Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was born in Edinburgh on the 13th of November 1850. He studied engineering with the intention of following his father into the lighthouse design business but found this profession dull and instead changed his studies to law. After graduation he never practised law, turning his mind to art and embarking on a career as a writer.
His first work An Inland Voyage, was published in 1878, and his breakthrough came 5 years later when Treasure Island was published. He went on to write 13 novels, most notably Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde in 1886 and The Master of Ballantrae in 1889. He also had several collections of his short stories published. He died on the 3rd of December 1894, aged just 44.
Robert Louis Stevenson is reported to be amongst the 30 most translated authors in the world and he was greatly admired by many of his contemporaries. How much do you know about him and his works?