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Early life -

Robert Louis Stevenson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on November 13, 1850. His father was a lighthouse engineer and was very eminent in his field.

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Education -

As a child, Stevenson was very sickly, which made regular education difficult. However, he managed to finish school, and at the age of 17 he started at the University of Edinburgh.

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The family profession -

Initially, his family thought that he would follow his father into the profession of light engineering. However, the young Stevenson had no desire to do so whatsoever.

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Ambitions -

As a compromise, he and his father agreed that he would study for the bar. What he really wanted to do, however, was become a writer.

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Honing his craft -

Already as a teenager he had shown an interest in writing, and as a young man he socialized in London's literary circles, all the while working on his craft.

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End of life -

Stevenson lived a life of travel and adventure, despite his poor health. In 1890 he settled in Samoa, where he died prematurely in 1894. He was just 44 years old.

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Critical acclaim -

Although Stevenson's reputation has fluctuated since his death, in general his works are now held in high acclaim. In 2018, he was the most-translated author in the world.

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The importance of his work -

One of the reasons that Stevenson's works are considered important is that they offer an insight into the tension that existed between religion and science in the 19th century.

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Science vs. religion -

In 1859, when Stevenson was just nine years old, Charles Darwin released 'The Origin of the Species.' This work was widely considered to be an attack on religion, as it made the case for evolution and showed it was impossible that God had created the world in seven days.

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Fear of degeneration -

As a result, many people became fearful that if humans had, like Darwin claimed, evolved from apes, it would be possible to degenerate back into something more ape-like.

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Jekyll and Hyde -

This is seen reflected in Stevenson's 'Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' (1886), where Dr Jekyll turns into the ape-like Mr Hyde.

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The theme of duality -

Another key theme during the Victorian era was duality. Indeed, at the same time as the conflict arose between science and religion, people increasingly began to feel that humans have a dual nature.

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The rational -

On the one hand, they considered that humans have a rational and calm side, the side that takes care of everyday matters, such as work and family.

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The irrational -

On the other hand, there is the other irrational and chaotic side, the side that is responsible for fantasy and violence.

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Exploring the theme -

This belief in duality was all about the explicable vs. the inexplicable, good vs. evil. Stevenson explored this theme in a number of his works.

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'Deacon Brodie' (1880) -

In the play 'Deacon Brodie' (1880), for example, the titular protagonist, who existed in real life, came from a privileged background and was a member of Edinburgh's council.

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The dark side -

Despite being wealthy and successful, he also drank and gambled. He even used his training as a locksmith to rob houses and businesses.

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The ending -

Eventually, the dualistic Deacon Brodie came to a sorry end, when he was found out, captured, and hanged in Edinburgh in 1787.

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'The Body Snatcher' (1884) -

Another work by Stevenson that explored this theme was 'The Body Snatcher' (1884). In this story, a group of medical students take home some dead bodies to study and learn about anatomy.

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Respectable science vs. criminal behavior -

When it becomes apparent that some of those bodies belonged to people murdered to supply the trade, a clear theme appears: the theme of respectable science providing a cover for criminal behavior.

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Based on a true story -

This work of Stevenson's was also based on a true story. In 1827 and 1828, criminals William Burke and William Hare robbed graves and then murdered 10 people to provide bodies for study at the University of Edinburgh.

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Fun facts -

Let's look now at some fun facts about Robert Louis Stevenson. First up: he invented the sleeping bag! In 1878, heartbroken and hiking through the mountains in southern France, he designed a sleeping sack made of cart cloth and sheep's fur.

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Recording the experience -

As he was accustomed to doing, he immortalized those experiences in writing, this time in his 1879 book 'Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes.'

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He used a pseudonym -

He used a pseudonym when he first published 'Treasure Island' (1883). The famous novel, in fact, began as rainy-day amusement for Stevenson's stepson, Lloyd Osbourne.

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Captain George North -

When the idea quickly found legs, he began to publish chapters in the children's periodical Young Folks under the pseudonym Captain George North.

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He wrote from bed -

An interesting fact about 'Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' is that Stevenson wrote it from his sickbed. And all within the space of three days!

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Hot-headed -

Apparently, he threw his first draft in the fire after his wife said the allegory was not evident enough. The second draft of the story is the one we know today.

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He gave away his birthday -

Finally, and perhaps most bizarrely, Robert Louis Stevenson 'gave away his birthday' to a 12-year-old girl he met in Samoa.

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He gave away his birthday -

The daughter of the country's US ambassador, Annie Ide, was apparently very upset that she had to share her birthday with the author, so he wrote an official, 'legal' letter reassigning it to her alone.

Sources: (Britannica) (BBC) (HuffPost)

See also: Famous authors who died at an early age

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