Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-94)

Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer, born in Edinburgh. Because of tuberculosis, he moved from place to place in Europe in search of a therapeutic climate. He loved travelling, dressed in Bohemian style, and came to reject Christianity. On the advice of his friends, he became a novelist, and wrote distinctive works, including Treasure Island (1883) and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886). After 1890 he lived on Upolu, one of the Samoan islands. (M. M.)