The name Robert Louis Stevenson has been familiar to everyone since childhood who cannot imagine life without a book. The incredible and exciting adventures that await the heroes of his works at every turn have more than once forced readers to sit for hours on the pages of Treasure Island and Black Arrow. And although these works are considered the most famous in the writer’s bibliography, the list of Stevenson’s books is not limited to them.

Childhood and youth

The future writer was born in Edinburgh on November 13, 1850. The boy's father had an unusual profession - he was an engineer who designed lighthouses. From early childhood, the boy spent a lot of time lying in bed - serious diagnoses forced his parents to take care of their son.

Stevenson was diagnosed with croup and later consumption (pulmonary tuberculosis), which were often fatal in those days. Therefore, little Robert spent a lot of time in the “blanket country” - as the writer would later write about his childhood.

Perhaps constant restrictions and bed rest helped Robert Louis Stevenson’s imagination develop so much that he began to come up with imaginary adventures and trips that he could not make in life. In addition, the boy’s nanny cultivated his literary taste and sense of words by reading poems and telling fairy tales before bed.

Already at the age of 15, Robert Louis Stevenson completed his first serious work, called “The Pentland Rebellion.” Robert's father supported his son and published this book in 100 copies at his own expense in 1866.

Around the same time, Stevenson, despite his poor health, began traveling around his native Scotland and Europe and recording impressions and incidents from his trips. Later, these essays were published under the cover of the books “Roads” and “Journey into the Country.”

As he grew older, Robert Louis Stevenson entered the Edinburgh Academy, and then the University of Edinburgh. At first, the young man followed in his father’s footsteps and began studying engineering. However, he later moved to the Faculty of Law and in 1875 became a certified lawyer.

Literature

Stevenson's first serious work, which brought fame to the writer, was a story called “The Overnight of François Villon.” And already in 1878, the prose writer, while on another trip to France, completed a series of stories that were published as a single whole.

This collection was called "The Suicide Club" and later became one of Stevenson's most famous works. “The Suicide Club”, as well as the series of stories “The Rajah’s Diamond”, were published in many literary magazines in Europe. Gradually, Stevenson's name became recognizable.

However, the writer gained serious fame in 1883, when perhaps Stevenson’s best novel, “Treasure Island,” was published. Like many works of genius, this book began with humorous stories with which Stevenson entertained his little stepson. Robert Lewis even drew a map of the imaginary island for the boy, which was printed almost unchanged in the preface to the publication.

Gradually, scattered episodes began to take shape into a full-fledged novel, and Stevenson sat down to write. The writer initially gave the book the title “The Ship's Cook,” but later changed it to “Treasure Island.” This work, as Stevenson admitted, reflected his impressions of the books of other authors - and. The first readers of the finished novel were the writer’s stepson and father, but soon other lovers of adventure literature started talking about the book.

The next from the writer’s pen was “Black Arrow”, in 1885 “Prince Otto” and the cult story “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” appeared. A year later, Robert Louis Stevenson completed work on another collection of stories, called “And Another Thousand and One Nights” (or “The Dynamite”).

It is noteworthy that Stevenson also wrote poetry, but treated poetic experiments as amateurishness and did not even try to publish them. But the writer nevertheless collected some of the poems under one cover and decided to publish them. This is how a collection of Stevenson’s poetry appeared, inspired by memories of his childhood years. The poems were published in Russian in 1920 and received the translated title “Children’s Flower Garden of Poems.” Later, the collection was reprinted several times and the original title was changed.

By that time, the Stevenson family, thanks to Treasure Island, was living comfortably. But, unfortunately, the author’s health made itself felt more and more. Doctors advised the writer to change the climate, and Robert Louis Stevenson moved from his home country to the Samoan Islands. Local residents, who were wary of the strangers at first, soon became regular guests in the hospitable home of this good-natured man.

Stevenson even got the nickname “leader-storyteller” - this is what the aborigines called the writer, whom he helped with advice. But the white colonialists did not like Robert Louis Stevenson for the free-thinking sentiments that the writer sowed in the minds of local residents.

