robert louis stevenson was a novelist poet and essayist who

Robert Louis Stevenson

(1850-1894)

Who Was Robert Louis Stevenson?

Novelist Robert Louis Stevenson traveled often, and his global wanderings lent themselves well to his brand of fiction. Stevenson developed a desire to write early in life, having no interest in the family business of lighthouse engineering. He was often abroad, usually for health reasons, and his journeys led to some of his early literary works. Publishing his first volume at the age of 28, Stevenson became a literary celebrity during his life when works such as Treasure Island, Kidnapped and Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde were released to eager audiences.

Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on November 13, 1850, to Thomas and Margaret Stevenson. Lighthouse design was his father's and his family's profession, and so at the age 17, Stevenson enrolled at Edinburgh University to study engineering, with the goal of following his father in the family business. Lighthouse design never appealed to Stevenson, though, and he began studying law instead. His spirit of adventure truly began to appear at this stage, and during his summer vacations, he traveled to France to be around young artists, both writers and painters. He emerged from law school in 1875 but did not practice, as, by this point, he felt that his calling was to be a writer.

The Writer Emerges

In 1878, Stevenson saw the publication of his first volume of work, An Inland Voyage ; the book provides an account of his trip from Antwerp to northern France, which he made in a canoe via the river Oise. A companion work, Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes (1879), continues in the introspective vein of Inland Voyage and also focuses on the voice and character of the narrator, beyond simply telling a tale.

Also from this period are the humorous essays of Virginibus Puerisque and Other Papers (1881), which were originally published from 1876 to 1879 in various magazines, and Stevenson's first book of short fiction, New Arabian Nights (1882). The stories marked the United Kingdom's emergence into the realm of the short story, which had previously been dominated by Russians, Americans and the French. These stories also marked the beginning of Stevenson's adventure fiction, which would come to be his calling card.

A turning point in Stevenson's personal life came during this period, when he met the woman who would become his wife, Fanny Osbourne, in September 1876. She was a 36-year-old American who was married (although separated) and had two children. Stevenson and Osbourne began to see each other romantically while she remained in France. In 1878, she divorced her husband, and Stevenson set out to meet her in California (the account of his voyage would later be captured in The Amateur Emigrant ). The two married in 1880, and remained together until Stevenson's death in 1894.

After they were married, the Stevensons took a three-week honeymoon at an abandoned silver mine in Napa Valley, California, and it was from this trip that The Silverado Squatters (1883) emerged. Also appearing in the early 1880s were Stevenson's short stories "Thrawn Janet" (1881), "The Treasure of Franchard" (1883) and "Markheim" (1885), the latter two having certain affinities with Treasure Island and Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde (both of which would be published by 1886), respectively.

'Treasure Island'

The 1880s were notable for both Stevenson's declining health (which had never been good) and his prodigious literary output. He suffered from hemorrhaging lungs (likely caused by undiagnosed tuberculosis), and writing was one of the few activities he could do while confined to bed. While in this bedridden state, he wrote some of his most popular fiction, most notably Treasure Island (1883), Kidnapped (1886), Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886) and The Black Arrow (1888).

The idea for Treasure Island was ignited by a map that Stevenson had drawn for his 12-year-old stepson; Stevenson had conjured a pirate adventure story to accompany the drawing, and it was serialized in the boys' magazine Young Folks from October 1881 to January 1882. When Treasure Island was published in book form in 1883, Stevenson got his first real taste of widespread popularity, and his career as a profitable writer had finally begun. The book was Stevenson's first volume-length fictional work, as well as the first of his writings that would be dubbed "for children." By the end of the 1880s, it was one of the period's most popular and widely read books.

'Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'

The year 1886 saw the publication of what would be another enduring work, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde , which was an immediate success and helped cement Stevenson's reputation. The work is decidedly of the "adult" classification, as it presents a jarring and horrific exploration of various conflicting traits lurking within a single person. The book went on to international acclaim, inspiring countless stage productions and more than 100 motion pictures.

Final Years

In June 1888, Stevenson and his family set sail from San Francisco, California, to travel the islands of the Pacific Ocean, stopping for stays at the Hawaiian Islands, where he became good friends with King Kalākaua. In 1889, they arrived in the Samoan islands, where they decided to build a house and settle. The island setting stimulated Stevenson's imagination, and, subsequently, influenced his writing during this time: Several of his later works are about the Pacific isles, including The Wrecker (1892), Island Nights' Entertainments (1893), The Ebb-Tide (1894) and In the South Seas (1896).

Toward the end of his life, Stevenson's South Seas writing included more of the everyday world, and both his nonfiction and fiction became more powerful than his earlier works. These more mature works not only brought Stevenson lasting fame, but they also helped to enhance his status with the literary establishment when his work was re-evaluated in the late 20th century, and his abilities were embraced by critics as much as his storytelling had always been by readers.

Stevenson died of a stroke on December 3, 1894, at his home in Vailima, Samoa. He was buried at the top of Mount Vaea, overlooking the sea.

QUICK FACTS

• Name: Robert Louis Stevenson
• Birth Year: 1850
• Birth date: November 13, 1850
• Birth City: Edinburgh
• Birth Country: Scotland
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: Robert Louis Stevenson was a 19th-century Scottish writer notable for such novels as 'Treasure Island,' 'Kidnapped' and 'Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.'
• Fiction and Poetry
• Astrological Sign: Scorpio
• Edinburgh University
• Edinburgh Academy
• Nacionalities
• Scot (Scotland)
• Death Year: 1894
• Death date: December 3, 1894
• Death City: Vailima
• Death Country: Samoa

CITATION INFORMATION

• Article Title: Robert Louis Stevenson Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
• Url: https://www.biography.com/authors-writers/robert-louis-stevenson
• Access Date:
• Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
• Last Updated: April 15, 2021
• Original Published Date: April 2, 2014
• I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move.
• There is only one difference between a long life and a good dinner: that, in the dinner, the sweets come last.

