Robert Louis Stevenson: podcast appearances and interviews

Robert Louis Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet, and travel writer born on November 13, 1850. He is renowned for his novels Treasure Island, published in 1883, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, published in 1886, and Kidnapped, also published in 1886. His poetry collection A Child's Garden of Verses appeared in 1885. Born and educated in Edinburgh, Stevenson experienced chronic bronchial problems throughout his life but remained a prolific writer and traveler despite his health issues. As a young man, he engaged with literary circles in London and received encouragement from figures such as Sidney Colvin, Andrew Lang, Edmund Gosse, Leslie Stephen, and W. E. Henley. The latter may have inspired the character of Long John Silver in Treasure Island. In 1890, he settled in Samoa, where concerns about increasing European and American influence in the South Sea islands led him to shift his writing focus from romantic and adventure fiction towards a darker realism. Stevenson died of a stroke on December 3, 1894, at the age of 44 in his island home. Recognized as a celebrity during his lifetime, his critical reputation has varied over time, but his works continue to be highly regarded today. In 2018, he was ranked as the 26th-most-translated author in the world, just behind Charles Dickens.