Robert lewis stevenson complete biography. Robert Louis Stevenson. Biography and bibliography. Stevenson's Treasure Island is an unrivaled masterpiece

World renowned writer, classic and wide-ranging poet, author of Treasure Island and The Strange Story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. This person is one of the thirty authors, whose works are more often translated in many countries. And this is Robert Louis Stevenson.

Biography of the writer

The future poet was born in the city of Edinburgh in 1850, on November 13. His parents were people of aristocratic blood - Margaret Isabella Balfour and Thomas Stevenson. Robert was an only child. The entire Stevenson generation has a long history of engineering, designing and inspecting lighthouses.

Almost all of his childhood, Robert Stevenson spent next to his grandfather, a clergyman. The boy was very sickly, like a mother, he constantly caught cold. Due to recurring illnesses, he rarely appeared in school, learned to read too late, but the passion for writing appeared in early childhood. He often composed unusual stories that his mother and nannies listened to. In addition, the boy demanded to take notes on everything he was telling. At first, his son's writing was to the liking of his father, because he himself was once fond of literature.

In 1867, Robert, after graduating from high school, entered the University of Edinburgh at the Faculty of Engineering. But the young man was not attracted to technical sciences, he was drawn to communication. During the holidays, Robert Stevenson kept an eye on the lighthouses, which his father insisted on. The guy quickly realized that he would not go into the family business.

Writer's path

Stevenson's active writing career began in the 70s. First, his stories and stories hit the pages of print media in London. The father of the young talent insisted on mastering technical sciences, but the guy traveled more and more and collected interesting stories around the world. In 1878, the public was able to get acquainted with the first author's diary of Robert, in which he described the details of his canoe trip through France and Belgium.

In 1883, Robert Stephenson became a very promising writer. Treasure Island is a novel written by him in the same year. Robert moved to Dorset from his native Scotland, here he created two more of his great creations. In 1888, the novel "Black Arrow" was written. This winter, the Stevensons and their children went on vacation to the south of France.

Two years later, Robert managed to build a house on Upolu Island in Samoa. In the new place, the writer managed to create three novels, which also gained popularity. The only unfinished work of the author was the novel "Weir Hermiston", begun in 1894.

In the winter of 1894, Robert Stevenson felt ill. On December 3, the famous writer died suddenly due to a cerebral hemorrhage. He was buried on Mount Vaea. A large number of people who loved and respected the work of the writer attended the funeral. Stevenson's burial site offers a beautiful view of the ocean.

100 years after the death of the world famous poet, one of the Scottish banks issued a 1-pound banknote, which bore Stevenson's signature, his portrait and the image of a goose feather.

Robert Stevenson is considered a legend in classical literature, his manuscripts were sold out during the First World War. Now these letters are considered lost.

Robert Stevenson is one of the most famous writers, often credited with the author of one book, Treasure Island, a romantic and youthful novel. Regardless, Stevenson was a controversial person, and his most famous romance is actually deeper than it might seem.

The influence of national culture on the future writer

Scottish by birth, Scottish by upbringing and Scottish by national spirit - these are the characteristics that very accurately describe a person like Robert Louis Stevenson. The biography of the writer confirms that Scottish culture and history have had a huge impact on the formation of Stevenson as a person. The future writer was born in Edinburgh - cultural and political

On the mother's side, the future writer belonged to the old and famous family of Balfours, who came from the noble clans of the border and lowland parts of Scotland.

Family history, its own pedigree, deep roots - these are the things that Robert Stevenson was keenly interested in. The biography indicates that wherever he was, he always remained a true Scotsman. Even while in Polynesia, where the temperature never dropped below 40 degrees, he built a typical Scottish fireplace in his house.

Childhood and youth

Robert Louis Stevenson was the only child in the family. As a small child, he suffered a serious illness, which subsequently affected him until the end of his days. Louis often had a fever, he was constantly coughing, he was short of breath. All common biographies indicate pulmonary tuberculosis or very severe bronchial problems. Soreness, pallor, weakness and thinness are things that Robert Stevenson suffered from all his life. Photo of the author clearly confirms this.

