Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson (13 November 1850, Edinburgh, Scotland – 3 December 1894, Vailima, Samoa) was a Scottish novelist, travel writer and poet. He is best known for his novels Treasure Island and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
Early Life
Born as Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson, to Thomas and Margaret Isabella Balfour Stevenson, Stevenson spent a lot of his childhood years in bed, suffering from tuberculosis. One of his earliest influences was his nurse, Alison 'Cummy' Cunningham, who invested a lot of her time watching him in reading him religious books and stories. As a result from his very stiff religious education, Stevenson's first attempts at writing were re-tellings of stories from the Bible, including The Story of Moses and The Book of Joseph.
Education
Although Stevenson went to several schools in Edinburgh and London, including Edinburgh Academy, a lot of his education was shaped by private tuition, due to his low health condition. In 1967, he enrolled at Edinburgh University to study engineering and follow in the footsteps of his father, a famed lighthouse engineer. In 1971, however, Stevenson changed his course of studies to law and became an editor of the Edinburgh University Magazine. The following years were shaped by an inclining revolt against his Christian upbringing and a turn to a more Bohemian lifestyle, which lead to a falling out with his father. In 1975, Stevenson graduated in law but was, by now, sure that his future was in writing.
Later Life
Following his university years, Stevenson, in an attempt to find a more suitable climate for his unimproved health, took to traveling. His earliest book-length publications An Inland Voyage (1878) and Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes are the result of these travels. During a trip to France he also met Fanny Vandergrift Osbourne, whom he later married in San Francisco, California, before moving back to Britain in 1880. The Stevenson family spent the consecutive years moving between Great Britain in summer and France or Switzerland in winter and despite it being a time of great restlessness and severe illness, it was also the time of Stevenson's biggest popular success. Between 1881 and 1886, he wrote Treasure Island (1883), Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886) and Kidnapped (1886)
The Pacific Years & Death
During a cruise through the Pacific in 1888, Stevenson arrived at the conclusion that the most promising healt condition he could only be archieved by staying close to the equator. In 1890, he purchased land on a Samoan Island to settle with his family. He became acquainted with the Samoan culture and was nicknamed Tusitala (i.e. The Writer of Tales) by the islanders. Many of his published works were now also set in the Pacific, most notably In the South Seas a collection of his articles and essays, which was published posthumously in 1896. Robet Louis Stevenson died on 3 December 1894 in his house in Vailima, Samoa. According to his wish, he was burried on Mount Vaea and had a part of his poem Requiem inscribed as an epitaph.
Sources
Cruse, Amy Robert Louis Stevenson Rockville, MD: Wildside Press LLC, 2008
Dury, Richard Robert Louis Stevenson's Life (http://www.robert-louis-stevenson.org/life)
Shirley Carpenter, Angelica & Jean Shirley. Robert Louis Stevenson - Finding Treasure Island Breckenbridge, CO: Twenty-First Century Books, 1997.
Teuber, Andreas Robert Louis Stevenson (http://people.brandeis.edu/~teuber/stevensonbio.html#_inthesouthseas)
Winter, George Frederick Robert Louis Stevenson - A Biography (http://www.suite101.com/content/robert-louis-stevenson-a29067)
Links
Lewis Carroll web pages
| Robert Louis Stevenson Website
Works by Lewis Carroll
| Robert Louis Stevenson on Google Books