Robert Louis Stevenson Dies

Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson (1850-1894) was a Scottish novelist, poet, and travel writer whose adventurous tales won a wide and enduring readership. In chronic ill health for much of his life, he died in 1894 on the island of Samoa in the South Pacific, where he had settled in search of a more healthful climate.

His best-known works included the pirate adventure Treasure Island and the chilling novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, an exploration of the divided human self. He also wrote Kidnapped, the verse collection A Child's Garden of Verses, and numerous essays and travel narratives.

Stevenson's gift for vivid storytelling and memorable characters made him one of the most popular writers of the late Victorian age. His creations, from Long John Silver to the dual figure of Jekyll and Hyde, became permanent fixtures of the popular imagination.