And of course, the exotic atmosphere of the island could not help but be reflected in the storyteller’s works: the novels and stories “Evening Conversations on the Island”, “Catriona” (which became a continuation of “Kidnapped”, a novel published earlier), and “Saint Ives” were written in Samoa. The writer co-wrote some of his works with his stepson - “Uncanny Baggage”, “Shipwrecked”, “Ebb Tide”.

Personal life

The writer's first love was a lady named Kat Drummond, who worked as a singer in a night tavern. The ardent Stevenson, being an inexperienced young man, was so carried away by this woman that he was going to get married. However, the writer’s father did not allow his son to marry Kat, who, according to Stevenson Sr., was not suitable for this role.

Later, while traveling in France, Robert Louis Stevenson met Frances Matilda Osborne. Fanny - as Stevenson affectionately called his beloved - was married. In addition, the woman had two children and was 10 years older than Stevenson. It seemed that this could prevent lovers from being together.

At first, this is what happened - Stevenson left France alone, without his lover, mourning his failed personal life. But in 1880, Fanny finally managed to divorce her husband and marry the writer, who overnight became a happy husband and father. The couple had no children together.

Death

The island of Samoa became not only the writer’s favorite place, but also his final refuge. On December 3, 1894, Robert Louis Stevenson passed away. In the evening, the man went down to dinner as usual, but suddenly grabbed his head, struck by a blow. A few hours later the writer was no longer alive. The cause of the genius's death was a stroke.

There, on the island, the writer’s grave is still preserved. The Aborigines, truly saddened by the death of their hero and “leader-storyteller,” buried Robert Louis Stevenson on the top of a mountain called Wea, erecting a concrete tombstone on the grave.

In 1957, Soviet writer Leonid Borisov wrote a biography of Robert Louis Stevenson called Under the Flag of Catriona.

Bibliography

• 1883 - "Treasure Island"
• 1885 - "Prince Otto"
• 1886 - "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"
• 1886 - "Kidnapped"
• 1888 - "Black Arrow"
• 1889 - "Owner of Ballantrae"
• 1889 - "Uncanny Baggage"
• 1893 - "Shipwrecked"
• 1893 - "Catriona"
• 1897 - "St. Ives"

Robert Louis Stevenson (full name Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson) - Scottish writer and poet, author of adventure novels and stories, the largest representative of English neo-romanticism - born 13 November 1850 in Edinburgh, in the family of a hereditary engineer, a specialist in lighthouses.

He received his secondary education at the Edinburgh Academy, his higher education at the University of Edinburgh, where he first studied to become an engineer, and received a degree in 1871 for his work “A New Type of Flashing Light for Lighthouses” a silver medal at the Scottish Academy competition, but then he transferred to the Faculty of Law, from which he graduated in 1875. Having received the name Robert Lewis Balfour at baptism, at the age of 18 he abandoned Balfour (his mother's maiden name) in his name, and also changed the spelling from Lewis to Louis. It is said that the Conservative Thomas Stevenson did not like a Liberal named Lewis and decided to write his son's name (who was almost never called Robert in the family) in French but pronounce it in English.

At the age of three he fell ill with croup, which led to serious consequences. According to most biographers, Stevenson suffered from a severe form of pulmonary tuberculosis (according to E.N. Caldwell, who referred to the opinions of doctors who treated or examined the writer, a severe bronchial disease).

In his youth, he wanted to marry Kat Drummond, a singer from a night tavern, but did not do so under pressure from his father.

The first book, essay “The Pentland Rebellion. Page of History, 1666,” a brochure published in an edition of one hundred copies with his father’s money, was published in 1866(even then Stevenson showed great interest in the history of his native Scotland). In 1873 The essay “The Road” was published, which had a simply symbolic title (despite his illness, Stevenson traveled a lot). Three years later, together with his friend William Simpson, he traveled by kayak along the rivers and canals of Belgium and France. In the French village of Barbizon, which became the center of the Barbizon art school founded by the late Theodore Rousseau, where, thanks to the railway route from Paris, young English and American artists came to the urban community, Stevenson met Frances (Fanny) Matilda Osborne. This married woman, who was ten years older than Stevenson, was fond of painting and therefore was among the artists. Together with her, a sixteen-year-old daughter (the future stepdaughter of Isabel Osborne, who later wrote Stevenson's works from dictation) and a nine-year-old son (the future stepson and co-author of the writer Lloyd Osborne) came to Barbizon.

