Robert Louis Stevenson

Biography

Robert Louis Stevenson, originally named Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson, was born on November 13, 1850, in Edinburgh, Scotland, into a family involved in lighthouse engineering. His father, Thomas Stevenson, wanted him to pursue the family profession. Robert initially studied engineering at the University of Edinburgh but later switched to law, graduating in 1875. He never practiced law, choosing instead to focus on writing, a decision that strained his relationship with his father. Stevenson had severe bronchial illnesses as a child and young adult, often leaving him bedridden, which nurtured his love for reading and storytelling.

Despite his weak health, Stevenson traveled a lot and mingled with key figures in London literary circles during the 1870s. He received support from people like Sidney Colvin, Edmund Gosse, Leslie Stephen, and W. E. Henley. Henley, who was a strong man despite having lost a leg, reportedly inspired the character of Long John Silver in Treasure Island. Stevenson's early works were essays and travel writings, such as An Inland Voyage (1878) and Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes (1879), which helped him build his reputation as a talented prose writer. In 1876, he met Fanny Osbourne, an American woman ten years older, in France and followed her to California in 1879, marrying her in 1880.

The 1880s were his most productive years. Treasure Island, initially serialized in a children's magazine in 1881 and published as a book in 1883, gained him wide recognition. The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, written in 1886, became a classic gothic novel, making him famous across the Atlantic. Kidnapped, also published in 1886, used Scottish history and scenery for an adventure story loved by readers of all ages. His poetry collection, A Child's Garden of Verses, published in 1885, showed his versatility and became a children's literature favorite.

To find a better climate for his ongoing lung issues, Stevenson and his family took long trips through the Pacific in the late 1880s. In 1890, he bought land in Samoa and built a home called Vailima, where he settled. His life in the South Seas increased his awareness of colonial issues in the area, and his writing during this time took on a more socially realistic tone. This was seen in works like The Beach of Falesá and the unfinished novel Weir of Hermiston, considered his most ambitious project. Stevenson became a well-respected and loved figure among the Samoans, who named him Tusitala, meaning storyteller.

Stevenson died suddenly from a cerebral hemorrhage on December 3, 1894, at Vailima, at the age of 44. He was buried at the top of Mount Vaea, overlooking the ocean. Though he was famous during his lifetime, his reputation declined after his death, as some critics dismissed him as a writer of boys' adventure stories. This view has changed significantly, and he is now recognized as an important 19th-century writer whose works covered adventure fiction, gothic horror, psychological drama, poetry, and essays. In 2018, he was the 26th-most-translated author worldwide, just behind Charles Dickens.