7. Robert Louis Stevenson.

Literary Scene
Vocabulary:
• suffer from – потерпати від
• due to - відповідно до
• upcoming – майбутній; той, що наближається
• immensely – безмежно, сильно
• to take a great toll – негативно вплинути
• pursue – займатися, працювати над, шукати

The Scottish author is most known for his novel “Treasure Island”, and for the gothic novella
“Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde”, which our upcoming London Story Tour is based on.
Here are ten quick facts to get to know him better.
1) Stevenson was born in Edinburgh in 1850 and his family’s profession was lighthouse design – a
career he would later turn down to pursue writing instead.
2) As a child, Robert Louis Stevenson often suffered from respiratory illnesses, something that
followed him through life and resulted in him being extraordinary thin. Due to being chronically ill,
he was privately tutored at home during long periods of time and began writing stories already as
a young child. His father was immensely proud of his writing and paid for Robert’s first publication
at 16, entitled “The Pentland Rising: A Page of History, 1666”.
3) Stevenson had a temporary falling out with his parents after his father had found a pamphlet in
his room which contained the constitution of the Liberty, Justice and Reverence Club, of which
Stevenson and his cousin Bob were members. The constitution began: “Disregard everything our
parents have taught us”.
4) He met his American future wife, Fanny Van de Grift Osbourne, in France in 1876 when he was
26 years old. Three years later he left Europe on a steamship to join Fanny and her children in
San Francisco, but his health almost caused him to die before he got there. He had to stop in
Monterey in California, where some local ranchers nursed him back to health. It was not until
almost six months after his journey had started that he once again met Fanny in San Francisco.
He later wrote about the experience in “The Amateur Emigrant”. It seems like a great experience
for his writing, but it took a great toll on him physically.
5) The couple married and spent their honeymoon in an abandoned mining camp in Napa Valley,
a place which was later turned into a park and named after Robert Louis Stevenson. This trip is
described in Stevenson’s “The Silverado Squatters”.
6) Stevenson wrote “Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde” while spending the summer in
Bournemouth with his family. Fanny later told Stevenson’s biographer that the story had come to
her husband in the shape of a nightmare. She had woken him up when he had cried out in horror,
but when he woke, he was annoyed: “Why did you wake me? I was dreaming a fine bogey tale!”.
Robert wrote the first draft of the short story in three days, and after having received notes from
Fanny, he burned it and rewrote it in three to six days.
7) He was always on the hunt for a climate that suited his poor health and in 1888 he and his
family boarded a ship headed for the eastern and central pacific. They spent three years travelling
around and during their time at the Hawaii islands, he became good friends with King Kalākaua
and the king’s niece Princess Victoria Kaiulani. The family also spent time at the Gilbert Islands,
Tahiti, New Zealand and the Samoan Islands. During this period, Stevenson completed “The
Master of Ballantrae”, composed two ballads based on the legends of the islanders, and wrote
“The Bottle Imp”.
8) Robert Louis Stevenson died at the age of 44 in 1894. He was talking to his wife while opening
a bottle of wine when he suddenly collapsed. It is believed that he died from a cerebral
hemorrhage. Stevenson is buried on Mount Vaea on Upolu, close to the family home – which
today is a museum dedicated to the author. 
9)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).
10) 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.
 
Complete the sentences:
1. Stevenson is most known for his novel … , and for the gothic novella … .
2. His father was immensely proud of his … and paid for Robert’s first … .
3. Stevenson had a temporary falling out with his parents after his father had found … .
4. Stevenson wrote … while spending the summer in Bournemouth with his family.
5. The family also spent time at the Gilbert Islands, Tahiti, New Zealand and the Samoan Islands.
During this period, Stevenson completed … .
6. He wrote some of his most popular … , most notably Treasure Island (…. ), Kidnapped (…. ),
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (….) and The Black Arrow (…. ).
Answer the questions:
1. Where was Stevenson born?
2. Where did the couple spend their honeymoon?
3. What illnesses did he suffer from?
4. At what age did he die?