Returning to Edinburgh, Stevenson published a book of essays, An Inland Journey ( 1878 ). The year before, he published his first work of fiction in Temple Bar magazine, the story “The Overnight of François Villon.” In 1878, again in France, Stevenson writes cycles of stories united by one character: “The Suicide Club” and “The Rajah’s Diamond”, which are published in the magazine “London” from June to October under the title “Modern Thousand and One Nights”. Four years later, a series of stories (called “The New Thousand and One Nights”) was published as a separate book.

Having finished the stories about Prince Florizel (Florizel, Prince of Bohemia, by the way, one of the heroes of Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale), Stevenson made another trip - to the places where French Protestants fought a guerrilla war. In June 1879 he published the book “Travel with a Donkey” (the donkey carrying the luggage was his only companion). At the beginning of the 20th century, young writers called this book “Travels with Sidney Colvin,” disapproving of the way a close friend of the late Stevenson was preparing for publication a four-volume edition of the latter’s letters, which he subjected to real censorship.

In August 1879 Stevenson received a letter from Fanny Osborne from California. This letter has not survived; it is assumed that she was reporting her serious illness. Arriving in San Francisco, he did not find Fanny there; exhausted by a long and difficult trip, the writer had to go to Monterey, where she moved. May 19, 1880 Stevenson got married in San Francisco to Fanny, who managed to divorce her husband. In August, together with her and her children, he sailed from New York to Liverpool. On the ship, Stevenson wrote essays that formed the book “The Amateur Emigrant,” and when he returned, he created the story “House on the Dunes.”

Stevenson had long wanted to write a novel, he even tried to start, but all his plans and attempts led nowhere. Watching his stepson draw something, his stepfather got carried away and made a map of an imaginary island. In September 1881 he began writing a novel, which he initially wanted to call The Ship's Cook. He read what he wrote to his family. Stevenson's father suggested that his son include Billy Bones' chest and a barrel of apples in the book.

When the owner of the children's magazine Young Folks became acquainted with the first chapters and the general plan, he from October began publishing the novel in his magazine (under the pseudonym “Captain George North” and not on the first pages). In January 1882 The publication of “Treasure Island” ended, but did not bring success to the author. The editors of the magazine received many indignant letters. The first book edition was published (already under the real name) only in November 1883. The circulation did not sell out immediately, but the success of the second edition, as well as the third, illustrated one, was undeniable. Treasure Island brought Stevenson worldwide fame and became an example of a classic adventure novel. In 1884-1885 Stevenson wrote the historical adventure novel The Black Arrow for Young Folks; book edition published in 1888). Stevenson's novel Prince Otto has been published as a book in 1885, in the same year the collection of stories “And Another Thousand and One Nights” (“Dynamite”) was published.

Stevenson did not take his poems seriously for a long time and did not offer them to publishers. However, after getting married and returning to his homeland from the USA, he composed 48 poems evoked by memories of his childhood, compiled a collection of “Penny Whistles”, and printed a few copies in a printing house for friends (among Stevenson’s friends were Henry James and the Scottish writer Samuel Crocket) and stopped there. He returned to poetry a few years later, when he was very ill, revised the collection and published it in 1885 under a different name. The collection has become a classic of English poetry for children. Two years later, Stevenson released a second collection of poetry (for adults) and called it “Underwoods,” borrowing the name from Ben Jonson.

In 1885 Stevenson read the French translation of the novel by F.M. Dostoevsky "Crime and Punishment". The impression was reflected in the story “Markheim,” from which it was not far from the fantastic-psychological story “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekill and Mr. Hyde,” published in January of the following year.

