Robert Louis Stevenson's Impact on British Literature

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Robert Louis Stevenson ranks in the upper echelons of writers in British literature. He is one of the most popular writers of the nineteenth century. Stevenson had a great range of skill in producing works in the form of poetry, plays, short stories, essays and novels. A variety of aspects of his very own life and personal experiences were implemented into his literary works. The romance novel is that of which he is best became known for. His works are still studied and observed in today’s society. While he is not regarded as “the best” writer in British history, his work still demands respect and deserves appreciation. Robert Louis Stevenson was a talented literary artist that had a significant impact on British literature.

Born on the thirteenth day of November, 1850, young Robert Louis Stevenson was the only son of middle class parents (Poem Hunter). He was birthed in great Edinburgh, Scotland, to parents Thomas Stevenson and Isabella Balfour. His father belonged to a family with a long line of engineers who had built many deep-sea lighthouses along Scotland’s rugged coastline. His mother came from a family of lawyers and church ministers (The RLS Website). Though he was born strong and healthy, Stevenson’s health quickly faltered due to being stricken with constant respiratory illnesses that later in his life developed into an unfortunate case of tuberculosis that transformed him into a state of being “skeletally thin and frail” for a large portion of his lifetime (Encyclopedia of World Biography). Throughout his childhood, Stevenson’s chronic health problems made it difficult for him to live a normal life as an active adolescent, thus, he was confined to bed for most of his childhood (Poem Hunter). While being...

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...od, Stevenson associated himself with the bottom feeders of Edinburgh’s lower society (Encyclopedia of World Biography). The relationship between the aspect of these two societies that contrasted with one another had a deeper influence on young Stevenson and strengthened his interest in the “duality of human nature”. This later on in his life provided the theme on which Stevenson based his famed novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ( Poem Hunter).

Works Cited

"Robert Louis Stevenson" Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 6

Apr. 2012

The RLS Website. www.robert-louis-stevenson.org. 20 Mar. 2012

"Biography of Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)." Biography of Robert Louis

Stevenson. Grade Saver LLC, 1999-2012. Web. 03 Apr. 2012.

"Biography of Robert Louis Stevenson." PoemHunter.com. Web. 4 Apr. 2012.

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