The author recalls his childhood and adolescence as endless periods of heat, pain and insomnia. The boy was sent to school at the age of six, but due to his condition, his studies were not successful. Lewis changed several schools, personal teachers, for some time he studied at a prestigious school for children of famous and wealthy parents - the Edinburgh Academy. Obeying his father, he decides to continue the family business and enters where he studies engineering, in particular the construction of lighthouses.

Interest in literature

Lighthouse engineering and construction are the things that Robert Louis Stevenson was really interested in. The biography indicates that he was willingly involved in the practical part of the study, which was carried out on construction sites. The program also included lowering in a spacesuit to the seabed, where it was possible to study the underwater terrain and rocks, which served as the basis for the construction of the lighthouse.

Some time later, Lewis applied for a competition at the Royal Scottish Society of Sciences, where he presented his poem "A New Type of Flashlight for Lighthouses", for which he received a silver medal. Two weeks later, in a serious conversation with his father, Stevenson announced that he wanted to quit engineering. The father was against literature, so it was decided that the son would become a lawyer. This option suited Louis. Firstly, practicing law gave him more free time, and secondly, Stevenson's famous fellow countryman, Walter Scott, was also a lawyer, which did not prevent him from becoming a famous writer later. Lewis passed all the exams and received the title of lawyer, but this was only confirmation that he was actually a writer.

The beginning of literary activity

For the first time the writer Robert Stevenson declared himself at the age of sixteen. At the expense of his father, a small booklet “The Pentland Uprising. Page of history, 1666 ". Here the young author described two centuries of peasant uprisings in Scotland. This work was not known, however, the author's interest in national history, as well as the desire to be objective and accurate, was already visible here.

The first serious work was the novel by Robert Stevenson "Roads". The name is very symbolic, because, despite the fact that Stevenson was sickly and weak, his vital necessities and mental impulses made him travel a lot.

First travels

In 1876, Stephenson and his friends made a kayak trip along the rivers and canals of France and Belgium. The destination was Paris, but the friends also stayed in the riverside villages rich in their history. had a huge impact on Stevenson. Returning home, he immediately began work on the description of his journey, which later turned into the work "Journey into the depths of the country", and also influenced his subsequent work.

The author describes the travel process itself, various funny and ridiculous situations that happened during the trip, describes people, their characters and mores. At the same time, he does it easily and unobtrusively, allowing the reader to form his own opinion about everything. It was during this journey that Robert Stevenson met Fanny Osborne, who later became Fanny Stevenson.

Fanny

Lewis met Frances Matilda Osborne in one of the French villages at the time when she was fond of painting. Almost all biographers claim that this meeting was love at first sight. Fanny was ten years older than Lewis, married to a loser, had two children, and sought seclusion after the death of her youngest child. They talked a lot, spent time together, and after parting, they constantly corresponded.

A few years later, in 1879, Robert Stevenson received a letter from Fanny, the content of which remained unknown to history. She was presumably talking about her serious illness. Lewis's condition at that time was difficult: a protracted illness, financial problems, a quarrel with his father, the words of friends who said that Fanny was a married woman. All this did not stop Lewis. He quickly packed up and went to America, where Fanny lived at that time. The journey was long and difficult.

After arriving in America, he traveled for a long time by immigrant train from New York to San Francisco. However, Fanny was not there, she moved to Monterrey. Lewis went on another trip. He rode alone on horseback. On the way, his condition worsened and he lost consciousness. He was found by a local bear hunter who was nursing Lewis, who has been on the verge of life and death for several days. Having gained strength, Stevenson still got to Fanny.

Despite all the obstacles, in 1880 Stevenson married Fanny Osborne and returned home with his wife, her children and a huge store of knowledge, impressions and life experience. Fanny and her children accompanied Stevenson on his travels and were with him until his last days.

The type of traveler in Stevenson's works

Travel played a huge role in the author's work. This topic was not new in literature, but other writers saw the hero-traveler differently from Robert Stevenson. The author's works describe a traveler who behaves illogically and imprudently. Such a traveler was most often an artist or a writer. He does not seek any benefit, refuses awards or additional privileges.

Stevenson started off traditionally. The journey was portrayed as a small and simple walk, during which all the idiocy of the man in the street is revealed. Later, this idea was used in their work by other famous writers, including K. Jerome.

The experience gained in the first and subsequent travels influenced the literary activity of the author, including his most famous work - the novel "Treasure Island".

