Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour
Stevenson) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is
best known for works such as Treasure Island, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr
Hyde, Kidnapped and A Child's Garden of Verses. Born and educated in Edinburgh,
Stevenson suffered from serious bronchial trouble for much of his life but
continued to write prolifically and travel widely in defiance of his poor
health. As a young man, he mixed in London literary circles, receiving encouragement
from Andrew Lang, Edmund Gosse, Leslie Stephen and W. E. Henley, the last of
whom may have provided the model for Long John Silver in Treasure Island.