Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) was born in Edinburgh. He began his writing career as an essayist and travel writer, but the success of Treasure Island (1883) and Kidnapped (1886) established his reputation for tales of adventure and action. During the final years of his life, Stevenson's creative range developed and he wrote "The Beach of Falesa" and began "The Weir of Hermiston."
John Seelye is graduate research professor of American Literature at the University of Florida.
