A country: Great Britain
Was born: November 13, 1850
Died: December 3, 1894
Aliases:
Captain George North
Robert Louis Stevenson (originally Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson)- Scottish writer and poet, author of world-famous adventure novels and short stories, the largest representative of English neo-romanticism.
Stevenson was born November 13, 1850 in Edinburgh, the son of a hereditary engineer, a specialist in lighthouses. He received his secondary education at the Edinburgh Academy, higher education at the University of Edinburgh, where he first studied as an engineer, in 1871 he received a silver medal at the competition of the Scottish Academy for his work “A new type of flashing light for lighthouses”, but then moved to the Faculty of Law, which he graduated from 1875. Having received the name Robert Lewis Balfour at baptism, at the age of 18 he refused Balfour ( maiden name mother) in his name, and also changed the spelling from Lewis to Louis. The conservative Thomas Stevenson is said to have disliked a liberal named Lewis and decided to write the name of his son (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 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 this under pressure from his father.
The first book, essay “Pentland Rebellion. A Page of History, 1666”, a pamphlet published in a print run of one hundred copies at the expense of his father, 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 kayaked 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 railway track young English and American artists came from Paris to the city community, Stevenson 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 (the future stepdaughter Isabelle 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, A Journey Inland (1878). The year before, he had published his first book in Temple Bar magazine. piece of art- the story "Accommodation of Francois Villon". In 1878, while again in France, Stevenson wrote cycles of stories "Suicide Club" and "Raja's Diamond" combined by one hero, which from June to October under the title "Modern One Thousand and One Nights" are published in the London magazine. Four years later, a series of stories (under the title "The New Thousand and One Nights") manages to be published as a separate book.
Having finished the stories about Prince Florizel (Florisel, Prince of Bohemia, - by the way, one of the heroes " winter fairy tale"Shakespeare), Stevenson made another trip - to the places where the French Protestants waged 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 “A Journey with Sidney Colvin,” disapproving of the way a close friend of the late Stevenson prepared 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 California from Fanny Osborne. This letter has not survived; it is assumed that she reported her serious illness. When he arrived 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 the essays that made up the book The Amateur Emigrant, and when he returned, he wrote the story House on the Dunes.
Stevenson has 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. In September 1881, he began writing a novel that he originally wanted to call The Ship's Cook. He read what he wrote 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 got acquainted with the first chapters and the general idea children's magazine"Young Folks", he began to publish the novel in his magazine from October (under the pseudonym "Captain George North" and not on the front pages). In January 1882, the publication of Treasure Island ended, but did not bring success to the author. Many 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 did not sell out immediately, but the success of the second edition, as well as the third, illustrated, was undeniable. "Treasure Island" (Treasure Island) brought Stevenson worldwide fame (the first Russian translation was made in 1886), 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 was published in 1888, Russian translation - 1889). Stevenson's novel "Prince Otto" (Prince Otto) was published in book form in 1885 (Russian translation - 1886), in the same year a collection of short stories "And another thousand and one nights" ("Dynamite") was released.
Stevenson did not take his poems seriously for a long time and did not offer them to publishers. However, having married, returning 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 for friends in the printing house (among Stevenson's friends were Henry James, Scottish writer Samuel Crocket) and stopped there. He returned to poetry a few years later, when he was very ill, revised the collection and released it in 1885 under a different name. The collection, published here in 1920 (and in an abbreviated 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 poetry collection (already for adults) and called it "Underwood" (Underwoods), borrowing this 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. Dostoyevsky's novel Crime and Punishment in French translation. The impression was reflected in the story "Markheim", from where it was not far to 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, rarely came out from the pen of the same author, even in much longer periods of time,” wrote Stevenson researcher Stephen Gwynn. In the same year, 1886, a book edition was published. Main character"Kidnapped" - David Balfour (recollection of maternal ancestors who, according to family tradition, belonged to the MacGregor clan, like Walter Scott's Rob Roy).
In 1887, The Merry Men, and Other Tales, a collection of short stories, was published, which included stories from 1881-1885, 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 Master of Ballantrae", which was published in 1889 (The Master of Ballantrae, Russian translation - 1890).
From 1890 Stevenson lived in Samoa. At the same time, the collection "Ballads" was released; In Russia, the ballad "Heather Honey" translated by Samuil Marshak is very popular.
