Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) is one of Scotland’s most famous authors.
His best-known stories include Treasure Island, Kidnapped and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Stevenson was born in Edinburgh and went to school there. When ill health kept him confined to his bed, he had private tutors and developed a love of literature.
At Edinburgh University, he first studied engineering but he gave that up to study law although he did not become a lawyer. His family was not happy that he chose to become a writer although he was extremely successful. Stevenson wrote novels, short stories and poems. He spent long periods abroad and wrote travel stories.
In 1880, Stevenson married Fanny Osbourne, a divorcée with two children. He was with Fanny in Samoa
in the South Pacific when he died of a stroke and was buried on Mount Vaea overlooking the sea. At his
request, his famous poem Requiem was carved on his grave.