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Robert Louis Stevenson Museum

Robert louis stevenson.

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Stevenson's Writings

Robert Louis Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist, and travel writer; but he is probably best known for the classics Treasure Island , A Child’s Garden of Verses , Kidnapped , and Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  

Exploring the classics

Treasure island.

Treasure Island  is one of the most famous adventure stories in English literature. The lasting appeal of the story is supported by the fact that there are more film versions of  Treasure Island than almost any other classic novel. 

First published in 1881 (but as a book in 1883), it is a gripping coming-of-age tale for the main character, Jim Hawkins. The adventure takes Jim away from his calm English life to the high seas aboard the Hispanola and into the unknown. 

Book Background :  Treasure Island was written by RLS after returning from his first trip to America where we was married. Still a relatively unknown author, inspiration came one summer in Scotland when bad weather kept the family inside. To amuse his 12-year old stepson, Lloyd, RLS used the idea of a secret map as the basis of a story about hidden treasure. 

Taking inspiration from his travels, childhood, and trips around Scotland visiting lighthouses, as well as finding character’s inspiration in his friends, Stevenson sat down and wrote the adventure that became one of the most beloved pirate tales of all time. It gave Stevenson fame and was the first of many classic stories told by him. 

Recommended for Students: Grades 5 to 8 

Themes:  Courage, Bravery, Heroism, European, Honor, Loyalty, Friends, Friendship.

One of Stevenson’s most enduringly popular novels,  Kidnapped (originally  The Lad with the Silver Button) was inspired by real events in Scottish history. The Appin murder of Colin Campbell (aka the Red Fox) in 1752, sparked the biggest manhunt seen in Scotland at the time and eventually brought an innocent man to death after a trial that has been dubbed “the blackest mark on Scottish legal history”. 

Book Background :    In 1870 Stevenson received a copy of  The Trial of James Stewart . It was the official record of Stewart as an accomplice in the murder of Colin Campbell of Glenure. Compelling to such a passionate Scotsman and a trained advocate (lawyer), Stevenson was outraged to learn how a man without evidence against him could be sentenced to death simply to satisfy clan revenge and a vengeful government determined to end the Jacobite rebellions. The entire episode was thoroughly investigated by Stevenson, with him and his father visiting Appin to check sources and facts. In this way Stevenson was able to cleverly weave together his fiction with historical fact, creating the seamless adventure. 

Recommended for Students: Grades 6 to 8 

Themes:  Courage, Bravery, Heroism, European, World History, Friends, and Friendship. 

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Robert Louis Stevenson

Born on November 13, 1850, in Edinburgh, Scotland, Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson came from a long line of prominent lighthouse engineers. During his boyhood, he spent holidays with his maternal grandfather, a minister and professor of moral philosophy who shared his love of sermons and storytelling with him. Prone to illness, Stevenson spent many of his early winters in bed, entertained only by his imagination and a great love of reading, especially William Shakespeare , Sir Walter Scott, John Bunyan and The Arabian Nights .

Encouraged to follow the family tradition of lighthouse engineering, Stevenson began studies at the University of Edinburgh in 1867, but quickly discovered he preferred a career in literature. To satisfy his father, he acquired a law degree and was admitted to the bar by the time he was twenty-five.

Stevenson spent the next four years traveling through Europe, mostly around Paris, publishing essays and articles about his travels. In 1876, he met Fanny Vandegrift Osbourne, a married woman ten years his senior. When she decided to return to San Francisco soon after they met, Stevenson followed, taking the long voyage across the Atlantic and the United States against the advice of his friends and physician. To add to his adventure and inform his writing, he chose to travel in steerage and was near death when he arrived in Monterey, California, in 1879. After being nursed back to health, he continued to San Francisco that winter, though it cost him his health. Osbourne, who had since been divorced, helped him recover. They married the following May.

After several months in the U.S. with his wife and her young son, Stevenson brought his new family back to Britain. Frequently sick, he continued to write seriously, producing the bulk of his best-loved work. His first successful novel, Treasure Island was published in 1884, followed by A Child’s Garden of Verses in 1885, and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in 1886.

A representative of Neo-Romanticism during the Modernist period of English literature, Stevenson was an incredibly popular and successful writer. Though many leading critics dismissed his work entirely, he was admired by many authors, including Jorge Luis Borges , Ernest Hemingway, Rudyard Kipling , Vladimir Nabokov, and J. M. Barrie. He was also friends with Henry James, who was a vocal supporter his work.

Following the death of his father in 1887, Stevenson left again for the U.S. with his family, planning a move to Colorado. Upon landing in New York, however, they decided to spend the winter at Saranac Lake, in the Adirondacks. That summer he chartered a yacht and sailed through eastern and central Pacific, stopping for extended stays among the Hawaiian Islands. In 1890, Stevenson purchased a four hundred-acre estate in Upolu, one of the Samoan islands. He adopted the native name Tusitala (Samoan for “Story Writer”) and soon became immersed in local politics.

By 1894, Stevenson had become increasingly depressed, convinced the best of his work was behind him. He wrote that he wished his illnesses would kill him. On the evening of December 3, 1894, he collapsed, possibly due to a cerebral hemorrhage, and died. He is entombed at Mt. Vaea, at a spot overlooking the sea, with a tablet on which his poem “ Requiem ” is inscribed.