Already in May, the first chapters of Kidnapped, a new adventure novel, appeared on the pages of Young Folks. In the same, 1886 a book edition was published. The main character of "Kidnapped" is David Balfour (a memory of maternal ancestors who, according to family tradition, belonged to the MacGregor clan, like Walter Scott's Rob Roy).

In 1887 a collection of short stories, “The Merry Men, and Other Tales,” was published, which included stories 1881-1885 years, including "Markheim" and the very first of the Scottish stories, "Cursed Janet".

The following year, Stevenson and his family set off to travel the South Seas. At the same time, he wrote the novel “The Owner of Ballantrae,” which was published in 1889(The Master of Ballantrae).

Since 1890 Stevenson lived in Samoa. At the same time, the collection “Ballads” was published.

The collection of stories “Evening Conversations on the Island” (Island Night’s Entertainments) was written on the Samoan Islands. 1893 ), continuation of "Kidnapped" "Catriona" (Catriona, 1893 , in a magazine publication - "David Balfour"), "St. Ives", completed after Stevenson's death by Arthur Quiller-Cooch, 1897 ). All these (as well as previous) novels are distinguished by a combination of exciting adventurous plots, deep penetration into history and subtle psychological study of the characters. Stevenson's latest novel, Weir of Hermiston, 1896 ), which the author counted on as his best book, remained unfinished.

English Robert Louis Stevenson, full name ( Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson)

Robert Stevenson

short biography

An English writer of Scottish origin, a major figure of national neo-romanticism, a recognized master of the adventure genre, a poet - born in Edinburgh on November 13, 1850. His father was a hereditary engineer, his mother was a representative of an old family. Bronchial disease suffered in early childhood significantly reduced life expectancy.

Stevenson's first published work dates back to 1866; Robert Lewis wrote it as a teenager and published it with his father's money. It was a historical sketch of the Pentland Rebellion. Stevenson received his education at the Edinburgh Academy, and from 1871 to 1875 at the University of Edinburgh, Faculty of Law. Having received a lawyer's diploma upon graduation, he, however, did not engage in practical activities in the field of jurisprudence.

During 1873-1879. He lived mainly in France, and his source of income was the modest earnings of a writer who was just beginning his career in literature, but showed promise. Traveling by kayak along the country's rivers allowed him to accumulate impressions, which he outlined in a book published in 1878. Stevenson's first work as an adult was a series of essays entitled "Journey into the Inland." In 1882, his “Etudes about Well-Familiar People and Books” were published. He never abandoned the genre of essays, very fashionable and popular in his time, although works of a completely different kind brought him fame.

In 1880, Stevenson was diagnosed with tuberculosis, which forced him to move to a more favorable climate. Having visited southern France, Switzerland, England, and America, Stevenson and his family traveled around the South Pacific Ocean - both to improve his health and to collect materials for the next essays. After visiting the Marquesas Islands, Tahiti, Hawaii, and Australia, they decided to settle in Samoa for a long time.

The local climate turned out to be healing for Stevenson; in any case, the works that brought him world fame and made him a classic of the genre were written here. In 1883, the novel “Treasure Island” appeared, a recognized masterpiece of adventure literature. Subsequently, the novels “Kidnapped” (1886) and “The Owner of Ballantrae” (1889) appeared, which strengthened his reputation as a master of an entertaining plot and psychological accuracy in depicting images. In 1893, a collection of stories entitled “Evening Conversations on the Island” was published. Collections of poetry also came out from his pen - “Children’s Flower Garden of Poems” (1885), “Ballads” (1890). Until the end of his life he remained an essayist and publicist. Very promising, according to researchers, Stevenson's last novel, Weir Germiston, remained unfinished. Death found Robert Louis Stevenson in Polynesia, on the island of Uplow on December 3, 1894. A stroke put an end to his biography. The inhabitants of the island, who were admirers of his talent, built a grave on the top of the mountain.

