Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson

Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped and the Strange Case of Dr. Jakyll and Mr. Hyde.

Stevenson was born in Edinburg, Scotland, on 13 November 1850, to Thomas Stevenson, a leading lighthouse engineer, and his wife Margaret Isabella Balfour. Stevenson's parents were both devout and serious.

An only child, strange-looking and eccentric, Stevenson was sent to a nearby school at the age six. He was a late reader, first learning at age seven or eight, but even before this he dictated stories to his mother and nurse.

His father was proud of this interest. He paid for the printing of Robert's first publication at sixteen.

In November 1867 he entered the University of Edinburg to study engineering. He showed from the start no enthusiasm for his studies and missed lectures. In April 1871, he announced to his father his decision to devote his life to writing.

Stevenson was soon active in London literary life, becoming acquainted with many of the writers of the time. All his energies were now spent in travel and writing.

Stevenson was often ill and searched for a place of residence suitable to his state of health. He spent his summers at various places in Scotland and England. For his winters, he escaped to sunny France.

He produced his best-known work during these years: Treasure Island, his first widely popular book; Kidnapped; Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, the story which established his wider reputation; The Black Arrow.

In June 1888, Stevenson chartered the yacht Casco and set sail with his family from San Francisco. They visited the Hawaiian Islands, Tahiti, New Zealand and the Samoan Islands.

In 1890, Stevenson purchased four hundred acres (about 1.6 square kilometres) of land in Upolu, one of the Samoan islands. Stevenson himself adopted the native name Tusitala (i.e. a storyteller).

His influence spread to the Samoans, who consulted him for advice, and he soon became involved in local politics.

He died in 1894 at the age of 44. The Samoans insisted on surrounding his body with a watch-guard during the night and on bearing their Tusitala upon their shoulders to nearby Mount Vaea, where they buried him on a spot overlooking the sea.

A literary celebrity during his lifetime, Stevenson now ranks among the 30 most translated authors in the world, just below Charles Dickens. He has been greatly admired by many authors.