Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Louis Stevenson, born in Edinburgh in 1850, was a novelist, poet and travel writer, best known for his adventure novels Kidnapped and Treasure Island, and gothic thriller The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.Stevenson was a sickly child, suffering bronchial issues throughout his life. His illnesses often prevented him from attending school, and so he was frequently educated at home by private tutors. However, he started writing stories in early childhood. Upon advice from his parents, he studied law at Edinburgh University, but always intended to pursue a career as a writer.In 1879, Stevenson set off for California to reunite with Fanny van de Grift, the woman who would become his wife. The journey provided exceptional inspiration for his writing, but it broke his health, and by the time he arrived in San Francisco he was on death’s door. Once he was recovered, the couple travelled extensively between Scotland and Europe, returning to the United States in 1887. It was in this period that Stevenson published his most successful novels. In 1888, the family sailed through the South Pacific for three years, an experience which transformed Stevenson’s health for the better. They settled in Samoa, where he died in 1894.