Biography from Wikipedia

Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson born on November 13, 1850 in Edinburgh, in the family of a hereditary engineer, a specialist in lighthouses. He received his secondary education at the Edinburgh Academy, his higher education at the University of Edinburgh, where he first studied as an engineer, received a silver medal at the Scottish Academy competition in 1871 for his work “A New Type of Flashing Light for Lighthouses,” but then moved to the Faculty of Law, where he graduated in 1875 Having received the name Robert Lewis Balfour at baptism, at the age of 18 he abandoned Balfour (his mother's maiden name) in his name, and also changed the spelling from Lewis to Louis. It is said that the Conservative Thomas Stevenson did not like a Liberal named Lewis and decided to write his son's name (who was almost never called Robert in the family) in French but pronounce it in English.

At the age of three he fell ill with croup, which led to serious consequences. According to most biographers, Stevenson suffered from a severe form of pulmonary tuberculosis (according to E.N. Caldwell, who referred to the opinions of doctors who treated or examined the writer, a severe bronchial disease).

In his youth, he wanted to marry Kat Drummond, a singer from a night tavern, but did not do so under pressure from his father.

The first book, essay “The Pentland Rebellion. Page of History, 1666,” a brochure published in a hundred copies with his father’s money, was published in 1866 (even then Stevenson’s great interest in the history of his native Scotland was evident). In 1873, the essay “The Road” was published, which had a simply symbolic title (despite his illness, Stevenson traveled a lot). Three years later, together with his friend William Simpson, he traveled by kayak along the rivers and canals of Belgium and France. In the French village of Barbizon, which became the center of the Barbizon art school founded by the late Theodore Rousseau, where, thanks to the railway route from Paris, young English and American artists came to the urban community, Stevenson met Frances (Fanny) Matilda Osborne. This married woman, who was ten years older than Stevenson, was fond of painting and therefore was among the artists. Together with her, a sixteen-year-old daughter (the future stepdaughter of Isabel Osborne, who later wrote Stevenson's works from dictation) and a nine-year-old son (the future stepson and co-author of the writer Lloyd Osborne) came to Barbizon.

Returning to Edinburgh, Stevenson published a book of essays, An Inland Journey (1878). The year before, he published his first work of fiction in Temple Bar magazine, the story “The Overnight of François Villon.” In 1878, again in France, Stevenson wrote the cycles of stories “The Suicide Club” and “The Rajah’s Diamond”, united by one character, which were published in the magazine “London” from June to October under the title “The Modern Thousand and One Nights”. Four years later, a series of stories (called “The New Thousand and One Nights”) was published as a separate book.

Having finished the stories about Prince Florizel (Florizel, Prince of Bohemia, by the way, one of the heroes of Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale), Stevenson made another trip - to the places where French Protestants fought a guerrilla war. In June 1879, he published the book Traveling with a Donkey (the donkey carrying the luggage was his only companion). At the beginning of the 20th century, young writers called this book “Travels with Sidney Colvin,” disapproving of the way a close friend of the late Stevenson was preparing for publication a four-volume edition of the latter’s letters, which he subjected to real censorship.

In August 1879, Stevenson received a letter from Fanny Osborne from California. This letter has not survived; it is assumed that she was reporting her serious illness. Arriving in San Francisco, he did not find Fanny there; exhausted by a long and difficult trip, the writer had to go to Monterey, where she moved. On May 19, 1880, Stevenson married Fanny in San Francisco, who managed to divorce her husband. In August, with her and her children, he sailed from New York to Liverpool. On the ship, Stevenson wrote essays that formed the book “The Amateur Emigrant,” and, upon returning, he created the story “House on the Dunes.”

Stevenson had long wanted to write a novel, he even tried to start, but all his plans and attempts led nowhere. Watching his stepson draw something, his stepfather got carried away and made a map of an imaginary island. In September 1881, he began writing a novel, which he initially wanted to call The Ship's Cook. He read what he wrote to his family. Stevenson's father suggested that his son include Billy Bones' chest and a barrel of apples in the book.