On the islands of Samoa, a collection of stories was written "Evening conversations on the island" (Island Night's Entertainments, 1893, Russian translation 1901), a continuation of the "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 of these (as well as previous) novels are distinguished by a combination of exciting adventurous plots, deep insight into history and subtle psychological study of 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 from modern life“Excessive Luggage” (The Wrong Box, 1889, Russian translation - 2004), “Shipwrecked” (The Wrecker 1892, Russian translation - 1896, this novel was especially appreciated by Jorge Luis Borges), “Ebb” (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 Ekaterin".
Stevenson died on December 3, 1894 of a stroke on the island of Upolu in Samoa. From morning until evening he wrote "Weir Hermiston", reaching almost to the middle. Then he went down to the living room, trying to entertain his wife, who was in a gloomy mood. We were going to supper, Stevenson brought a bottle of Burgundy. Suddenly he grabbed his head and shouted: “What is the matter with me?” By the beginning of the ninth, he was no longer alive. The Samoans, who called Stevenson Tusitala (“the 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 Weah, where he buried. The grave has been preserved, above it is a rectangular concrete tombstone.
A short film from Youtube.com about the life and work of Robert Louis Stevenson:
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Bibliography
Robert Louis Stevenson. Cycles of works
The Suicide Club [= The Adventures of Prince Florizel]
Suicide Club / The Suicide Club
Story of the Young Man with the Cream Tarts (1878)
Story of the Physician and the Saratoga Trunk (1878)
The Adventure of the Hansom Cabs" [= Adventures with Cabs] (1878)
Rajah's Diamond / The Rajah "s Diamond [= Rajah's Diamond]
The Story of the Bandbox [= The Adventure of One Cardboard] (1878)
Story of the Young Man in Holy Orders (1878)
Story of the House with the Green Blinds (1878)
The Adventure of Prince Florizel and a Detective (1878)
Speaker. Newest Arabian Nights Prince Florizel / More New Arabian Nights: The Dynamite [= The Newest Thousand and One Nights] (1885) // Co-author: Fanny Van de Grift Stevenson
Children's flower garden of poems / A Child's Garden of Verses [= Kindergarten poems] [poetic cycle]
To Alison Cunningham (1885)
The Child Alone (1885)
Garden Days (1885)
Messages / Envoys (1885)
Adventures of David Balfour
Kidnapped: Being Memoirs of the Adventures of David Balfour in the Year 1751 [= Kidnapped, or The Adventures of David Balfour] (1886)
Catriona / Catriona [= Catriona, or The Further Adventures of David Balfour] (1893)
Robert Louis Stevenson. Novels
Robert Louis Stevenson. Poetry
1885 Epistles / Envoys [poetry collection]
1885 Garden Days [poetry collection]
1885 The Child Alone [poetry collection]
1885 To Alison Cunningham [poetry collection]
1891 Christmas at Sea / Christmas At Sea [ballad]
1891 Heather honey / Heather Ale [= Heather beer] [ballad]
1891 Rahiro / Rahero [ballad]
1891 Feast / The Feast [ballad]
1891 The Lovers [ballad]
1891 The Place of the Name [ballad]
1891 The Priest's Vigil [ballad]
1891 The Raid [ballad]
1891 The Saying of the Name [ballad]
1891 The Seeking of the Name [ballad]
1891 The Slaying of Tamatea [ballad]
1891 The Venging of Tamatea [ballad]
Robert Louis Stevenson. Plays
1884 Admiral Guinea
1884 Beau Austin [co-authored with W. I. Henley]
1888 Deacon Brodie, or, The Double Life [with W. I. Henley]
1895 Macaire: A Melodramatic Farce in Three Acts [co-authored with W. I. Henley]
1922 The Hanging Judge // Co
Robert Louis Stevenson. Articles
1871 Debating Societies
1871 Edinburgh Students in 1824
1871 The Modern Students Considered Generally
1871 Philosophy of Nomenclature / The Philosophy of Nomenclature
1871 The Philosophy of Umbrellas
1873 Roads
1874 Lord Lytton's Fables / Lord Lytton's Fables
1874 Notes on the Movements of Young Children
1874 On the Enjoyment of Unpleasant Places
1875 An Autumn Effect
1876 Forest Notes
1881 The Morality of the Profession of Letters
1882 Ways of book illustrations: the way of Baxter Pilgrim / Byways of Book Illustration: Bagster's Pilgrim's Progress
1882 Byways of Book Illustration: Two Japanese Romances
1883 Sketch in the genre of realism / A Note on Realism
1884 Fontainebleau: Village Communities of Painters