"Treasure Island"

Treasure Island is undoubtedly the most famous novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. The still unfinished work was published in a well-known children's magazine under a pseudonym, but did not bring popularity. Moreover, the editorial office of the magazine often received negative and even indignant responses. The novel was published as a separate book and with the real name of the author a year later. This time the novel was an undoubted success.

Despite the fact that the novel has a fairly simple storyline and plot, like any adventure novel, it contains moments of tension. The author creates a general picture not by a detailed description of everyday situations, but by the very form of the narration. Stevenson actively uses dialogue, which gives the plot a more active and dramatic look.

Despite being considered youthful and romantic, the novel is rooted in serious issues and themes. In particular, we are talking about the problem of the contrast of characters, emotional experiences and the confrontation between good and evil.

"Cursed Janet"

Robert Louis Stevenson embodies his interest in the soul and essence of man in the work "Cursed Janet". In this story, the author decided to combine the real and the fantastic, as well as to turn to what has always been dear to him - Scottish traditions and motives. Despite the fact that the work is relatively small, in it the author managed to very deeply show the human soul, its fears and experiences.

Thanks to the special form of the narration, the author managed to make everything real in the story seem fantastic, and everything fantastic - real. At the same time, the story itself is completely logical and believable. The problem of emotional experiences has become so interesting to the author, he continues to reveal it further, in particular in the famous story "The Strange Story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."

The Strange Story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

The impetus for writing the story was Stevenson's acquaintance with Dostoevsky's novel Crime and Punishment, where the problems of human morality and ethics were presented in a new way. The hero of the story - an intelligent, respectful, respectable Doctor Jekyll - as a result of an unsuccessful experiment splits his personality and releases his ugly and evil double, Mr. Hyde.

Stevenson raises the problem of the purpose of life, the problem of freedom, choice, inner composure and lightness. The story was written in a form that was not expected of Stevenson, and caused everyone to delight.

Novel "The Master of Ballantrae"

This work of Lewis is considered one of the darkest, but it was in it that Stevenson reached the pinnacle of his skill. It was in this novel that he combined the two most important themes of his work: the confrontation between good and evil and an appeal to Scottish traditions and history. In the novel, he describes two brothers whose characters vividly embody these concerns. The author tried to find the roots of these problems deeply, starting from the national character and ending with Puritanism in the country.

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

He received his secondary education at the Edinburgh Academy, higher education at the University of Edinburgh, where he first studied engineering, received at 1871 for the work "A new type of flashing light for lighthouses" a silver medal at the competition of the Scottish Academy, but then transferred to the Faculty of Law, from which he graduated in 1875... Baptized as Robert Lewis Balfour, at the age of 18 he abandoned Balfour (his mother's maiden name) in his first name, and also changed the spelling from Lewis to Louis. Conservative Thomas Stevenson is said to have disliked a liberal named Lewis and decided to write his son's name (who was almost never called Robert in the family) in French but pronounced 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 the 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 it under the pressure of his father.

The first book, essay “Pentland Uprising. Page of history, 1666 ", a brochure, published in a circulation of one hundred copies at the expense of his father, came out in 1866(even then, Stevenson showed great interest in the history of his native Scotland). In 1873 the essay "The Road" was published, which bore just a symbolic name (despite his illness, Stevenson traveled a lot). Three years later, together with his friend William Simpson, he made a kayak trip along the rivers and canals of Belgium and France. In the French village of Barbizon, which became the center of the Barbizon School of Art, founded by the late Theodore Rousseau, where young English and American artists came from Paris to the city community by rail, Stephenson met Francis (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 (future stepdaughter Isabel Osborne, who later wrote Stevenson's works under dictation) and a nine-year-old son (future stepson and co-author of the writer Lloyd Osborne) came to Barbizon.

Back in Edinburgh, Stevenson published a book of essays, A Journey Inland ( 1878 ). A year earlier, he had published his first work of fiction in the Temple Bar magazine, the story "François Villon's Accommodations". In 1878 again in France, Stevenson writes the series of stories united by one hero "The Suicide Club" and "The Rajah's Diamond", which from June to October, under the title "Modern Thousand and One Nights," he publishes in London magazine. Four years later, a series of stories (entitled "New Thousand and One Nights") managed to be published as a separate book.