Due in part to the rise of the modernist aesthetic, Stevenson’s work fell out of favor. Criticized by figures such as Virginia Woolf, he was soon remembered only as a contributor to children’s literature. For most of the twentieth century, he was excluded from the Oxford and Norton anthologies of literature entirely, though he is now included. According to an index of translated authors kept by UNESCO, Stevenson is ranked the twenty-fifth most translated author in the world, ahead of fellow Victorians Charles Dickens, Oscar Wilde , and Edgar Allan Poe .

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Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson: Poet, Essayist, and Novelist (1850-94)

Philip v. allingham , faculty of education, lakehead university, thunder bay, ontario.

[ Victorian Web Home —> Visual Arts —> Authors —> Robert Louis Stevenson ]

Although his family felt that he was destined for the engineering profession, he studied in that field only briefly at Edinburgh University in 1867. Having neither the interest nor physical stamina necessary for an engineering career, Stevenson in 1871 switched to the study of law. Even "as an adult, there were times when he could not even wear a jacket for fear of bringing on a haemorrhage of the lungs" ( Cambridge Guide 905). Although called to the Bar as advocate in 1875, Stevenson never practised, perhaps because of ill-health (although this never prevented him from travelling), and perhaps because, as Chambers Biographical Dictionary contends, "his true inclination was for writing" (1440). During his years at university, beginning in 1871, he published his first works in The Edinburgh University Magazine and The Portfolio (1873).

Robert L. Stevenson in velvet jacket with smoking cap . Photograph by Charles L. Ritzmann. From the Berg Collection, New York Public Library (image id no. 484059). [Click on images to enlarge them.]

A tour in a canoe in 1876 led to the publication of his first book, An Inland Voyage (1878). In the same year, The New Arabian Nights , afterwards separately published, appeared serially in magazines. In 1879 he published Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes , in which he describes travelling for his health through Belgium and northern France. In the latter part of that journey he met a separated American lady, Fanny Osbourne, née Vandegrift (1840-1914), whom he followed to America. He recorded his impressions of travelling to California by train and ship in The Amateur Emigrant (posthumously published in 1895). Immediately upon Fanny's divorce in San Francisco, Stevenson married her in 1880. After the couple's brief residence in Calistoga, impressions of which Stevenson recorded in The Silverado Squatters (1883), they returned to Europe, first to Scotland, and then to the Mediterranean in search of a more healthful climate, with Stevenson "determined to stand or fall by his ability to earn a living by writing" ( Cambridge Guide 905).

After his unsuccessful application in 1881 for the Chair of Constitutional Law and History at Edinburgh University, Stevenson continued to publish prolifically, lesser known works including three volumes of essays — Virginibus Puerisque (1881), Familiar Studies of Men and Books (1882), and Memories and Portraits (1887) — New Arabian Nights (1882), Prince Otto (1885), Underwoods (a volume of verse), The Merry Men , a collection of short stories (1887), Across the Plains (1892), and Island Nights' Entertainments (1893). Stevenson's name became a household word throughout Europe and America when in 1883 he published the best-selling adventure/ bildungsroman The Sea Cook: or, Treasure Island by 'Captain George North' (serialised in Young Folks from October 1881 through January 1882), which he had originally intended for the entertainment of Fanny's son, Lloyd.

He followed up Treasure Island (published as a volume in 1883) with a volume of poetry intended for children, The Child's Garden of Verse (1885), and another romance in the same vein, Kidnapped (1886). The novella The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde (1886) gave him considerable trouble in composition, but also proved a best-seller, as did the historical novel The Black Arrow (serialized in Young Folks between June and October 1883, and published in volume form in 1888). His final historical/adventure novel, The Master Of Ballantrae: A Winter's Tale (1889), was less successful commercially. "The list of his novels mixes glib popular romances and works of steadily developing psychological intensity" ( Cambridge Guide 905). He also contributed to various periodicals, including The Cornhill Magazine and Longman's Magazine , in which he published the article "A Humble Remonstrance" in 1884 as a reply to Henry James's "The Art of Fiction." The consequence was a lifelong friendship between the two writers.

In 1887, prompted by continuing health problems, he left England, never to return. He and Fanny went to America, and in the following year visited the South Sea Islands where, after visiting a leper colony in Samoa, they settled in 1890. He and his wife spent the remaining five years of his life on their estate at Vailima, the name which he applied to a series of letters he wrote to his friend Sidney Calvin. In 1892 he published Across the Plains , in 1893 Island Nights' Entertainments and Catriona . By this time his health had severely deteriorated, so that he failed to complete both St. Ives and Weir of Hermiston , both of which were published after his death, the former (completed by Sir Arthur Quiller Couch) in 1897, the latter in 1896. With his stepson, Lloyd Osbourne, he wrote The Wrong Box (1889), The Wrecker (1892), and Ebb-Tide (1894), which condemned European colonial exploitation, as did his own The Beach of Falesá (1893; its full text not published until 1984), and his letters to the London Times on behalf of native Samoans. Upon his death from a cerebral haemorrhage, the people of his adopted island accorded him the title "Tusitala" (The Teller of Tales).

Bathurst, Bella. The Lighthouse Stevensons: The Extraordinary Story of the Building of the Scottish Lighthouses by the Ancestirs of Robert Louis Stevenson . New York: Perennial/HarperCollins, 2000.

Chambers Biographical Dictionary , ed. Una McGovern. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap, 2003. Page 1440.

"Fiction. Robert Louis Stevenson." Bibliomania . http://www.bibliomania.com/0/0/46/frameset.html 8/10/04

"Robert Louis Stevenson, Biography and Works." Literature Network. http://www.online-literature.com/stevenson/ 8/10/04

Smith, Janet Adam, ed. Robert Louis Stevenson Collected Poems . London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1950. Pages 130, 477-79.