1885 A Note for the Reader
1885 On Some Technical Elements of Style in Literature
1887 Books that have influenced me / Books which have Influenced Me
1887 Memoir of Fleming Jenkin
1887 The Day After Tomorrow
1888 Gentlemen / Gentlemen
1888 Popular Authors
1888 Some gentlemen in fiction/ Some Gentlemen in Fiction
1889 How The Genesis of "the Master of Ballantrae" came into existence
1894 My First Book: Treasure Island
Robert Louis Stevenson. Essay
1871 An Old Scotch Gardener
1874 Ordered South
1874 Victor Hugo's Romances / Victor Hugo's Romances
1875 John Knox and his Relations with Women
1876 Charles of Orleans / Charles of Orleans
1876 Virginibus Puerisque
1876 Walking Tours
1877 An Apology for Idlers
1877 Francois Villon - student, poet, housebreaker / Francois Villon, student, poet, housebreaker
1877 On Falling in Love
1878 A Plea for Gas Lamps
1878 Aes Triplex
1878 Children's games / Child's Play
1878 Youth and transitional age / Crabbed Age and Youth
1878 Eldorado / El Dorado
1878 Pan's Pipes
1878 English admirals / The English Admirals
1878 The Gospel According to Walt Whitman
1879 Some Aspects of Robert Burns
1879 Truth of Intercourse
1880 Henry David Thoreau: His Character and Opinions" [= Henry David Thoreau]
1880 Yoshido Torashiro / Yoshida-Torajiro
1881 Samuel Pepys
1882 A Gossip on Romance
1882
Stevenson Robert Lewis (1850-1894) - English writer, Scottish by origin, literary critic, poet, founder and theorist of neo-romanticism.
Stevenson was born in Edinburgh (Scotland) in the family of a lighthouse builder. I have been 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 an extremely large number of diseases. Read below in more detail the biography of Robert Stevenson.
Childhood illness and the beginning of creativity
From early childhood, he was a resident, in his own words, of the “blanket country”. Indeed, due to constant ill health, he spent more time in bed than in boyish games on the street or at the table, reading an interesting book. Doctors diagnosed a twelve-year-old boy with a terrible diagnosis - consumption. In those days it was equated with death. Perhaps, in fact, these difficult trials taught Stevenson to appreciate life, sincerely rejoice in every day lived and try to be happy.
Can't go on a real sea voyage? And then the dream and fantasy came to the rescue. Creative skills developed in him by his nanny, who knew many stories, recited the poems of R. Burns by heart and told at night horror stories. At the age of 15, the first work appeared in the biography of Robert Stevenson - he wrote his first book, Petland Uprising.
At the age of 17, Robert began studying law at the University of Edinburgh (graduating in 1875). Although Stevenson trained 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 in a separate edition. As the writer recalled, he once played with his stepson Lloyd Osborne. They competed to see who could draw the best map. It was then that Stevenson created a map of Treasure Island. On the second day, he sat down to write a novel, which he called The Ship's Chef, but the publisher did not like this 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 this. He frankly said that, for example, the parrot for the novel "flew" from Robinson Crusoe, and he borrowed the skeleton from the short story of the famous American writer Edgar Allan Poe "The Gold Bug". By the way, the story underlying the novel "Treasure Island" is not such a fiction of a writer. In those days, as today, many people raved about the countless treasures of pirates or their victims, which were prudently hidden in different places on 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 that was hidden there a few years after the liberation of Selkirk. Stevenson seems to have collected in his book all the features and findings of adventure literature, which is hard to imagine without secret maps, hidden treasures and warlike pirates.
The first listeners and critics of the still unpublished novel were the father and stepson of the writer. Stevenson recalled that when it was necessary to fill the chest of Billy Bones, the writer's father spent almost a whole day on the back of an envelope from some business letter making 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 reader’s imagination after this novel, were closely connected 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.
