Open Book Chocolates

Handmade, Bean-to-Bar, Fair Trade Chocolate Bars | Literary-Inspired Flavors

Robert Louis Stevenson

Literary Holidays | November 2024

G. E. Gallas

Celebrate this month’s literary holidays with Open Book Chocolates!

National Native American Heritage Month

“It is a time to celebrate the traditions, languages and stories of Native American, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and affiliated Island communities and ensure their rich histories and contributions continue to thrive with each passing generation.”

Here’s a selection of books written by indigenous authors:

National Author’s Day | November 1st

“On November 1, millions of people celebrate authors and the books they write on National Author's Day.”

How to Celebrate National Author’s Day:

  • READ READ READ!

  • Share your favorite author with friends and family.

  • Send a thank you letter to your favorite author.

  • Write a blog post about your favorite book(s).

  • Buy a book from a brand-new author.

  • Buy a book from one of your favorite author’s.

  • Share your favorite author on social media with #NationalAuthorsDay.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Publication Date | November 26th, 1864

“In November 1864, {Lewis Carroll} presented the manuscript volume of Alice’s Adventures under Ground, complete with his own illustrations, to Alice Liddell.”

“On 26 November 1864, Carroll gave Alice the manuscript of Alice's Adventures Under Ground, with illustrations by Carroll, dedicating it as ‘A Christmas Gift to a Dear Child in Memory of a Summer's Day.’”

A Study in Scarlet Publication Date | November 1887

A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle, which marks the first appearance of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, was first published in the November 1887 issue of Beeton's Christmas Annual, a British magazine.

Bram Stoker’s Birthday | November 8th, 1847

“‘I am Dracula, and I bid you welcome, Mr. Harker, to my house. Come in, the night air is chill, and you must need to eat and rest.‘“ —Dracula by Bram Stoker

Purchase Dracula by Bram Stoker while supporting independent bookstores.

Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Birthday | November 11th, 1821

“Mere existence had always been too little for him; he had always wanted more. Perhaps it was just because of the strength of his desires that he had thought himself a man to whom more was permissible than to others.“ —Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Purchase Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky while supporting independent bookstores.

Robert Louis Stevenson’s Birthday | November 13th, 1850

Treasure Island Publication Date | November 14th, 1883

“They say cowardice is infectious; but then argument is, on the other hand, a great emboldener.“ —Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

“[Treasure Island] was first published as a book on 14 November 1883 by Cassell & Co.“

Open Book Chocolates is celebrating Robert Louis Stevenson’s birthday and Treasure Island’s publication date with the novel and our matching chocolate bar.

I Love to Write Day | November 15th

“My goal for I Love To Write Day is to have people of all ages spend time writing. They can write a poem, a love letter, a greeting card, an essay, a short story, start a novel, finish a novel… the possibilities are endless. But I want people to take the time to put their thoughts down on paper. They will be amazed at the results.” —John Riddle, a Delaware Author and Founder of I Love to Write Day

Learn more about I Love to Write Day on John Riddle’s website.

George Eliot’s Birthday | November 22nd, 1819

George Eliot was the pen name of Mary Ann Evans.

“Our vanities differ as our noses do: all conceit is not the same conceit, but varies in correspondence with the minutiae of mental make in which one of us differs from another.“ —Middlemarch by George Eliot

Purchase Middlemarch by George Eliot while supporting independent bookstores.

Frances Hodgson Burnett’s Birthday | November 24th, 1849

“‘Whatever comes,’ she said, ‘cannot alter one thing. If I am a princess in rags and tatters, I can be a princess inside. It would be easy to be a princess if I were dressed in cloth of gold, but it is a great deal more of a triumph to be one all the time when no one knows it.’” —A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Open Book Chocolates is celebrating Frances Hodgson Burnett’s birthday with the novel A Little Princess and our matching chocolate bar.

C. S. Lewis’s Birthday | November 29th, 1898

“Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy. This story is about something that happened to them when they were sent away from London during the war because of the air-raids.“ —The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis

Purchase The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis while supporting independent bookstores.

Louisa May Alcott’s Birthday | November 29th, 1832

“She had a womanly instinct that clothes possess an influence more powerful over many than the worth of character or the magic of manners.“ —Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Purchase Little Women by Louisa May Alcott while supporting independent bookstores.

Mark Twain’s Birthday | November 30th, 1834

“The mock King's cheeks were flushed with excitement, his eyes were flashing, his senses swam in a delirium of pleasure. At this point, just as he was raising his hand to fling another rich largess, he caught sight of a pale, astounded face, which was strained forward out of the second rank of the crowd, its intense eyes riveted upon him.“ —The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain

Purchase The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain while supporting independent bookstores.

Check out Open Book Chocolates’s profile on Bookshop.org!

Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson, Samoa, and Cacao

G. E. Gallas

An interesting connection between the author of Treasure Island and chocolate!

Here at Open Book Chocolates, we — Geri & Irene — are long-time fans of the Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson, his life, and works. Stevenson, best known for his novel Treasure Island and novella the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, was born in Edinburgh in 1850.

Although sickly as a child and as an adult, he traveled extensively and wrote about his travels. Stevenson explored Europe, journeyed across the United States (from New York City to San Francisco by train), and ended up in Hawaii and around the Pacific, before finally arriving in Samoa. Additionally, he was a prolific letter writer, penning approximately 2,800 letters during his short 44-year lifetime. 

Recently, we read a New York Times book review written by Brooke Allen of Camille Peri’s brand-new biography, A Wilder Shore: The Romantic Odyssey of Fanny and Robert Louis Stevenson. And, in reading this review, we discovered something very exciting about Stevenson and his wife that we didn’t know before:

“After further travels through Europe and America the couple departed for the South Seas: Nuku Hiva, Fakarava, Tahiti, Hawaii, Micronesia, the Gilbert Islands and finally Samoa, where they bought 300 acres and created a cacao farm; Fanny’s extensive plantings would later become the nucleus of Samoa’s premier botanical garden, which can still be visited today. The Stevensons, passionate anti-imperialists, shed their Western ways and adopted local customs, becoming closely involved in regional politics, while Louis produced journalism and fiction at an almost frantic pace.”

Robert Louis Stevenson and his wife Fanny created and cared for a cacao farm while living in Samoa!

In his letters, Stevenson writes about working his cacao farm:

“In spite of the loss of three days, as I have to tell, and a lot of weeding and cacao planting, I have finished since the mail left four chapters, forty-eight pages of my Samoa history… We are all on the cacao planting.

—From November 25th, 1891

“However, I am off work this month, and occupy myself instead in weeding my cacao, paper-chases, and the like.. but I have just returned with my arms all stung from three hours’ work in the cacao.

—From August 7th, 1894

When we originally created our Treasure Island (Rum and Coconut in Dark Chocolate) bar, although we had read Stevenson’s works and knew about his years abroad, we had no idea he himself actually farmed cacao. What a wonderful coincidence! It seems like our Treasure Island chocolate bar was just meant to be!

Portrait of Robert Louis Stevenson (1887) by John Singer Sargent.