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 - was born on 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 as an engineer, received 1871 for the work "A new type of flashing light for lighthouses" a silver medal at the competition of the Scottish Academy, but then moved 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 dropped Balfour (mother's maiden name) 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 an edition of one hundred copies with the money of his father, was published in 1866(Already then Stevenson's great interest in the history of his native Scotland was manifested). 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 School of Art, founded by the late Theodore Rousseau, where young English and American artists came to the urban community thanks to the railroad from Paris, 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 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, Inland Journey ( 1878 ). The year before, he had published his first work of fiction in Temple Bar magazine, the short story "François Villon's Bed and Breakfast". In 1878, while again in France, Stevenson writes the cycles of stories “Suicide Club” and “Diamond of the Raja” united by one hero, which from June to October under the title “Modern One Thousand and One Nights” are published in 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 of Shakespeare's "The Winter's Tale"), 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 dragging 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. May 19, 1880 Stevenson married in San Francisco with Fanny, who managed to divorce her husband. In August, along 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 The 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 of the children's magazine Young Folks got acquainted with the first chapters and the general idea, he since October began to publish the novel in his magazine (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, became an example of a classic adventure novel. In 1884-1885 Stevenson wrote the historical adventure novel The Black Arrow for Young Folks; the book edition was published in 1888). Stevenson's novel "Prince Otto" (Prince Otto) was released as a book edition in 1885, 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 United States to his homeland, he composed 48 poems, caused by childhood memories, 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 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.

In 1885 Stevenson read in French translation the novel by F.M. Dostoevsky "Crime and Punishment". 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 pages of Young Folks published the first chapters of Kidnapped, a new adventure novel. In the same, 1886 published a book edition. The protagonist 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 was writing the novel "The Possessor of Ballantre", which was published in 1889(The Master of Ballantrae).

From 1890 Stevenson lived in Samoa. Then came the collection "Ballads".

On the islands of Samoa, a collection of stories was written "Evening conversations on the island" (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 Stevenson's death by Arthur Quiller-Kuch, 1897 ). 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.

The name of Robert Louis Stevenson is familiar to everyone who cannot imagine life without a book since childhood. Incredible and exciting adventures that await the heroes of his works at every step, more than once forced readers to sit for hours behind 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 lay in bed for a long time - serious diagnoses forced his parents to take care of their son.

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

Perhaps the constant restrictions and bed rest helped Robert Louis Stevenson's imagination to develop so much that he began to invent imaginary adventures and travels that he could not take in life. In addition, the boy's nanny brought up in him a literary taste and sense of the word, reading poems and telling fairy tales before going to bed.

Already at the age of 15, Robert Louis Stevenson completed the 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 health, began to travel around his native Scotland and Europe and record impressions and experiences from his trips. Later, these essays were published under the cover of the books "Roads" and "Journey inland".

As he got older, Robert Lewis Stevenson entered the Edinburgh Academy, and then the University of Edinburgh. At first, the young man followed in his father's footsteps and began to study engineering. However, later he moved to the faculty of jurisprudence and in 1875 became a certified lawyer.

Literature

The first serious work of Stevenson, which brought fame to the writer, was a story called "Francois Villon's overnight stay." And already in 1878, the prose writer, while on another trip to France, completed a cycle of stories that came out as a whole.

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

However, the writer learned serious fame in 1883, when perhaps Stevenson's best novel, Treasure Island, was published. Like many works of genius, this book began with playful stories that Stevenson used to entertain his little stepson. Robert Lewis even drew a map of the invented island for the boy, which was printed almost unchanged in the preface to the publication.

Gradually, disparate episodes began to take shape into a full-fledged novel, and Stevenson sat down to paper. The writer originally named the book The Ship's Chef, but later changed it to Treasure Island. In this work, as Stevenson admitted, his impressions of the books of other authors were reflected - 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 comes "The Black Arrow", in 1885 "Prince Otto" and the cult story "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" appear. A year later, Robert Louis Stevenson finished work on another collection of short stories, called "And Another Thousand and One Nights" (or "Dynamite").

It is noteworthy that Stevenson also wrote poetry, but he treated poetry experiments as amateurish and did not even try to publish them. But the writer nevertheless collected part of the poems under one cover and decided to publish it. So there was a collection of Stevenson's poetry, inspired by memories of childhood. In Russian, the poems were published in 1920 and received the translation title "Children's Flower Garden of Poems." Later, the collection was reprinted several times and changed the original title.

