Robert Louis Stevenson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Robert Louis Stevenson
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Born | Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson 13 November 1850 Edinburgh, Scotland |
Died | 3 December 1894 (aged 44) Vailima, Samoa |
Occupation | Writer |
Nationality | Scottish |
Period | Victorian era |
Spouse | Fanny Van de Grift Osbourne |
Children | Isobel Osbourne (stepdaughter) Lloyd Osbourne (stepson) |
Relatives | Thomas Stevenson Margaret Isabella Balfour |
Robert Louis Stevenson (born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on November 13, 1850 – died December 3, 1894) was a famous Scottish writer. He is known for writing many exciting books. These include novels, short stories, poems, and travel books.
Stevenson is most famous for his adventure stories. His best-known books are Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. When he was young, Stevenson went to Mr Henderson's School in Edinburgh. Later, because he was often unwell, he had teachers who taught him at home.
Contents
What Were Robert Louis Stevenson's Most Famous Books?
- Treasure Island (1883)
- A Child's Garden of Verses (1885)
- The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886)
- Kidnapped (1886)
- The Black Arrow (1888)
- The Master of Ballantrae (1889)
- Island Nights' Entertainments (1893)
Remembering Robert Louis Stevenson
Many places and things honor Robert Louis Stevenson's life and work. These memorials help people remember his stories and his impact on literature.
Museums and Homes Dedicated to Stevenson

- The Writers' Museum in Edinburgh has a special room for Stevenson. It displays items from his childhood and adult life.
- The Stevenson House in Monterey, California, was once a hotel where he stayed. It remembers his journey across the United States.
- The Robert Louis Stevenson Museum in St. Helena, California, has over 11,000 items. These include his childhood rocking chair and writing desk. It is a free museum for students and fans.
- Stevenson's old home in Vailima, Samoa, is now a museum. It shows items from his later life. The path to his grave on Mount Vaea starts from this museum.
Statues and Plaques Honoring Stevenson
- A bronze memorial designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens is in St Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh.
- Another memorial in Edinburgh is in West Princes Street Gardens. It is a stone with "RLS – A Man of Letters 1850–1894" carved on it.
- In 2013, a statue of Stevenson as a child with his dog was put up outside Colinton Parish Church.
- A plaque in Castleton of Braemar marks where he wrote Treasure Island in 1881.
- A garden in Westbourne was made in 1957 to remember Stevenson. It has a statue of the Skerryvore lighthouse.
Stevenson in Pop Culture and Education
- In 1966, actor Lloyd Bochner played Stevenson in a TV show called Death Valley Days.
- In 1994, the Royal Bank of Scotland made special £1 notes. They had Stevenson's signature and face on them.
- Many schools in the United States are named after Stevenson. These include elementary and middle schools.
- Stevenson School in Pebble Beach, California, is a college preparatory boarding school.
- Robert Louis Stevenson State Park in California is where he spent his honeymoon.
- A street in Honolulu, Hawaii, is named Tusitala, which was Stevenson's Samoan nickname.
- The Chemin de Stevenson (GR 70) is a hiking path in France. It follows the route Stevenson described in his book Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes.
- There is a memorial to him in Portsmouth Square, San Francisco, California.
- A memorial by Gutzon Borglum was put up in 1915 in Saranac Lake, New York.
Images for kids
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Daguerreotype portrait of Stevenson as a child
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Stevenson at age 26 by Charles Wirgman
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French Hotel (now "Stevenson House"), Monterey, California, where he stayed in 1879
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Stevenson's "Cure Cottage" in Saranac Lake, New York
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Stevenson playing a flageolet in Hawaii ca. 1889
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Stevenson and King Kalākaua of Hawaii, c. 1889
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Portrait by Girolamo Nerli, 1892
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Portrait by John Singer Sargent, 1887
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Stevenson paces in his dining room in an 1885 portrait by John Singer Sargent. His wife Fanny, seated in an Indian dress, is visible in the lower right corner.
See also
In Spanish: Robert Louis Stevenson para niños