Robert stevenson

ROBERT STEVENSON

Robert  Stevenson was born in Edinburgh in 1850 from a Calvinist family: this element together with his poor health are the main elements on his childhood. He rejected his family's religious principles and the love on his family for respectability. He was in conflict with his family and his social background, he showed this conflict in his appearance:

he has long hair

he was very eccentric and bohemian character.

Because on his health he travelled in Europe and in 1888 he moved to Australia and later to Tahiti and he died in Samoa in 1894. " The people of Samoa honoured him and buried his body on a mountain top like one of their chiefs."

When he was in Scotland he took up engineering and soon he gave up this studies and later he devoted himself to writing. In 1883 he married Fanny Osbourne and in 1884 he met Henry James that was an American writer very important for psychological elements introduced in his novels. He was the brother of William James.

Stevenson wrote:

novels

poetry

short stories

essays

NOVELS: defends of the appeal of adventure, mythical character and the day-dreaming, against psychological explorations of Henry James.

ESSAYS: other elements about his point of view are find in an essay, "Note on realism". He says enthusiasm of the tradition of romance: romance considered as tales in verse about chivalry interest in the supernatural world and love. He acknowledged his debt for Walter Scott and finally he was against realism and naturalism.

His mains novels were:

Treasure Island

Kidnapped 1886

The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

The monster of Ballantrae 1889

As regards to short stories he is in debt to Edgar Allan Poe in particular by his tales of terror. Here we can find strong sense of suspense and supernatural.