (Longmans, Green, London, 1889): Blue cloth.
Market values:
- First edition, fine: $400–$1,000
- First edition, very good: $150–$400
- Good: $50–$150
Projected values (2026–2036): Moderate appreciation.
The Comic Novel
The Wrong Box (1889), co-written with Lloyd Osbourne (Stevenson’s stepson), is a farce about a tontine — a financial arrangement in which the last survivor of a group inherits the entire fund. Two elderly brothers are the final survivors, and their heirs’ attempts to ensure the “right” brother dies first (or to conceal the death of the “wrong” one) produce a cascade of comic misadventures involving a corpse in a barrel, a stolen piano, and a train wreck.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Stevenson collaborate with other writers? Yes. He wrote The Wrong Box and The Wrecker with his stepson Lloyd Osbourne, and The Ebb-Tide was also a collaboration with Osbourne. He also co-wrote the play Deacon Brodie with W.E. Henley. Stevenson was generous with collaborators, though the quality of the joint works is uneven.