Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson was born at 8 Howard Place in Edinburgh on the 13th of November 1850. His father Thomas worked as a leading lighthouse engineer while his mother Margaret came from a family of gentry who traced their lineage back to Alexander Balfour in the fifteenth century. The child inherited a weak chest that caused him to suffer from coughs and fevers throughout his life. He spent much of his boyhood holidays in his maternal grandfather's house where he heard stories about the Covenanters' rebellion. At age six he attended Mr Henderson's School but stayed only a few weeks before returning home due to illness. Private tutors taught him for long stretches during these absences. By age seven or eight he learned to read yet even before this moment he dictated stories to his mother and nurse. His first publication appeared when he was sixteen years old titled The Pentland Rising: A Page of History, 1666. This work recounted events from two centuries prior involving the Covenanters' uprising.
In late 1873 Stevenson met Sidney Colvin and Fanny Sitwell while visiting a cousin in England. Colvin became his literary adviser and placed his first paid contribution in The Portfolio under the title Roads. He soon moved into London literary circles where he encountered Andrew Lang Edmund Gosse and Leslie Stephen. Stephen introduced him to William Ernest Henley an energetic poet with a wooden leg who later inspired Long John Silver in Treasure Island. In November 1873 health failures sent him to Menton on the French Riviera where he recuperated until April 1874. He made frequent trips to Barbizon Grez-sur-Loing and Nemours joining artists' colonies there. During university holidays he traveled to inspect family lighthouses including one at Anstruther and another at Wick Caithness. These journeys provided material for his writing rather than engineering interest. He qualified for the Scottish bar in July 1875 yet never practiced law instead devoting all energy to travel and writing.
Stevenson met Fanny Van de Grift Osbourne in September 1876 when she was thirty-four years old and he twenty-six. She had married at seventeen and moved to Nevada after her husband's participation in the American Civil War. Their children included Isobel Lloyd and Hervey who died in 1875. By early 1877 they became lovers spending much of the following year together in France. In August 1879 Stevenson set off alone from Europe aboard the steamship Devonia traveling overland by train from New York City to California. He later wrote about this experience in The Amateur Emigrant noting how it broke his health. Near death upon arriving in Monterey some local ranchers nursed him back to life. He stayed at the French Hotel located at 530 Houston Street now known as the Stevenson House museum. Fanny recovered from her own illness and came to his bedside nursing him until he regained strength. They married in May 1880 with her age forty and his twenty-nine. He traveled north of San Francisco to Napa Valley spending a summer honeymoon at an abandoned mining camp on Mount Saint Helena today designated Robert Louis Stevenson State Park.
In December 1889 Stevenson arrived at Apia in the Samoan islands deciding to settle there permanently. By January 1890 he purchased land at Vailima miles inland from Apia building the islands' first two-storey house. His wife managed the estate while he took the native name Tusitala meaning Teller of Tales collecting local stories often exchanging them for his own tales. The first work of literature in Samoan was his translation of The Bottle Imp published in 1891. Immersion in island culture sparked political awakening placing him at odds with rival great powers Britain Germany and the United States whose warships frequently appeared in Samoan harbors. As external pressures grew tensions descended into inter-clan wars. No longer content being merely a romancer he became a reporter firing off letters to The Times detailing European misconduct. In 1892 he published A Footnote to History: Eight Years of Trouble in Samoa chronicling intersections between great power rivalries and the first Samoan Civil War. He openly allied himself with chief Mataafa opposing Malietoa backed by German firms monopolizing copra processing. Just months before his death he addressed island chiefs urging them to occupy and use their country wisely lest others take it away.
During his years on Samoa Stevenson wrote an estimated 700,000 words completing The Beach of Falesá the first-person tale of a Scottish copra trader unheroic in actions or soul. This novel marked ground-breaking transition from romance to realism showing villains as white men behaving ruthlessly toward islanders. He wrote to Sidney Colvin describing how moral responsibility edges blurred beyond simple contests like Dr Jekyll versus Mr Hyde. The Ebb-Tide published in 1894 presented misadventures of three deadbeats marooned in Tahitian port Papeete confirming new realistic turn away from adolescent adventure. Contemporary reviewers found parallels with Joseph Conrad's works including Almayer's Folly An Outcast of the Islands Heart of Darkness and Lord Jim. Though imagination still resided in Scotland returning to earlier form he also wrote Catriona sequel to Kidnapped continuing David Balfour adventures. By end of 1893 he feared overworking creative vein yet began last burst energy writing Weir of Hermiston set in eighteenth century Scotland depicting society breakdown leading to growing moral ambivalence. He felt this promised great artistic growth despite exhaustion.