When the owner of the children's magazine Young Folks became acquainted with the first chapters and the general plan, he began publishing the novel in his magazine in October (under the pseudonym "Captain George North" and not on the first pages). In January 1882, the publication of Treasure Island ended, but did not bring success to the author. The editors of the magazine received many indignant letters. The first book edition was published (under the real name) only in November 1883. The circulation did not sell out immediately, but the success of the second edition, as well as the third, illustrated one, was undeniable. “Treasure Island” brought Stevenson world fame (the first Russian translation was made in 1886) and became an example of a classic adventure novel. In 1884-1885, Stevenson wrote for Young Folks the historical adventure novel The Black Arrow (book edition published in 1888, Russian translation - 1889). Stevenson's novel “Prince Otto” was published as a book in 1885 (Russian translation - 1886), and in the same year the collection of short stories “And Another Thousand and One Nights” (“Dynamite”) was published.

Stevenson did not take his poems seriously for a long time and did not offer them to publishers. However, after getting married and returning to his homeland from the USA, he composed 48 poems evoked by memories of his childhood, compiled a collection of “Penny Whistles”, and printed a few copies in a printing house for friends (among Stevenson’s friends were Henry James and the Scottish writer Samuel Crocket) and stopped there. He returned to poetry a few years later, when he was very ill, revised the collection and published it in 1885 under a different name. The collection, published here in 1920 (and in abridged form) as “Children's Flower Garden of Poems” (there are other Russian translations of the title), has become a classic of English poetry for children. Two years later, Stevenson released a second collection of poetry (for adults) and called it “Underwoods,” borrowing the name from Ben Jonson. “My poems are not a forest, but an undergrowth,” he himself explained, “but they have meaning and can be read.”

In 1885, Stevenson read F. M. Dostoevsky’s novel “Crime and Punishment” in French translation. The impression was reflected in the story “Markheim,” from which it was not far from the fantastic-psychological story “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekill and Mr. Hyde,” published in January of the following year.

Already in May, the first chapters of Kidnapped (Russian translation - 1901), a new adventure novel, appeared on the pages of Young Folks. “Two works so different in their essence have rarely come from the pen of the same author, even at much longer intervals,” wrote Stevenson scholar Stephen Gwynne. In the same year, 1886, a book edition was published. The main character of "Kidnapped" is David Balfour (a memory of maternal ancestors who, according to family tradition, belonged to the MacGregor clan, like Walter Scott's Rob Roy).

In 1887, a collection of short stories, The Merry Men, and Other Tales, was published, which included stories from 1881-1885, including "Markheim" and the very first of the Scottish stories, "The Damned Janet".

The following year, Stevenson and his family set off to travel the South Seas. At the same time, he wrote the novel “The Master of Ballantrae,” which was published in 1889 (The Master of Ballantrae, Russian translation - 1890).

Since 1890, Stevenson lived in the Samoan Islands. At the same time, the collection “Ballads” was published; In Russia, the ballad “Heather Honey” translated by Samuil Marshak is very popular.

On the Samoan Islands, a collection of stories was written “Evening Conversations on the Island” (Island Night's Entertainments, 1893, Russian translation 1901), a continuation of “Kidnapped” “Catriona” (Catriona, 1893, in a magazine publication - “David Balfour”, Russian translation - 1901), “St. Ives” (St. Ives, completed after Stevenson’s death by Arthur Quiller-Kuch, 1897, Russian translation - 1898). All these (as well as previous) novels are distinguished by a combination of exciting adventurous plots, deep penetration into history and subtle psychological study of the characters. Stevenson's last novel, Weir of Hermiston (1896), which the author counted on as his best book, remained unfinished.

Together with his stepson Lloyd Osborne, Stevenson wrote novels of modern life, The Wrong Box (1889, Russian translation - 2004), The Wrecker (1892, Russian translation - 1896, this novel was especially appreciated by Jorge Luis Borges ), "Ebb-Tide" (The Ebb-Tide, 1894).

Stevenson's works were translated into Russian by Konstantin Balmont, Valery Bryusov, Jurgis Baltrushaitis, Vladislav Khodasevich, Osip Rumer, Ignatius Ivanovsky, Ivan Kashkin, Korney Chukovsky. Leonid Borisov wrote a novel about him, “Under the Flag of Katriona.”

