Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Louis Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, and travel writer whose adventurous tales have been adapted into comics for decades. Born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson on 13 November 1850 in Edinburgh, he suffered from chronic bronchial trouble throughout his life, yet he wrote prolifically and traveled widely. He is best known for *Treasure Island* (1883), *Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde* (1886), and *Kidnapped* (1886), as well as the poetry collection *A Child’s Garden of Verses* (1885). In his youth, he moved in London literary circles, receiving encouragement from figures such as Sidney Colvin and W. E. Henley, who may have inspired the character Long John Silver. In 1890, Stevenson settled in Samoa, where his writing grew darker and more realistic, concerned with European and American influence in the South Seas. He died of a stroke on 3 December 1894 at age 44. A celebrity in his lifetime, his critical reputation has since risen, and in 2018 he was ranked the 26th-most-translated author in the world, just behind Charles Dickens. His works have been adapted into numerous comic series, including *Classics Illustrated* and its international editions, making him a staple of literary comics.