Treasure Island

Robert Louis Stevenson was born on November 13, 1850, in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was often sick as a child, and respiratory troubles plagued him throughout his life. His father, Thomas Stevenson, was an engineer, and his mother was from a family of lawyers and ministers. Like many other parents of their time, the Stevensons imparted to their son the Victorian values of piety, industry, and practical success. Robert was somewhat fearful of his strict, no-nonsense father, a fact that is hinted at in the numerous antagonistic or spiritless father-son relationships depicted in his novels.