Declining health and moving to Samoa
The success of "Treasure Island" provided material prosperity to the Stevenson family, but the progressing disease required climate change, and so he left his beloved Scotland. The biography of Robert Stevenson was filled with new events and adventures. The writer, together with the whole family, went on a trip to the southern seas. He settled on the islands of Samoa in the Pacific Ocean. At first, the locals were wary of the stranger, because they were used to the fact that Europeans appeared in their area only to enrich themselves. But Stevenson did not show disdain for the local population, but he cordially received them in his house, which seemed to the locals a huge palace, and listened with pleasure to their stories from antiquity.
Very soon, local residents came to Stevenson's house not only to listen to amazing and incredible stories owner, but also asking for help. He advised them on 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 did not like the writer, but the locals, as a sign of special respect and trust, gave him the name Tuzitala - “white leader-storyteller”, because they believed in the magical power of his word. And this force was great, one has only to remember what kind of publicity Stevenson's article made in Europe about the shameless robbery 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 named it the Gratitude Road. The death of the writer for the locals was a great grief. They went in whole villages to say goodbye to Tuzitaloy. The Council of Chiefs decided to bury him on top of the high mountain. However, getting there was extremely difficult, because the mountain was surrounded on all sides by a dense tropical forest, and by that time not a single person had set foot on it. Then the most strong men set out on a journey 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 could overcome fate. And then the leaders, under fear of great punishment from the gods, forbade everyone to shoot near the mountain where Stevenson's body was buried, "so that birds could calmly sing 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 for the rest of his life retained a craving for beauty, sought to give life fullness and brightness, to find a hero in an ordinary person. Stevenson was extremely attentive to the word, he is considered an unsurpassed writer.
After reading the biography of Robert Stevenson, you can rate this writer at the top of the page.
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13.11.14 11:49
Folk musician and singer Helavisa admits that she became ill with Celtic lore, Scotland and Ireland for the rest of her life after reading in early childhood Heather Honey Stevenson. It would be more correct to call the ballad Heather Ale, but we are already used to the previous title (and Marshak's translation). The writer himself did not take his poetry very seriously. But in vain! How in vain we, pronouncing "Robert Louis Stevenson", remember only "Treasure Island".
This is the same as considering the elder Dumas the author of only the Three Musketeers. But, in fairness, we note that the Scot became famous just after the publication of this book about pirates - books in particular (the initial publication “with a continuation” in several magazine issues did not bring success).
Biography of Robert Louis Stevenson
Failed lawyer
Robert Lewis Balfour's father, Thomas Stevenson, was a major lighthouse specialist. On November 13, 1850, an heir was born in his family (when the son becomes an adult, he will simply become Stevenson, abandoning his mother's maiden name, Balfour).
The future writer spent his childhood and youth in Edinburgh, where he became a university student. It was assumed that Robert would continue his father's business: he liked to tinker with technology, but the young man chose the path of a lawyer, which, however, he very easily and quickly changed to literary activity. He went on a long journey home country and across Europe, travel notes became the fruit of wanderings.
Guardian angel
In one of the villages of France, Robert met the love of his life - a married American artist Frances Matilda (he called her simply "Fanny") Vandergrift-Osborne. He was 30 years old, she was 40, but neither this nor the presence of a husband and two children stopped the Scot.
She got a divorce and became the wife and guardian angel of the sickly Stevenson (from childhood he was haunted by respiratory diseases - at first croup, and then - either bronchitis, or even tuberculosis).
Children (especially Lloyd) fell in love with their stepfather. The stepson was a co-author of some works, and the eldest Isabelle became a kind of secretary to the newly-made father - she wrote under his dictation.
"Five Rivers"
When the disease worsened, the Stevens began to move from place to place in search of a better climate for the head of the family.
Having traveled the resorts of Switzerland, France, the USA, visited Tahiti, Hawaii, even Micronesia and Australia, they finally settled in Samoa. There, Robert acquired land and named his estate "Pyatirechie".
The locals were very warm towards the strange migrant - he always opposed the cruel colonial policy and liked to tell the natives various interesting stories.
It was this plantation house, which became the last refuge of the writer, that saw the rise of his inspiration. Here were born the best and most famous works Scot.
Even before his marriage, Stevenson managed to print a cycle of stories about the prince of Bohemia: "The Suicide Club", "The Raja's Diamond". On the basis of these books, we shot a serial film "The Adventures of Prince Florizel" (one of the most recent outstanding works of Oleg Dal).