Stevenson died on December 3, 1894, of a stroke on the island of Upolu in Samoa. From morning until evening he wrote “Weir Germiston”, reaching almost the middle. Then he went down to the living room and tried to entertain his wife, who was in a gloomy mood. We got ready to have dinner, Stevenson brought a bottle of Burgundy. Suddenly he grabbed his head and shouted: “What’s wrong with me?” By the beginning of the ninth he was no longer alive. The Samoans, who called Stevenson Tusitala (“storyteller”; the writer told them, for example, the story of the Satanic bottle, later reflected in the fairy tale from the collection “Evening Conversations on the Island”), raised him, covered with the British flag, to the top of Mount Vea, where buried. The grave has been preserved, with a rectangular concrete tombstone above it.

English literature

Robert Louis Stevenson

Biography

STEVENSON, ROBERT LOUIS (Stevenson, Robert Louis) (1850−1894), English writer of Scottish origin. Born 13 November 1850 in Edinburgh. After leaving school he entered the University of Edinburgh. Having chosen law, he received the title of lawyer, but hardly ever practiced.

In 1873-1879 he lived mainly in France on the meager earnings of a promising writer and rare money transfers from home, and became his own man in the “towns” of French artists. He made a canoe trip along the rivers of France, described in his first published book, An Inland Voyage (1878), and a hiking trip, described in Travels with a Donkey in the Cvennes (1879). In the village of Dreams, where artists gathered, he met Frances Matilda (Vandegrift) Osborne, an American ten years older than him, who was interested in painting. After separating from her husband, she lived with her children in Europe. Stevenson fell in love with her dearly, and as soon as the divorce was obtained, on May 19, 1880, the lovers were married in San Francisco. Their life together was marked by Fanny's constant care for her sickly husband. Stevenson became friends with her children, and subsequently his stepson (Samuel) Lloyd Osborne co-authored three of his books: The Wrong Box (1889), The Ebb-Tide (1894) and The Wrecker (1892).

In 1880, Stevenson was diagnosed with tuberculosis. In search of a healing climate, he visited Switzerland, the south of France, Bournemouth (England) and in 1887-1888 Saranac Lake in New York State. Partly due to poor health, partly to collect material for essays, Stevenson went on a yacht to the South Pacific with his wife, mother and stepson. They visited the Marquesas Islands, Tuamotu, Tahiti, Hawaii, Micronesia and Australia and purchased a plot of land in Samoa, deciding to settle in the tropics for a long time to save money. He named his possession Vailima (Pyatirechye).

The island's climate did him good: some of his best works were written in the spacious plantation house at Vailima. In the same house on December 3, 1894, he died suddenly. Samoan admirers buried him on the top of a nearby mountain. The words from his famous Testament (“Under the vast starry sky”) are inscribed on the tombstone.

The success of Stevenson's famous books is partly due to the fascination of the themes they cover: the pirate adventures of Treasure Island (1883), the horror fiction of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886) and childish enthusiasm in A Child's Garden of Verses, 1885. However, in addition to these merits, it should be noted the rapid character drawing of John Silver, the density of syllables in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, sparkles of irony in the Children's Flower Garden of Poems, testifying to the versatility of his talent.

He began his literary activity with essays, which were extremely valued at that time, written in a relaxed form, and never changed this genre. His articles on writers and the art of writing - A Humble Remonstrance (1884), Dreams (1888), On Some Technical Elements of Style in Literature, 1885, etc. - bring him closer to G. James. The travelogues Traveling with a Donkey, The Silverado Squatters (1883) and In the South Seas (1890) masterfully recreated local color, and the latter are of particular interest to researchers. Stevenson's little-known literary anecdotes rank among the most caustic, witty and laconic in English literature. He wrote poems occasionally and rarely took them seriously.

