Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was born on November 13, 1850, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Despite a lifetime of poor health, primarily due to chronic respiratory illness, he was a prolific and dedicated writer. His literary output included novels, poems, essays, letters, travel books, and children’s literature.

Born into a family of lighthouse engineers, Stevenson was expected to follow in their profession. However, he chose to study law and was called to the Scottish bar, though he never practiced. In 1880, he married Fanny Vandegrift Osbourne, an American divorcee ten years his senior, against his family’s initial wishes. The marriage was ultimately happy and accepted by his family.

Stevenson traveled extensively throughout his life, often seeking better health. His journeys, frequently with Fanny, took them from California to Scotland, Switzerland, France, the American Adirondacks, and eventually the South Seas. His novels are characterized by a deep appreciation for place and atmosphere, as seen in works like:

• Treasure Island (1883)
• Kidnapped (1886)
• The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886)
• The Master of Ballantrae (1889)

In 1889, Stevenson’s declining health led him to settle in Samoa, where he was regarded with respect by the indigenous people. Although his health improved, he longed for his homeland. His final, unfinished work, Weir of Hermiston (1896), was a tribute to the Scottish Lowlands.

Robert Louis Stevenson died suddenly on December 3, 1894, at the age of forty-four, from a cerebral hemorrhage, not tuberculosis as had been feared. The author, known for his tales of transformation, collapsed shortly after experiencing a sudden illness, passing away at the peak of his creative abilities.

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