After finishing the stories about Prince Florizel (Florizel, Prince of Bohemia, by the way, one of the heroes of Shakespeare's "Winter's Tale"), Stevenson made another trip - to the places where French Protestants waged guerrilla warfare. June 1879 he published a book "Traveling with a Donkey" (a donkey carrying a load was his only companion). At the beginning of the 20th century, young writers called this book "Traveling with Sidney Colvin", not approving of how 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 reported 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 married in San Francisco with 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 compiled the book "Amateur Emigrant", and when he returned, he created the story "House on the Dunes."

Stevenson had long wanted to write a novel, even tried to start, but all his plans and attempts did not lead to anything. Watching his stepson draw something, his stepfather got carried away and made a map of the invented island. September 1881 he began writing a novel which he originally wanted to call The Ship's Chef. He read what he had written to his family. Stevenson's father suggested to his son that Billy Bones' chest and a barrel of apples be included in the book.

When the owner of the children's magazine "Young Folks" got acquainted with the first chapters and the general idea, he since october began publishing the novel in his magazine (under the pseudonym "Captain George North" and not on the front pages). January 1882 the publication of Treasure Island ended, but the author was not successful. A lot of indignant letters came to the editorial office of the magazine. The first book edition was published (already under the real name) only in November 1883... The circulation was not sold out immediately, but the success of the second edition, as well as the third, illustrated one, was indisputable. "Treasure Island" (Treasure Island) brought Stevenson worldwide fame, became the model of the classic adventure novel. In 1884-1885 Stevenson wrote the adventure-historical novel The Black Arrow for Young Folks; in 1888). Stevenson's novel Prince Otto was published as a book in 1885, in the same year the collection of stories "And the new thousand and one nights" ("Dynamite") was published.

For a long time Stevenson did not take his poems seriously and did not offer them to publishers. However, having got married, having returned from the USA to his homeland, he composed 48 poems evoked by memories of childhood, compiled a collection of "Whistles" (Penny Whistles), printed a few copies in the printing house for friends (among Stevenson's friends were Henry James, Scottish writer Samuel Crockett) 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 (already for adults) and called it "Underwoods", borrowing this name from Ben Johnson.

In 1885 Stevenson read a French translation of F.M. Dostoevsky's "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", released in January next 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 came out. The main character of "Kidnapped" is David Belfort (a memory of maternal ancestors, who, according to family legend, belonged to the MacGregor clan, like Walter Scott's Rob Roy).

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

The following year, Stevenson and his family set out on a voyage to the South Seas. At the same time, he wrote the novel The Master of Ballantrae, which was published in 1889(The Master of Ballantrae).

Since 1890 Stevenson lived in the Samoan Islands. At the same time, the collection "Ballads" was released.

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

Biography - English writer of Scottish descent. Born November 13, 1850 in Edinburgh, the son of an engineer. When he was baptized, he received the name Robert Lewis Balfour, but in adulthood he abandoned it, changing his surname to Stevenson, and the spelling of the middle name from Lewis to Louis (without changing the pronunciation).

Aliases: Captain George North

From his youth, Robert was inclined to practice technology. After graduation, he entered the University of Edinburgh. Having opted for jurisprudence, he received the title of lawyer, but he hardly ever practiced, since his state of health, on the one hand, and his first successes in the literary field, on the other, convinced him to prefer literature to the legal profession. In 1873-1879 he lived mainly in France on the meager earnings of a promising writer and rare money transfers from home, became his own man in the "towns" of French artists. Stevenson's trips to France, Germany and his native Scotland, which resulted in his first two books of travel impressions, An Inland Voyage (1878) and Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes, 1879). The "essays" written during this period were collected by him in the book "Virginibus Puerisque" (1881).

In the French village of Greuze, famous for its collections and meetings of artists, Robert Lewis met Frances Matilda (Vandegrift) Osborne, an American ten years older than him, who was fond of painting. Having parted with her husband, she lived with 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 unremitting concern for her sick husband. Stevenson became friends with her children, and later his stepson (Samuel) Lloyd Osborne co-authored three of his books: Untold Baggage (1889), Ebb Tide (1894) and Shipwrecked (1892).