To penetrate the world of some of Stevenson's works - Kidnapped (1886) and its sequel Catriona (1893; magazine version by David Balfour), The Master of Ballantrae (1889), The Merry Men, 1882), Thrawn Janet (1881), - the reader will need at least a superficial acquaintance with the language and history of Scotland. Almost all of them - with the exception of Damned Janet, a little gem in the ghost story genre - are unevenly written. The Black Arrow (1883) and St. Ives (1897) are conspicuous failures. Error and The Suicide Club (1878), as well as the stories that follow them (some co-written by Fanny), will not be to everyone's taste. However, The Beach of Falesa is one of the best stories ever written about the South Seas, and the island fantasies often published with it, The Bottle Imp (1891) and The Isle of Voices, are extremely entertaining , 1893). It is generally accepted that Weir of Hermiston (1896) could have become one of the great novels of the 19th century, but Stevenson managed to complete only a third of the book.

Robert Louis Stevenson was born in Edinburgh on November 13, 1850, the son of an engineer. After graduating from school, he entered the University of Edinburgh to study engineering, but later transferred to law, where in 1875 he received the title of lawyer.

The first book, called by the author “The Pentland Rebellion. Page of History, 1666,” was published in a circulation of only one hundred copies with his father’s money in 1866. During 1873-1879. Stevenson lives mainly in France, working as a writer for pennies. He is interested in painting and communicates with French artists. He travels a lot, which he describes in his books: 1878 - “Journey into the Inland”, 1879 - “Travel with a Donkey”.

In 1880 he married Frances Matilda (Vandegrift) Osborne, a divorced American woman with children who was interested in painting. Due to tuberculosis (diagnosed in 1880), the writer and his family often move, trying to find a suitable climate. They visit Switzerland, live a little in the south of France, England and America. Then, taking his wife, mother and stepson with him, Stevenson sets off on a yacht on a trip to the South Pacific. And in the end, they buy land on one of the Samoan islands and settle there for a long time, calling their estate Vailima (Pyatirechye).

In this large plantation house, the writer composed some of his best works. He died suddenly there on December 3, 1894. He was buried at the top of Mount Weah.

Stevenson's books are a great success, which can be explained by fascinating themes: pirate adventures ("Treasure Island"), science fiction, horror ("The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"), etc. But one also cannot fail to note the density of his style, sparkles of irony and how beautifully he depicted the characters of the heroes of his works and skillfully recreated the flavor of the places he wrote about.

Wikipedia has articles about other people named Stevenson, Robert. Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson ... Wikipedia

Stevenson. Stevenson, Robert Lewis Balfour (Stevenson, Robert L.) (1850 1894) English neo-romantic writer. Aphorisms, quotes Stevenson Robert Louis. Stevenson. Biography. We have no duty that we would underestimate so much as the duty... ... Consolidated encyclopedia of aphorisms

Stevenson Robert Lewis (11/13/1850, Edinburgh, ‒ 12/3/1894, Upolu Island, Samoa), English writer. Scottish by birth, the son of an engineer. Graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Edinburgh (1875). Traveled a lot... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Stevenson, Robert Lewis- STI/VENSON Robert Lewis (1850 1894) English writer, author of sea adventure novels. Scottish by origin. Graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Edinburgh (1875). Lived in Belgium, France, California, traveled around... ... Marine Biographical Dictionary

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Stevenson Robert Lewis- (1850 1894) English novelist and poet... Dictionary of literary types

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson Birth name: Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson Date of birth: November 13, 1850 Place of birth ... Wikipedia

- (Stevenson) Robert (1772 1850), Scottish civil engineer who specialized in the construction of LIGHTHOUSES. In total, he developed the design and built 23 lighthouses, as well as light signal delivery systems. Canals and ports were built according to his designs. Son … Scientific and technical encyclopedic dictionary

Books

• Robert Louis Stevenson. Collected Works in 8 volumes (set of 8 books), Robert Louis Stevenson. The collection presents works by the famous English writer Robert Louis Stevenson about adventures that have become companions for many generations of readers. Nobility and generosity...
• Robert Louis Stevenson. Small Collected Works, Robert Louis Stevenson. Numerous works of Robert Louis Stevenson, the famous English writer, literary critic, poet, founder of neo-romanticism, occupy a strong place among the masterpieces...