"Stevenson, Robert Louis." The Cambridge Guide to English Literature , ed. Ian Ousby. Cambridge: Cambridge U. P., 1993. Pages 905-6.

Last modified 5 January 2004

About Robert Louis Stevenson

(1850 - 1894), scottish.

Quick Facts

Robert Louie Stevenson, most famous for the novel ‘Treasure Island’ and ‘Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde,’ was a Scottish 19th-century novelist, travel writer, and a poet. Robert Louis Stevenson (Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson), better known as R.L. Stevenson, is best known among literary enthusiasts as a Victorian novelist, poet , and travel writer. His works , despite being classified as Children’s classics often, are loved by all age groups.

• R.L. Stevenson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on November 13, 1850.
• He spent a difficult childhood confined to bed due to his chronic health problems.
• He was influenced by Allison Cunningham, his nurse at his young age, who would often read the Pilgrim’s Progress and The Old Testament to him.
• The publication of Treasure Island earned Stevenson recognition among Literary Personalities.
• Robert Louis Stevenson died at the age of 44 a few hours after suffering a brain hemorrhage on December 3, 1894.

Interesting Facts

• Stevenson had his first work published at the age of Sixteen in The Pentland Rising in 1866.
• He gifted his birthday to the 12-year-old daughter of Henry Clay Ide, the US Commissioner to Samoa.
• Stevenson fell in love and married Fanny Vandegrift Osbourne, who was ten years older than him.
• In 1889, Stevenson bought a 300-acre estate, Vailima, where he lived for the rest of his life and written his most significant works.
• He invented the sleeping bag 12-day hike through a mountainous region of southern France in 1878.

Famous Books by Elie Wiesel

‘ Treasure Island ‘ (1883), without any doubt, is his first major success. It is a tale of piracy, adventure, sea voyage, and buried treasure . It is one of the frequently filmed adventurous novels, which set the ideal model for a pirate’s character . ‘ The Black Arrow: A Tale of the Two Roses ‘ (1883) is a historical novel of adventure and romance. Set during the Wars of the Roses, it presents a miniature version of the war and life in general. ‘ The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde ‘ (1886) explores the contradictory behavior between a person’s private and public selves through the two alter egos of the main character. It plays a vital role in understanding the subconscious mind through the physician (Dr Jekyll), who turns into a psychopathic monster (Mr Hyde) after imbibing a drug meant to separate good from evil in a personality. ‘ Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes ‘ (1879) was one of the first books to present hiking and camping as recreational activities. This travel writing records Stevenson’s invention of the sleeping bag during his 12-day solo hiking in the mountains of Cévennes (south-central France). ‘ Kidnapped ‘ (1886) is a historical adventurous novel set in Scotland just after the Jacobite rebellions. David Balfour, the novel’s young protagonist, narrates his pursuit of claiming inheritance and his alliance with Alan Breck. ‘ The Master of Ballantrae : A Winter’s Tale’ (1888) is a revenge story that explores moral ambiguity between the two brothers Ballantrae and Henry. Set in Scotland and America, the story is woven around the Jacobite rebellion. ‘ A Child’s Garden of Verses ‘ (1885), although written for children, is popular among adults equally. Most of the poems in this collection seem to shed a positive reflection on the author’s troubled childhood.

Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was born on November 13, 1850, as an only son to Thomas Stevenson and his wife, Margaret Isabella Balfour. As a young boy, he suffered from poor health, which made regular schooling difficult. Still, he attended Edinburgh Academy and other schools.

At the age of seventeen, he enrolled at Edinburgh University to follow suit with his father. However, he abandoned Engineering and joined law to please his parents. In 1875, he became a lawyer and was called to a Scottish bar, but he did not practice.

Stevenson wanted to be a writer from a very young age. He had a strong influence from his nurse, Alison Cunningham (aka Cummy), who regularly read him religious stories, often from the Old Testament, Catechisms, and Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. His isolated childhood caused by his health issues led to his fine imagination.

Literary Career

His career as a writer developed slowly and steadily. Stevenson was frequently abroad due to his failing health, most often in France. Two of such journeys help him with his works: An Inland Voyage (1878) and Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes (1879).

In 1876 Stevenson met Fanny Vandegrift Osbourne, an American lady, and the two fell in love. When she returns to America, he decides to go on a pursuit to have her hand. His arduous journey appeared later in The Amateur Emigrant (1895) and Across the Plains (1892).

Upon returning from America, Stevenson, accompanied by his wife and stepson, Lloyd Osbourne, travels to Davos, Switzerland. It is where he publishes his most celebrated work, ‘Treasure Island’ .

In April 1882, he left Davos and stayed in the Scottish Highlands, where he produced two of his finest short stories, “Thrawn Janet” and “The Merry Men.” In the following years, he has published his other notable works: ‘ A Child’s Garden of Verses’ (1885), ‘ The Black Arrow: A Tale of the Two Roses’ (1888), ‘Kidnapped’ (1886), and ‘ Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’  (1886).

As a writer, Stevenson has explored all possible forms. He has written many works and is accomplished as a poet, essayist, novelist, and travel writer. Like many literary geniuses, Stevenson also enjoyed more popularity posthumously than in his time.

Later Life and Death

Influence from other writers.

R.L. Stevenson, as a budding author, was inspired by many classic writers. His major source of inspiration comes from Bunyan’s Pilgrims’ Progress and the Old Testament and his friend and critic Sidney Colvin.

Literature by R.L. Stevenson

Explore literature by Robert Louie Stevenson below, created by the team at Book Analysis.

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Robert Louis Stevenson IELTS Reading Passage

Robert louis stevenson ielts reading passage with answers.

Reading Passage 3

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40 which are based on Reading Passage 3 below.

