Short life history of robert louis stevenson

Lighthouse design was his father's and his family's profession, and so at the age 17, Stevenson enrolled at Edinburgh University to study engineering, with the goal of following his father in the family business.

Short life history of robert louis stevenson

Lighthouse design never appealed to Stevenson, though, and he began studying law instead. His spirit of adventure truly began to appear at this stage, and during his summer vacations, he traveled to France to be around young artists, both writers and painters. He emerged from law school in but did not practice, as, by this point, he felt that his calling was to be a writer.

The Writer Emerges InStevenson saw the publication of his first volume of work, An Inland Voyage; the book provides an account of his trip from Antwerp to northern France, which he made in a canoe via the river Oise. A short life history of robert louis stevenson work, Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennescontinues in the introspective vein of Inland Voyage and also focuses on the voice and character of the narrator, beyond simply telling a tale.

Also from this period are the humorous essays of Virginibus Puerisque and Other Paperswhich were originally published from to in various magazines, and Stevenson's first book of short fiction, New Arabian Nights The stories marked the United Kingdom's emergence into the realm of the short story, which had previously been dominated by Russians, Americans and the French.

These stories also marked the beginning of Stevenson's adventure fiction, which would come to be his calling card. He returned in better health in April and settled down to his studies, but he returned to France several times after that. He also travelled to Paris to visit galleries and the theatres. Stevenson, Advocate". His law studies did influence his books, but he never practised law; [46] all his energies were spent in travel and writing.

One of his journeys was a canoe voyage in Belgium and France with Sir Walter Simpson, a friend from the Speculative Society, a frequent travel companion, and the author of The Art of Golf This trip was the basis of his first travel book An Inland Voyage He invited Barrie to visit him in Samoabut the two never met. She had married at age 17 and moved to Nevada to rejoin husband Samuel after his participation in the American Civil War.

Their children were Isobel or "Belle"Lloyd and Hervey who died in But anger over her husband's infidelities led to a number of separations. Inshe had taken her children to France where she and Isobel studied art. Stevenson spent much of the following year with her and her children in France. But he set off to join her in Augustaged 28, against the advice of his friends and without notifying his parents.

He took a second-class passage on the steamship Devoniain part to save money but also to learn how others travelled and to increase the adventure of the journey. He later wrote about the experience in The Amateur Emigrant. Popular novels Treasure Island, first published as a series in a children's magazine, ranks as Stevenson's first popular book, and it established his fame.

A perfect romance, according to Stevenson's formula, the novel tells the story of a boy's involvement with murderous pirates. Kidnappedset in Scotland during a time of great civil unrest, has the same charm. In its sequel, David BalfourStevenson could not avoid psychological and moral problems without marked strain. In The Strange Case of Dr.

Jekyll and Mr. Hyde he dealt directly with the nature of evil in man and the hideous effects that occur when man seeks to deny it. This work pointed the way toward Stevenson's more serious later novels. During this same period he published a very popular collection of poetry, A Child's Garden of Verses After the death of Stevenson's father inhe again traveled to the United States, this time for his health.

Artistic Development InRobert began studying science at the University of Edinburgh and it was hoped that he would follow the family tradition and enter the civil engineering industry. But Robert quickly grew disinterested in this field of study, turning his attention to French literature, Scottish history and writing, developing his writing skills by imitating the work of his favourite authors.

After informing his father that he no longer wished to pursue a career in engineering, it was agreed that Robert study law instead.