Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was born in Edinburgh in 1850. He suffered from tuberculosis all his life and died in Vailima, Samoa at the age of only 44. Despite his admission to the bar, he devoted himself exclusively to writing. Stevenson has written numerous works including travel stories, adventure fiction, historical novels, poetry and essays. He became world famous with the classic book for young people, Treasure Island. He is also the writer of The Curious Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886), The Master of Ballantrae (1889) and St. Ives (1898).