Robert Louis Stevenson

A Scottish novelist, poet, essayist, and travel writer, Robert Louis Stevenson was born at 8 Howard Place, Edinburgh, Scotland, on 13 November 1850. It has been more than 100 years since his death. Stevenson was a writer who caused conflicting opinions about his works. On one hand, he was often highly praised for his expert prose and style by many English-language critics. On the other hand, others criticised the religious themes in his works, often misunderstanding Stevenson’s own religious beliefs. Since his death a century before, critics and biographers have disagreed on the legacy of Stevenson’s writing. Two biographers, KF and CP , wrote a biography about Stevenson with a clear focus. They chose not to criticise aspects of Stevenson’s personal life. Instead, they focused on his writing, and gave high praise to his writing style and skill.

The literary pendulum has swung these days. Different critics have different opinions towards Robert Louis Stevenson’s works. Though today, Stevenson is one of the most translated authors in the world, his works have sustained a wide variety of negative criticism throughout his life. It was like a complete reversal of polarity—from highly positive to slightly less positive to clearly negative; after being highly praised as a great writer, he became an example of an author with corrupt ethics and lack of moral. Many literary critics passed his works off as children’s stories or horror stories, and thought to have little social value in an educational setting. Stevenson’s works were often excluded from literature curriculum because of its controversial nature. These debates remain, and many critics still assert that despite his skill, his literary works still lack moral value.

One of the main reasons why Stevenson’s literary works attracted so much criticism was due to the genre of his writing. Stevenson mainly wrote adventure stories, which was part of a popular and entertaining writing fad at the time. Many of us believe adventure stories are exciting, offers engaging characters, action, and mystery but ultimately can’t teach moral principles. The plot points are one-dimensional and rarely offer a deeper moral meaning, instead focusing on exciting and shocking plot twists and thrilling events. His works were even criticised by fellow authors. Though Stevenson’s works have deeply influenced Oscar Wilde, Wilde often joked that Stevenson would have written better works if he wasn’t born in Scotland. Other authors came to Stevenson’s defence, including Galsworthy who claimed that Stevenson is a greater writer than Thomas Hardy.

Despite Wilde’s criticism, Stevenson’s Scottish identity was an integral part of his written works. Although Stevenson’s works were not popular in Scotland when he was alive, many modern Scottish literary critics claim that Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson are the most influential writers in the history of Scotland. While many critics exalt Sir Walter Scott as a literary genius because of his technical ability, others argue that Stevenson deserves the same recognition for his natural ability to capture stories and characters in words. Many of Scott’s works were taken more seriously as literature for their depth due to their tragic themes, but fans of Stevenson praise his unique style of story-telling and capture of human nature. Stevenson’s works, unlike other British authors, captured the unique day to day life of average Scottish people. Many literary critics point to this as a flaw of his works. According to the critics, truly important literature should transcend local culture and stories. However, many critics praise the local taste of his literature. To this day, Stevenson’s works provide valuable insight to life in Scotland during the 19th century.

Despite much debate of Stevenson’s writing topics, his writing was not the only source of attention for critics. Stevenson’s personal life often attracted a lot of attention from his fans and critics alike. Some even argue that his personal life eventually outshone his writing. Stevenson had been plagued with health problems his whole life, and often had to live in much warmer climates than the cold, dreary weather of Scotland in order to recover. So he took his family to a south pacific island Samoa, which was a controversial decision at that time. However, Stevenson did not regret the decision. The sea air and thrill of adventure complimented the themes of his writing, and for a time restored his health. From there, Stevenson gained a love of travelling, and for nearly three years he wandered the eastern and central Pacific. Much of his works reflected this love of travel and adventure that Stevenson experienced in the Pacific islands. It was as a result of this biographical attention that the feeling grew that interest in Stevenson’s life had taken the place of interest in his works. Whether critics focus on his writing subjects, his religious beliefs, or his eccentric lifestyle of travel and adventure, people from the past and present have different opinions about Stevenson as an author. Today, he remains a controversial yet widely popular figure in Western literature.

Questions 27-31 Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D. Write the correct letter in boxes 27-31 on your answer sheet.

27 Stevenson’s biographers KF and CP

A underestimated the role of family played in Stevenson’s life. B overestimated the writer’s works in the literature history. C exaggerated Stevenson’s religious belief in his works. D elevated Stevenson’s role as a writer.

28 The main point of the second paragraph is

A the public give a more fair criticism to Stevenson’s works. B recent criticism has been justified. C the style of Stevenson’s works overweigh his faults in his life. D Stevenson’s works’ drawback is lack of ethical nature.

29 According to the author, adventure stories

A do not provide plot twists well. B cannot be used by writers to show moral values. C are more fashionable art form. D can be found in other’s works but not in Stevenson’s.

30 What does the author say about Stevenson’s works?

A They describe the life of people in Scotland. B They are commonly regarded as real literature. C They were popular during Stevenson’s life. D They transcend the local culture and stories.

31 The lifestyle of Stevenson

A made his family envy him so much. B should be responsible for his death. C gained more attention from the public than his works. D didn’t well prepare his life in Samoa

Questions 32-35 Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 3? In boxes 32-35 on you answer sheet, write

TRUE if the statement is true FALSE if the statement is false NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage

32 Although Oscar Wilde admired Robert Louis Stevenson very much, he believed Stevenson could have written greater works. 33 Robert Louis Stevenson encouraged Oscar Wilde to start writing at first. 34 Galsworthy thought Hardy is greater writer than Stevenson is. 35 Critics only paid attention to Robert Louis Stevenson’s writing topics.

Questions 36-40 Complete the notes using the list of words, A-I, below. Write the correct letter, A-I, in boxes 36-40 on your answer sheet.

Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson

A lot of people believe that Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson are the most influential writer in the history of Scotland, but Sir Walter Scott is more proficient in 36_________ while Stevenson has better 37_________ Scott’s books illustrate 38_________ especially in terms of tragedy, but a lot of readers prefer Stevenson’s 39_________ What’s more, Stevenson’s understanding of 40_________ made his works have the most unique expression of Scottish people.

A natural ability B romance C colorful language D critical acclaim E humor F technical control G storytelling H depth I human nature

Robert Louis Stevenson IELTS Reading Passage Answers

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Portrait of Robert Louis Stevenson

John singer sargent, private collection.

Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson (13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

A literary celebrity during his lifetime, Stevenson now ranks among the 26 most translated authors in the world. He has been greatly admired by many authors, including Jorge Luis Borges, Ernest Hemingway, Rudyard Kipling, Marcel Schwob, Vladimir Nabokov, J. M. Barrie, and G. K. Chesterton, who said of him that he “seemed to pick the right word up on the point of his pen, like a man playing spillikins”.

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Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 - 1894)

Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer who wrote much the loved classics ‘Treasure Island’ and ‘Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.’

Born in Edinburgh on November 13, 1850 to a family of leading lighthouse engineers, Stevenson originally planned to follow in his father’s footsteps.

Avoiding lectures

He enrolled at the University of Edinburgh in 1867 to study engineering but showed little interest in the subject, instead spending much of his time avoiding lectures. Business trips with his father to inspect the family’s engineering works in Anstruther and Wick did very little to spark an interest in engineering but provided inspiration for his writing.

In 1871 he notified his father of his intention to pursue a life of letters. This, on its own, was not acceptable and so a compromise was made. Stevenson agreed to attend the University of Edinburgh to study law so that he would have a respectable profession to fall back on should his writing career fail him.

A life beyond law

Despite being called to the bar in 1875, Stevenson chose not to practise and instead continued to write. While at university, he had trained himself to be a writer by imitating the styles of popular authors including Daniel Defoe and his essays had been published in several periodicals.

 After university Stevenson travelled widely and this wanderlust resulted in his first books; An Inland Voyage and Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes, both based on his time in France.

Escaping the cold

Though he spent long periods abroad on the hunt for a climate that would improve his health; including time in America where he pursued and married divorcee Fanny Van de Grift Osbourne, many of his most famous novels were written in the UK. Treasure Island was begun in a Braemar cottage in the summer of 1881, and both Kidnapped and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde were written in Bournemouth, the Stevensons’ home from 1884.

I have so many things to make life sweet for me, it seems a pity I cannot have that other thing – health. Robert Louis Stevenson Letter to Sidney Colvin, Pitlochry, August 1881. 

In June 1888, once again on the hunt for a warmer climate, Stevenson chartered a yacht and set sail with his family from San Francisco. For three years they toured the eastern and central Pacific, stopping off for extended stays in the Hawaiian Islands, Gilbert Islands, Tahiti, New Zealand and the Samoan Islands. Stevenson continued to write and as well as ballads, he completed the novel The Master of Ballantrae.

Finally, in 1890, the travelling ended and he bought a tract of about 400 acres on the island of Upolu in Samoa. On Samoa he involved himself in local politics, became a noted figure on the island, took the native name Tusitala - Samoan for teller of tales, and continued to write. Before his death in 1894 he wrote The Beach of Falesa, Catriona, The Ebb-Tide, Vailima Letters, and began Weir of Hermiston, which was left unfinished.

A lasting legacy

Stevenson became a literary celebrity during his lifetime and now ranks amongst the top 26 most translated authors in the world. Over a hundred years after his death, his works are widely read and frequently adapted for stage and screen.

The University of Edinburgh erected a commemorative plaque to celebrate Stevenson’s achievements, influence and notoriety at 7 George Square. 

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• Robert Louis Stevenson

B. 1850 D. 1894

All that was good, all that was fair, all that was me is gone. - Robert Louis Stevenson 'Sing Me A Song of A Lad That Is Gone'

Born in Scotland, Stevenson was an unconventional and adventurous novelist, poet, essayist, short story and travel writer with a remarkable gift for captivating story-telling. Some of his prose works, such as Treasure Island , Kidnapped and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde , remain enormously popular and have inspired numerous adaptations and film versions.

Stevenson rejected the law for a life as a writer, often travelling to warmer climes for his health. He wrote numerous stories and essays based on his experiences in France and the South Seas. Marrying an American woman took him to San Francisco, where he became stepfather to her two children.

Although the family returned to Europe, Stevenson’s health continued to be affected by the climate, and he travelled again to the South Seas and the island of Samoa, immersing himself in the culture.  He died there aged forty-four and was buried on a mountain top over looking his home.

Poems by Robert Louis Stevenson

Sing me a song of a lad that is gone, read by andrew motion.

by Robert Louis Stevenson

Sing Me A Song of A Lad That Is Gone - Robert Louis Stevenson - Read by Andrew Motion

Books by robert louis stevenson, a child's garden of verses, songs of travel and other verses, poems hitherto unpublished, 3 vol. 1916, 1921, related links.

Early works including books, collected and uncollected essays and serialisations from National Library of Scotland

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Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Louis (Balfour) Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, and travel writer, and a contributor to both children's and adult literature.

• Robert Louis (Balfour) Stevenson
• Nationality: Scottish
• Birth Date: 13 Nov 1850
• Death Date: 3 Dec 1894
• ✎ Cite This

Available Works

FCIT. (2024, May 06). Robert Louis Stevenson author page. Retrieved May 06, 2024, from https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/authors/96/robert-louis-stevenson/

FCIT. "Robert Louis Stevenson author page." Lit2Go ETC. Web. 06 May 2024. https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/authors/96/robert-louis-stevenson/ >.

