Robert Louis StevensonInteresting Facts and Information

Basic Information• Robert Louis Stevenson was a famous Victorian

author. He wrote mainly mystery and adventure stories.

• He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1850 and his family were very wealthy. He was raised and looked after by his nanny.

• Robert Louis Stevenson was a sickly child and was always getting ill. He was very thin and frail and he suffered with coughs and fevers.

• When he was 12, he went on a 5 month holiday around Europe visitng France, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany and Italy. This was prehaps the reason that his passion for adventure and travel began.

• He went to Edinburgh University, He started to study engineering but soon changed to study law. He passed his legal exams but in his heart he knew he wanted to be a writer.

Edinburgh, where Stevenson lived and went to University.

• In 1876 he went on a canoeing trip to Belguim and France with a friend. He kept a jounal of his travels and used it to form the basic storyline og his first book, An Island Voyage.

• In France, Stevenson met a woman called Fanny Osbourne. He fell in love with her.

• In 1879, Robert Louis Stevenson travelled all the way from Britain to America to see Fanny Osbourne. They married in 1880. They decided to live in Britain and set up a home with Fanny´s twelve year old son Lloyd.

Becoming Famous • Treasure Island was first published as a book in

1883. It was very successful and made Robert Louis Stevenson become a well known and very famous writer.

• Robert Louis Stevenson continued to have very bad health problems as an adult. He suffered with chest infections and was that ill he couldn´t leave his bed.

• In 1886 he wrote both ´The Strange Case of Dr Jekll and Mr Hyde´and ´Kidnapped´. Much of his writing was completed from his sickbed.

Life and Death of Stevenson• From 1888 to 1890, the Stevenson family spent

two years sailing round the Pacific Ocean Islands.

The island where

Stevenson built a house

Robert Louis Stevenson decided to build a house on the island of Upolu, in Western Samoa. He carried on writing but found it very difficult with his illness.

In December 1894, Robert Lewis Stevenson died. He was only 44 years old. His body was buried on Mount Vaea, Upolu.

Random Fact!

Due to his health problems,Stevenson and his family spent their time away from Edinburgh´s cold and polluted skies. While living in Samoa, he discovered that 12 year old Annie, the daughter of the Commissioner of Samoa was very unhappy because her birthday was on Christmas Day. In a witty and generous way, Stevenson tried to solve the probelm by writing a long legal letter giving his birthday to the girl.

I, Robert Louis Stevenson, Advocate of the Scots Bar, author of The Master

of Ballantrae and Moral Emblems, stuck civil engineer, sole owner and

patentee of the Palace and Plantation known as Vailima in the island of Upolu, Samoa, a British Subject,

being in sound mind and pretty well I thank you in body...Have transferred, and do hereby transfer to the said A.

H. Ide, All and Whole of my rights and privileges in the 13th day of

November, formerly my birthday, now, hereby, and henceforth, the birthday of the said A. H. Ide, to have, hold,

exercise and enjoy....

The Black Arrow: A Brief Overview

• This tale is set in 15th century England during the War of the Roses.

• It is a coming of age tale about a boy named Dick Shelton.

• Dick has been living under the care of Sir Daniel Brackley, who became his guardian after the mysterious death of Dick's father.

• At the start of the story Dick Shelton is preparing to go to his first battle. However during the preparations, Appleyard, an archer who was to defend the house of Brackley is shot through the heart with a black arrow.

• The note on the arrow says that four men shall have a black arrow through their hearts and Dick is suprised to find that the four men include his guardian and his friends.

• Dick also leans that one or more of the men may have been involved in his father´s mysterious death. This knowledge is very unsettling to him.

Part One Animation of ´The Black Arrow´

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76oY653RT3E

Happy Reading!