In 1880 Stephenson 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 the state of New York. Partly due to ill health, partly to collect material for essays, Stevenson sailed with his wife, mother and stepson to the South Pacific. They visited the Marquesas Islands, Tuamotu, Tahiti, Hawaii, Micronesia and Australia and acquired a plot of land in Samoa, deciding to settle in the tropics for a long time to save money. He named his possession Vailima (Five Rivers). Striving for the closest communication with local residents, Stevenson took a deep part in their fate and appeared in print with the exposure of the colonial administration - this period in his work includes the novel "Eight Years in Danger in Samoa" ("A Footnote to History: Eight Years of Trouble in Samoa ", 1893). Stevenson's protest was, however, only a protest of a romantic, but he was not forgotten by people.

The island's climate was good for him, with some of his best works being written in his spacious planter house in Vailim. In the same house on December 3, 1894, he died suddenly. Samoan worshipers buried him at the top of a nearby mountain. The words from his famous "Testament" ("Under the immense starry sky ...") are inscribed on the tombstone.

The main contribution to Stevenson's literature can be called the fact that he revived the adventure and historical novel in England. But for all the skill of narration, he failed to raise it to the heights at which these genres stood with his predecessors. For the most part, the author was interested in adventure for the sake of adventure, he was alien to the deeper motives of the adventure novel, like Daniel Defoe's, and in the historical novel he refused to portray large social events, limiting himself to showing the adventures of heroes for whom the story serves only as a random background.

Robert Louis Stevenson The success of Stevenson's famous books is partly due to the fascination of the topics covered in them: pirate adventures in Treasure Island (1883), horror fiction in 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 advantages, one should note the impetuous drawing of the character of John Silver, the density of the syllable in Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the sparkles of irony in The Children's Flower Garden of Poems, testifying to the versatility of his talent.

He began his literary career with essays, extremely appreciated at that time, written in a relaxed manner, and never changed this genre. His articles on writers and the art of writing are A Humble Remonstrance (1884), Dreams (1888), On Some Technical Elements of Style in Literature, 1885 and others - bring him closer to G. James. Travel notes Traveling with a Donkey, The Silverado Squatters (1883) and In the South Seas (1890) masterfully recreate the local flavor, and the latter are of particular interest to researchers. Stevenson's little-known literary anecdotes are among the most caustic, witty, and laconic in English literature. He wrote poetry from time to time and rarely took them seriously.

To penetrate the world of some of Stevenson's works - Kidnapped (1886) and its sequel Catriona (1893; magazine version of David Balfour), The Master of Ballantrae (1889) , "The Merry Men" (1882), "Cursed Janet" (Thrawn Janet, 1881) - the reader will need at least a cursory acquaintance with the language and history of Scotland. Almost all of them — with the exception of Cursed Janet, a small gem in the ghost story genre — are not well written. The Black Arrow (1883) and St. Ives (1897) are clear failures. Untold Baggage and The Suicide Club (1878), as well as their continuation stories (some co-authored with Fanny), may not be to everyone's taste. However, The Beach of Falesa is one of the finest stories ever written about the South Seas, and the often printed island fantasies The Bottle Imp (1891) and The Land of Voices are immensely entertaining. "(The Isle of Voices, 1893). It is generally believed that Weir of Hermiston (1896) could have become one of the great novels of the 19th century, but Stevenson managed to finish only a third of the book.

Stevenson Robert Lewis (1850-1894) - English writer, Scottish by birth, literary critic, poet, founder and theorist of neo-romanticism.

Stephenson was born in Edinburgh (Scotland) in the family of a lighthouse-building engineer. I was sick a lot since childhood. It seemed that he did not have the opportunity to become the author of one of the most famous adventure novels in the future, since he had a lot of diseases. Read more about Robert Stevenson's biography below.

Childhood disease and the beginning of creativity

From early childhood, he was a resident of, in his own words, the "blanket country". Indeed, due to constant illnesses, he spent more time in bed than in boyish games on the street or at the table, reading an interesting book. A twelve-year-old boy was diagnosed with consumption by doctors. In those days, it was equated with death. Perhaps, in fact, these difficult trials taught Stevenson to value life, sincerely rejoice at every day he lived and try to be happy.

Can't go on a real sea voyage? And then dream and fantasy came to the rescue. Creativity was developed in him by his nanny, who knew many stories, read by heart the poems of R. Burns and told scary stories at night. At the age of 15, the first work appeared in the biography of Robert Stevenson - he wrote his first book "Petlandske Uprising".