One day, seeing how his stepson enthusiastically draws a map of some island, Robert began to help him. This is how the sketches for Treasure Island were born. Probably, it’s not worth talking about the plot of this legendary novel for a long time (at first, the author wanted to call it “The Ship’s Chef”, because the leader of the pirates, the insidious John Silver, got a job on a ship setting off in search of treasure, namely a cook). Young Jim, along with a handful of friends, had to confront a pack of sea robbers. This book (written in 1883) is considered one of the best adventure novels for children.
Terrible bifurcation and nursery rhymes
Who among us did not get goosebumps when describing the atrocities of a monster that an ordinary medic turns into! The hero's research has led him to the "dark side", but it seems that he is not really trying to fight his maniac alter ego. The story, mystical and frightening "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", was also filmed many times (like "Treasure Island"). Moreover, there are different variations “on the theme” (for example, the semi-parody tape “Mr. Jekyll and Miss Hyde”).
Although the writer did not really like his poems, he nevertheless dared to publish the collection "Children's Flower Garden of Poems" in 1885. The immediacy, enthusiasm and graceful style of the works in this book speak of the undoubted poetic talent of the master.
Scottish motives
The dilogy "Kidnapped" and "Katriona" are interesting, first of all, to those who are seriously passionate about the history and traditions of Scotland. They tell about the adventures of the heir to the great fortune of Balfour, who wanted to deprive him of his wealth.
But the story of the courageous Richard Shelton (the story "The Black Arrow") was not to everyone's taste. Some critics considered this work of the Scot a failure.
Experts say that the novel "Wear Hermiston" would have become the greatest novel not only by Stevenson, but of the entire 19th century, but death prevented the writer - he managed to create only a third of the work.
He died easily and quickly - at the age of 44 he was killed by a stroke. Before dinner, Stevenson felt a sudden pain in his head, said: "What's wrong with me?" and fell. The natives buried him with full honors on the top of Mount Weah.
Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson (November 13, 1850 - December 3, 1894) was a famous Scottish writer and poet, who became popular thanks to his many adventure-oriented works. He is considered one of the founders and prominent representatives of the neo-romantic movement.
Childhood
Robert Lewis Stevenson was born on November 13 in Edinburgh in an ordinary family, where his mother and father worked as engineers and developed lighthouses. The boy was told from childhood that, as an adult, he would have to open his own business and produce even more improved models of lighthouses, but Robert was always neutral about this profession.
It was hard to say what exactly did not triple him. The fact that his parents, being constantly busy, paid him little attention, or the work itself with its many hours of searching for the right detail, which, in case of a discrepancy, doubled or tripled the process.
But, despite all this, the boy watched the work of his parents with rather great interest and even tried to help them.
At the age of 5, Robert suffers his first serious illness - croup. It is a severe inflammation of the upper respiratory tract, due to which the patient begins to breathe rapidly and unevenly and cough hoarsely. Croup is considered the most dangerous disease for children, as their immune system is the most difficult to cope with the virus, which in some cases is fatal. However, Stevenson managed to completely defeat the disease, but, according to some biographers, ligament problems accompanied him throughout his life.
As soon as Robert was 7 years old, he went to school. From that moment on, his interests and attitude to life change dramatically. In an educational institution, he quickly finds new friends, and they almost never part: they go to classes together, have lunch in the school cafeteria and walk. At the same time, Robert develops a passion for adventure. Parents, having decided that all boys of his age dream of travel and danger, do not attach any importance to this, but Robert Lewis now knows for sure that there should always be adventure in his life.
Youth and early writing career
After graduating from high school, Stevenson briefly forgets about his hidden dreams and, to the great joy of his parents, enters the Edinburgh University of Engineering, where he studies lighthouse making for several months. But, after some time, the young man realizes that he never wants to produce anything and even be a participant in this process. That is why, despite threats and quarrels with his parents, he leaves the faculty and enters the law department, which he graduated with honors in 1875.
Although Stevenson graduated from the University of Edinburgh Law School in his time, he did not work for a single day as a lawyer or lawyer. After graduating from a higher educational institution, his writing talent began to appear. He wrote his first work in 1875, calling it The Pentland Rebellion.
A Page of History, 1666. But after writing, the young man faced a serious problem: he did not have the money to publish it. And since he had not yet worked anywhere, it was simply impossible to bring the manuscript to light. His father comes to his aid, who publishes the book with his own money. From this very moment, the people of Edinburgh will learn about the new writer.