FCIT, "Robert Louis Stevenson author page." Accessed May 06, 2024. https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/authors/96/robert-louis-stevenson/ .

Author : Robert Louis Stevenson

This author wrote articles for the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica Articles written by this author are designated in the EB1911 by the initials " R. L. S. "

• 1.1.1 with Lloyd Osbourne
• 1.2.1 Short story collections
• 1.3 Travel writing
• 1.4.1 Collections
• 1.6 Letters
• 1.7 Contributions to EB9
• 1.8 Contributions to EB1911
• 2.1 On his works

Works [ edit ]

Novels [ edit ].

• Treasure Island (1883)
• Prince Otto (1885) ( transcription project )
• The Annotated Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde - Wikisource community annotation project.
• Kidnapped: being memoirs of the adventures of David Balfour in the year 1751 (1886)
• The Black Arrow (1888)
• The Master of Ballantrae (1889) ( transcription project )
• Catriona ( Adventures of David Balfour , 1893) ( transcription project )
• St Ives (1909), completed by Arthur Quiller-Couch , illustrated by George Grenville Manton ( transcription project )

with Lloyd Osbourne [ edit ]

• The Wrong Box (1889) ( transcription project )
• The Wrecker (1892) ( transcription project )
• The Ebb-Tide (1894) ( transcription project )

Short stories [ edit ]

• A Lodging for the Night (1877)
• The Sire de Maletroit's Door (1878)
• Will o' the Mill (1878)
• The Pavilion on the Links (1880)
• Thrawn Janet (1881)
• The Merry Men (1882)
• The Treasure of Franchard (1883)
• Olalla (1885)
• The Beach of Falesá (1892)
• The Isle of Voices (1893)
• The Scientific Ape (2005)
• The Clockmaker (2005)

Short story collections [ edit ]

• New Arabian Nights (1895) ( transcription project )
• The Merry Men — Will o' the Mill — Markheim — Thrawn Janet — Olalla — The Treasure of Franchard
• Island Nights' Entertainments [user transcript]
• Island nights' entertainments illustrated by Gordon Brown and W. Hatherell. New York: Scribner. 1901.
• Fables (1896)

Travel writing [ edit ]

• An Inland Voyage (1878) ( transcription project )
• The Annotated 'Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes' - Wikisource community annotation project.
• The Silverado Squatters (1883)
• The Amateur Emigrant (1895)
• In the South Seas (1896)
• Edinburgh (1914)

Poems [ edit ]

The following are published works of poetry. For individual poems, see Index of Titles .

Collections [ edit ]

• A Child's Garden of Verses (1885)
• Underwoods (1887)
• Ballads (1890)
• Songs of Travel and Other Verses (1896)
• New poems and variant readings (1918)
• Poems, by Robert Louis Stevenson, hitherto unpublished (1916, 2 vols; 1921)
• The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson (Vailima ed.) Volume 8 (1922) ( transcription project ) Contains nearly forty additional "new poems" not found in above collections.

Essays [ edit ]

• Virginibus Puerisque and Other Papers (1881) ( start transcription )
• Familiar Studies of Men and Books (1882) ( transcription project )
• " Thomas Stevenson, Civil Engineer " in Littell's Living Age , 174 ( 2245 ) (1887)
• Essays in the Art of Writing (1905)
• Books Which Influenced Me (1887). Robert Louis Stevenson; a Bookman extra number. London: Hodder & Stoughton. 1913

Letters [ edit ]

• Vailima Letters (1895) ( transcription project )
• The Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson Volume 1
• The Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson Volume 2

Contributions to EB9 [ edit ]

• " Béranger, Pierre Jean de ," in Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition (3) (1878)

Contributions to EB1911 [ edit ]

• " Béranger, Pierre Jean de ," in Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed., 1911)

Other [ edit ]

• Memoir of Fleeming Jenkin (1887) Originally appeared in Papers, literary, scientific, & c. by Fleeming Jenkin (1887) ( transcription project )
• Records of a Family of Engineers (1896)
• A Footnote to History: Eight years of trouble in Samoa (1892) ( transcription project ) (Charles Scribners Son's, 1901)

Works about Stevenson [ edit ]

• " R. L. S. Encounters the "Modern" Writers on Their Own Ground " (1926), an essay by Stuart Pratt Sherman
• " Stevenson, Robert Louis ," in Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900 , London: Smith, Elder, & Co. (1885–1900) in 63 vols.
• " Stevenson, Robert Louis Balfour ," in The Nuttall Encyclopædia , (ed.) by James Wood , London: Frederick Warne and Co., Ltd. (1907)
• " Stevenson, Robert Louis ," in A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature , by John William Cousin , London: J. M. Dent & Sons (1910)
• " Stevenson, Robert Lewis Balfour ," by Edmund Gosse in Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed., 1911)
• " The Burial of Robert Louis Stevenson at Samoa ", by Florence Earle Coates
• " The Difference ", by Florence Earle Coates
• " Stevenson ; Necrologe (22nd Dec. 1894)" Joseph Jacobs, Literary Studies . 1896
• " Robert Louis Stevenson " in Studies of a Biographer , vol 4 (1902) by Leslie Stephen
• " Stevenson's Birthday " by Katherine Miller
• The Life of Robert Louis Stevenson by Thomas Graham Balfour (1916) IA
• Robert Louis Stevenson: the dramatist (1903) by Arthur Wing Pinero
• Robert Louis Stevenson; a Bookman extra number 1913 ( transcription project )

On his works [ edit ]

• " Treasure Island ," in The New International Encyclopædia , New York: Dodd, Mead and Co. (1905)
• Introduction (1909) to Treasure Island by Franklin Thomas Baker
• " Kidnapped ," by Arthur Guiterman in The Encyclopedia Americana , New York: The Encyclopedia Americana Corporation (1920)

Some or all works by this author were published before January 1, 1929, and are in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago. Translations or editions published later may be copyrighted. Posthumous works may be copyrighted based on how long they have been published in certain countries and areas.

