Stevenson

Stevenson

Scottish essayist, poet, and author of fiction and travel books, known especially for his novels of adventure, Robert Louis (Balfour) Stevenson was born on November 13, 1850 in Edinburgh into a family of lighthouse engineers. He began studying engineering at Edinburgh University but soon switched to law. His true inclination, however, was for writing. He is best known as the author of the children’s classic Treasure Island, and the adult horror story, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. These two tales share Stevenson’s key theme: the impossibility of identifying and separating good and evil. Other works of note are The Master of Ballantrae, Kidnapped and A Child’s Garden of Verses.

Stevenson traveled widely in Europe, America and the South Sea Islands finally settling in Samoa in 1890. Much of his travelling was in search of a warmer climate for his lifelong ill health having been born with a weak chest. He died of a cerebral hemorrhage at age forty-four on December 3, 1894 in his beloved Vailima in Samoa. His last residence on the island is now a museum in honour of the writer.