At the age of 17, Robert began studying law at the University of Edinburgh (graduated in 1875). Although Stevenson graduated as a lawyer, his greatest dream was to become a writer.

Stevenson's Treasure Island is an unrivaled masterpiece

Glory came to him when in 1883 he published the novel "Treasure Island" as a separate edition. As the writer recalled, he once played with his stepson Lloyd Osborn. They competed to see who would draw the best geographic map. It was then that Stevenson created the map of Treasure Island. On the second day, he sat down to a novel, which he called "The Ship's Chef," but the publisher did not like the title, and they decided to change the title to "Treasure Island." The inquisitive reader will notice in this work the details of many famous adventure books. Stevenson did not deny it. He frankly said that, for example, the parrot "flew" to the novel from Robinson Crusoe, and he borrowed the skeleton from the novel "The Golden Beetle" by the famous American writer Edgar Poe. By the way, the story behind the novel "Treasure Island" is not such a fiction of the writer. In those days, as today, many people raved about the untold treasures of pirates or their victims, which were prudently hidden in different parts of the globe and which could be found behind certain secret signs.

For example, on the island where Alexander Selkirk lived for more than four years and which was later named the island of Robinson Crusoe, they are still looking for a huge treasure, which was hidden there several years after the liberation of Selkirk. Stevenson seemed to have collected in his book all the features and finds of adventure literature, which is difficult to imagine without secret maps, hidden treasures and warlike pirates.

The first listeners and critics of the unpublished novel were the writer's father and stepson. Stevenson recalled that when it was necessary to fill Billy Bons' chest, the writer's father spent almost the whole day on the back of an envelope from some business letter, kept a register of what should be in the cache of the former pirate. This list is almost completely included in the novel. In general, Stevenson managed to fill his work with details that, in the imagination of the reader, it was after this novel that were closely associated with the world of adventure and secrets: an incendiary pirate song, a terrible black mark, a mysterious map and an island lost in the ocean, full of gold, washed with blood.

Deteriorating health and moving to Samoa

The success of Treasure Island provided material wealth for the Stevenson family, but a progressive illness required climate change, and so he left his beloved Scotland. The biography of Robert Stevenson was filled with new events and adventures. The writer and his entire family set off on a journey to the southern seas. He settled on the Samoan islands in the Pacific Ocean. At first, the locals were wary of the stranger, because they got used to the fact that Europeans in their land appeared only to enrich themselves. But Stevenson did not show disdain for the local population, but he warmly received them in his house, which seemed to the locals as a huge palace, and listened with pleasure to their stories from antiquity.

Very soon, locals came to Stevenson's house not only to listen to the owner's amazing and incredible stories, but also asking for help. He advised them how to protect themselves from the colonialists, how best to take care of their land and where it is more profitable to sell certain goods. The white colonialists disliked the writer, but the locals, as a sign of special respect and trust, gave him the name Tuzitala - “the white leader-storyteller”, because they believed in the magical power of his word. And this force was great, one has only to remember what publicity was made in Europe by Stevenson's article about the shameless plunder of the islands by the leading European countries that colonized Samoa.

Surprising facts from Stevenson's biography

The Samoans built a road to Stevenson's house on their own and called it the Road of Gratitude. The death of the writer was a great grief for the locals. Whole villages they went to say goodbye to Tuzitaloy. The Council of Chiefs decided to bury him on the top of the highest mountain. However, it was extremely difficult to get there, because the mountain was surrounded on all sides by a dense tropical forest, and by that time not a single person had stepped on it. Then the strongest men set off and, at the cost of incredible efforts, cut a clearing in the humid jungle in order to get to the place of the last shelter of a man who was able to overcome fate. And then the leaders, on pain of great punishment from the gods, forbade everyone to shoot near the mountain where Stevenson's body was buried, "so that birds could sing quietly over his grave."

Stevenson's works are read with interest by both children and adults. Stevenson is considered the founder and theorist of the neo-romantic trend in literature. He keenly felt the gap between reality and dream and looked for the unusual in everyday life. The writer retained a craving for beauty throughout his life, strove to give life fullness and brightness, to find a hero in an ordinary person. Stevenson was extremely attentive to the word, and is considered an unsurpassed writer.

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