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Essays by Robert Louis Stevenson

Uncollected Essays

Uncollected Essays RLS with Quill Pen (1886) UNCOLLECTED ESSAYS, by year of publication The following is a brief guide to first publication of RLS’s uncollected essays. While some of these essays have subsequently been published in volumes of RLS’s writings, RLS never organized these for publication in the same way that he compiled Virginibus Puerisque [...]

Memories and Portraits, 1887

Memories and Portraits, 1887 Read the Virtual Book Memories and Portraits Contents "The Foreigner at Home" (1882) "Some College Memories" (1886) "Old Mortality" (1884) "An Old Scotch Gardener" (1871) "Pastoral" (1887) "The Manse" (1887) "A Humble Remonstrance" (1884) "A College Magazine" (not previously published) "A Penny Plain and Twopence Coloured" (1884) "A Gossip on Romance" (1882) [...]

Across the Plains with Other Memories and Essays, 1892

Across the Plains with Other Memories and Essays, 1892 Read the Virtual Book Across the Plains Contents "Epilogue to An Inland Voyage" (1888) "The Lantern Bearers" (1888) "A Chapter on Dreams" (1888) "Beggars" (1888) "Contributions to the History of Fife: Random Memories" (1888) "The Education of an Engineer: More Random Memories" (1888) "Across the Plains: Leaves [...]

Familiar Studies of Men and Books, 1882

Familiar Studies of Men and Books, 1882 Read the Virtual Book Familiar Studies of Men and Books Contents "Preface, by Way of Criticism" (not previously published) "Victor Hugo’s Romances" (1874) "Some Aspects of Robert Burns" (1879) "Walt Whitman" (1878) "Henry David Thoreau: His Character and Opinions" (1880) "Yoshida-Torajiro" (1880) "François Villon, Student, Poet, and Housebreaker" (1877) [...]

Virginibus Puerisque, 1881

Virginibus Puerisque, 1881 Read the Virtual Book Virginibus Puerisque and Other Papers Contents "Virginibus Puerisque i" (1876) "Virginibus Puerisque ii" (1881) "Virginibus Puerisque iii: On Falling in Love" (1877) "Virginibus Puerisque iv: The Truth of Intercourse" (1879) "Crabbed Age and Youth" (1878) "An Apology for Idlers" (1877) "Ordered South" (1874) "Aes Triplex" (1878) "El Dorado" [...]

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Robert Louis Stevenson: A Critical Study

Publisher description.

As the purpose of this book is entirely critical, and as there already exist several works dealing extensively with the life of Stevenson, the present biographical section is intentionally summary. Its object is merely to sketch in outline the principal events of Stevenson’s life, in order that what follows may require no passages of biographical elucidation. Stevenson was a writer of many sorts of stories, essays, poems; and in all this diversity he was at no time preoccupied with one particular form of art. In considering each form separately, as I purpose doing, it has been necessary to group into single divisions work written at greatly different times and in greatly differing conditions. In Mr. Graham Balfour’s “Life,” and very remarkably in Sir Sidney Colvin’s able commentaries upon Stevenson’s letters, may be found information at first hand which I could only give by acts of piracy. To those works, therefore, I refer the reader who wishes to follow in chronological detail the growth of Stevenson’s talent. They are, indeed, essential to all who are primarily interested in Stevenson the man. Here, the attempt will be made only to summarise the events of his days, and to estimate the ultimate value of his work in various departments of letters. This book is not a biography; it is not an “appreciation”; it is simply a critical study. Stevenson was born on November 13, 1850; and he died, almost exactly forty-four years later, on December 3, 1894. His first literary work, undertaken at the age of six, was an essay upon the history of Moses. This he dictated to his mother, and was rewarded for it by the gift of a Bible picture book. It is from the date of that triumph that Stevenson’s desire to be a writer must be calculated. A history of Joseph followed, and later on, apparently at the age of nine, he again dictated an account of certain travels in Perth. His first published work was a pamphlet on The Pentland Rising, written (but full of quotations) at the age of sixteen. His first “regular or paid contribution to periodical literature” was the essay called Roads (now included in Essays of Travel ), which was written when the author was between twenty-two and twenty-three. The first actual book to be published was An Inland Voyage (1878), written when Stevenson was twenty-seven; but all the essays which ultimately formed the volumes entitled Virginibus Puerisque (1881) and Familiar Studies of Men and Books (1882) are the product of 1874 and onwards. These, indicated very roughly, are the beginnings of his literary career. Of course there were many other contributary facts which led to his turning author; and there is probably no writer whose childhood is so fully “documented” as Stevenson’s. He claimed to be one of those who do not forget their own lives, and, in accordance with his practice, he has supplied us with numerous essays in which we may trace his growth and his experiences. That he was an only child and a delicate one we all know; so, too, we know that his grandfather was that Robert Stevenson who built the Bell Rock lighthouse. In the few chapters contributed by Robert Louis to A Family of Engineers we shall find an account, some of it fanciful, but some of it also perfectly accurate, of the Stevenson family and of Robert Stevenson, the grandfather, in particular. In Memories and Portraits is included a sketch of Thomas Stevenson, the father of Robert Louis; and in Mr. Balfour’s “Life” there is ample information for those who wish to study the influences of heredity.

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