As Stevenson dreamed, his life was always full of adventure, despite the illness that made itself felt. He kayaked down mountain rivers, climbed mountain peaks and traveled to many cities, which was later reflected in his second work, The Road. By the way, this name was not chosen by Robert by chance. It was supposed to symbolize all the courage and courage of a person who is at the stage of developing a serious illness, but absolutely not paying attention to it.
At the end of the journey, Stevenson hurries to his native Edinburgh in order to quickly express all emotions on paper and publish several manuscripts. So, such works of his as “Journey inland” (1878), “Accommodation of Francois Villon” (1879), “Suicide Club” and “Diamond of the Raja” are published. A year later, Robert releases a whole series of works, united by the name "New Thousand and One Nights".
Creation of Treasure Island
Initially, biographers incorrectly claimed that the idea of \u200b\u200bcreating the novel "Treasure Island" had a real background, in which Stevenson himself participated. Of course, his life could hardly be called boring and monotonous, but here the biographers, indeed, were very mistaken.
The fact is that the idea of creating a novel came to him, to a greater extent, by accident. After creating two cycles of stories, Stevenson began a creative crisis. He could sit all day in the same place, looking at a single point and not noticing anything around. However, a few days later, he suddenly began to draw in order to at least slightly distract himself from oppressive thoughts. And since all his dreams were connected with an exciting and moderately dangerous adventure, Robert jokingly drew a small but incredibly detailed "treasure island map". And the very next day he went headlong into the creation of the work "The Ship's Cook", which later acquired the same name - "Treasure Island".
In 1882, the novel was first published, but, unfortunately, the editorial office immediately began to receive angry letters from many readers who stated that the idea of \u200b\u200bthe work was old, and the style of writing was too boring to lure the public. Then the editor-in-chief comes up with an original move: he illustrates Stevenson's book and sends it out for publication in two more magazines, but under different pseudonyms. So, in 1884, one of these editors finally finished publishing the book, and Stevenson became known to the whole world.
After Treasure Island, the inspired Robert Lewis Stevenson published many more of his novellas, short stories, and novels, such as Markheim (1885), The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886), Kidnapped (1887), The Owner Ballantre (1889), Heather Honey (1890) and many others.
Personal life
The first love of Robert Louis Stevenson was Kat Drummont, a singer who worked in one of the night taverns in Edinburgh. Their romance lasted several months, after which the future writer tried to propose to the girl. But his father intervened in his plans, who was categorically against such a marriage, believing that his son deserved better.
After an unpleasant story, Robert could not meet other girls for a long time until he met a young theater actress, whom he later married. The wife was several years older than him and was already married and even gave birth to a son. But Robert warmly treated his stepson and considered him his own child all his life, since he raised him from a young age.
is an English writer of Scottish origin. representative of English neo-romanticism
Born in Edinburgh November 13, 1850. His father was a hereditary engineer, his mother was a representative of an old family.
Stevenson wrote his first work in 1866 - this is a historical essay "The Pentland Rebellion".
Stevenson received his education at the Edinburgh Academy, from 1871 to 1875 - at the University of Edinburgh, at the Faculty of Law. Having received a lawyer's diploma after graduation, he, nevertheless, did not engage in practical activities in the field of jurisprudence.
During the years 1873-1879. he lived mainly in France, and the source of income was the modest earnings of a writer who was just starting his career in literature, but showed promise. Kayak trips along the rivers of the country allowed him to accumulate impressions, which he set out in a book published in 1878. The first work of an adult Stevenson was a series of essays called "Journey inland". In 1882, his "Etudes on well-known people and books" were published.
In 1880, Stevenson was diagnosed with tuberculosis, which forced him to move to a more favorable climate for the organism. Having visited Southern France, Switzerland, England, and America, Stevenson and his family traveled around the South Pacific Ocean - both in order to improve their health and to collect materials for the next essays. Having visited the Marquesas Islands, Tahiti, Hawaii, 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"- a recognized masterpiece of adventure literature. Subsequently, the novels "Kidnapped" (1886), "The Owner of Ballantra" (1889) appeared, which strengthened his fame as a master of an entertaining plot, the psychological accuracy of drawing images. In 1893, a collection of short stories was published under the title Evening Conversations on the Island. Poetry collections also came out from under 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 the researchers, Stevenson's last novel "Wear Hermiston" remained unfinished.