On the 3rd of December 1894 Stevenson collapsed while talking to his wife attempting to open bottle of wine asking Does my face look strange before dying within hours at age forty-four possibly due to brain haemorrhage. Research published in 2000 suggested hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia explaining chronic respiratory complaints recurrent pulmonary haemorrhages and early death. After his death Samoans insisted surrounding body with watch-guard during night bearing him on shoulders to nearby Mount Vaea where they buried him overlooking sea on land donated by British Acting Vice Consul Thomas Trood. Based on his poem Requiem epitaph inscribed reads: Under the wide and starry sky Dig the grave and let me lie Glad was I and glad to die. The requiem appears eastern side grave while biblical passage Ruth 1:16, 17 inscribed western side. His tombstone epitaph translated into Samoan song of grief reflecting deep love from islanders. Ensign flag draped over coffin returned to Edinburgh residing glass case over fireplace rooms in Old College owned by Speculative Society membership he held.
Stevenson remained celebrity admired many writers including Marcel Proust Arthur Conan Doyle Henry James J.M. Barrie Rudyard Kipling later Cesare Pavese Bertolt Brecht Ernest Hemingway Jack London Vladimir Nabokov G.K. Chesterton who said seemed pick right word point pen playing spillikins. For much twentieth century relegated second-class writer children's literature horror genres condemned Virginia Woolf Leonard Woolf gradually excluded canon taught schools. Exclusion reached nadir 1973 Oxford Anthology English Literature entirely unmentioned Norton Anthology English Literature excluded 1968-2000 included only eighth edition 2006. Late twentieth century brought re-evaluation artist great range insight literary theorist essayist social critic witness colonial history Pacific Islands humanist praised Roger Lancelyn Green consistently high level literary skill sheer imaginative power pioneer Age Story Tellers alongside H.Rider Haggard. Now evaluated peer authors Joseph Conrad influenced South Seas fiction Henry James new scholarly studies organizations devoted him. Throughout vicissitudes scholarly reception popular worldwide ranked twenty-sixth-most-translated author world ahead Oscar Wilde Edgar Allan Poe according Index Translationum. American film critic Roger Ebert wrote 1996 praising enduring global appeal.
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Common questions
When and where was Robert Louis Stevenson born?
Robert Louis Stevenson was born at 8 Howard Place in Edinburgh on the 13th of November 1850. He inherited a weak chest that caused him to suffer from coughs and fevers throughout his life.
Who inspired the character Long John Silver in Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson?
William Ernest Henley an energetic poet with a wooden leg inspired the character Long John Silver in Treasure Island. Stephen introduced Stevenson to Henley during his time in London literary circles.
Where did Robert Louis Stevenson settle permanently in December 1889?
Stevenson arrived at Apia in the Samoan islands in December 1889 deciding to settle there permanently. By January 1890 he purchased land at Vailima miles inland from Apia building the islands' first two-storey house.
What caused the death of Robert Louis Stevenson on the 3rd of December 1894?
Robert Louis Stevenson collapsed while talking to his wife attempting to open bottle of wine asking Does my face look strange before dying within hours at age forty-four possibly due to brain haemorrhage. Research published in 2000 suggested hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia explaining chronic respiratory complaints recurrent pulmonary haemorrhages and early death.
How many words did Robert Louis Stevenson write during his years on Samoa?
During his years on Samoa Stevenson wrote an estimated 700,000 words completing The Beach of Falesá the first-person tale of a Scottish copra trader unheroic in actions or soul. He also wrote The Ebb-Tide published in 1894 presenting misadventures of three deadbeats marooned in Tahitian port Papeete confirming new realistic turn away from adolescent adventure.