By that time, the Stevenson family, thanks to Treasure Island, lived comfortably. But, unfortunately, the author's health more and more made itself felt. Doctors advised the writer to change the climate, and Robert Louis Stevenson moved from his native country to the Samoa Islands. The locals, at first wary of strangers, soon became regular guests in the hospitable home of this good-natured man.

Stevenson even got the nickname "leader-storyteller" - that was the name of the writer of the natives, whom he helped with advice. But the white colonialists did not like Robert Louis Stevenson for those moods of freethinking that the writer sowed in the minds of the locals.

And of course, the exotic atmosphere of the island could not but be reflected in the stories of the narrator: the novels and stories “Evening Conversations on the Island”, “Katriona” (which became a continuation of “Kidnapped” - a novel that came out earlier), “Saint-Yves” were written in Samoa. The writer composed some works in collaboration with his stepson - “Unbelievable Luggage”, “Shipwrecked”, “Ebb Tide”.

Personal life

The first love of the writer 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 marry. 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 Lewis 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 the lovers from being together.

At first, this happened - Stevenson left France alone, without a lover, mourning a failed personal life. But in 1880, Fanny finally managed to divorce her husband and marry the writer, who became a happy husband and father overnight. The couple did not have common children.

Death

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

There, on the island, the grave of the writer is still preserved. The natives, truly saddened by the death of their hero and "leader-storyteller", buried Robert Louis Stevenson on the top of a mountain called Weah, hoisting a concrete tombstone on the grave.

In 1957, the Soviet writer Leonid Borisov wrote a biography of Robert Lewis 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 - "Master of Ballantrae"
• 1889 - "Excessive Luggage"
• 1893 - "Shipwrecked"
• 1893 - "Catrione"
• 1897 - "Saint-Yves"

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

Robert Stevenson

short biography

An English writer of Scottish origin, the largest figure of national neo-romanticism, a recognized master of the adventure genre, a poet - was 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 is in 1866; Robert Lewis wrote it as a teenager and printed it for his father's money. It was 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. The genre of essays, essays, very fashionable and popular in his time, he never left, 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 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" appeared - 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 researchers, Stevenson's last novel, Wear Hermiston, 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, made a grave on the top of the mountain.

Biography from Wikipedia

Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson Born 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, 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 dropped Balfour (mother's maiden name) 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 with his father's money, was published in 1866 (even then Stevenson's great interest in the history of his native Scotland showed itself). 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 School of Art, founded by the late Theodore Rousseau, where young English and American artists came to the urban community thanks to the railroad from Paris, 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 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 work of fiction in Temple Bar magazine, the short story "François Villon's Bed and Breakfast". 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 of Shakespeare's "The Winter's Tale"), 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 of the children's magazine Young Folks got acquainted with the first chapters and the general idea, 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 United States to his homeland, he composed 48 poems, caused by childhood memories, 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. The protagonist 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, 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, 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, Ignaty 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.

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

Stevenson was born in Edinburgh (Scotland) in the family of an engineer - 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. His nanny developed his creative abilities in him, who knew many stories, recited the poems of R. Burns by heart 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, 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 the owner's amazing and incredible stories, but also to ask 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 the top of the highest 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 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 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.

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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 obligation that we would so underestimate as the obligation ... ... 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. He graduated from the Faculty of Law of the University of Edinburgh (1875). Traveled a lot.... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Stevenson, Robert Lewis- STE/WENSON Robert Lewis (1850 1894) English writer of nautical adventure novels. Scottish by origin. He graduated from the Faculty of Law of the University of Edinburgh (1875). Lived in Belgium, France, California, traveled to ... ... 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 designed and built 23 lighthouses, as well as light signaling systems. According to his projects, canals and ports were built. 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 the works of the famous English writer Robert Louis Stevenson about adventures that have become companions of many generations of readers. Nobility and generosity…
• Robert Louis Stevenson. Small Collected Works, Robert Lewis Stevenson. Numerous works of Robert Louis Stevenson, the famous English writer, literary critic, poet, founder of neo-romanticism, occupy a firm place among the masterpieces ...