The author Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Nov. 13, 1850, Edinburgh died Dec. 3, 1894, Samoa) was born into a prosperous and conservative Calvinist family and destined to follow his father s career as an engineer. He soon became impatient with his parents religion and respectability. He adopted a bohemian life style, grew his hair long and took up eccentric manners. At the age of 21 he abandoned engineering to study law. Meanwhile he contributed to1 several magazines, such as Vanity Fair and the Academy . He graduated in 1875, but he never practised as a lawyer. He decided instead to become a full-time writer. He spent most of his life travelling in search of a climate which was suitable for his poor health. He suffered from respiratory disorders, possibly2 tuberculosis. He went to the south of England, Germany, France, Switzerland and Italy. While he was travelling in France in 1876, he fell in love with Fanny Osbourne, an American divorcée with two children. They got married four years later. Most of Stevenson s early works are reports of his numerous journeys. An Inland Voyage (1878) describes a canoe trip in Belgium and France, and Travels with a Donkey (1879) relates a tour across the French Cévennes with his donkey, Modestine. In 1882 he published a collection of short stories, New Arabian Nights, which were pervaded by a sense of suspense and supernatural worthy of Edgar Allan Poe. But his first notable success was Treasure Island, an adventure novel, written in 1881 for Fanny s son Lloyd and published in 1883. Stevenson s fame increased with the publication of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886), which dealt with3 the theme of man torn4 between good and evil forces. This was followed by some historical novels set in Scotland, including Kidnapped (1886) and The Master of Ballantrae (1889). Since his health was deteriorating, in 1887 he decided to move to America with his family. When Stevenson s American publisher 1. contributed to: wrote articles for. 2. possibly: maybe. 3. dealt (deal-dealt-dealt) with: was about. 4. torn (tear-torn-torn): unable to decide which one to follow. 5