Term Papers on The Life And Works Of Robert Louis Stevenson

Term Paper Title	The Life And Works Of Robert Louis Stevenson
# of Words	3595
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	14.38

The Life and Works of Robert Louis Stevenson

Mike Webb
Mrs. Burns
English 12 Acc.
12/5/98

     When it is stated that Robert Louis Stevenson lived one of the hardest, most painful, yet most rewarding lives of a Victorian writer, the fact is accepted as common knowledge.  Most critics and historians agree that his romantic adventure novels will never be surpassed.  Stevenson, who some say is the greatest storyteller of the nineteenth century, overcame unbelievable health problems throughout his life to become one of the most recognized authors of the Victorian time period.  The majority of his life was spent on two things, writing, and traveling in search of health.  Stevenson never limited himself to one genre of writing, but all of his works, whether it was a poem, an essay, a children's story, or a novel, all were done in his unique writing style that was full of imagery and honest romance.  He strived to entertain himself and the people around him.  During his relatively short life, Stevenson was known for his vivid imagination, attention to detail, and a broad view of the world and human life.  Disease, family life, the Victorian time period, and Henry James all have had a profound effect on Robert Louis Stevenson's writing style and works of literature.
Disease
     Robert Louis Stevenson must have been strong willed, and possessed a love for life because he was able to live a productive life even though he was stricken with health problems from an early age.  Sometime in his life Stevenson contracted tuberculosis, which led to his death on December 3, 1894 (Stevenson, Robert Louis 9).  Little was known about the relief of tuberculosis in the late 1800's, so Stevenson's only treatment came from his nurse Alison Cunningham and from the places he traveled to in search of health. The presence and influence of Cunningham had a profound effect on young Stevenson, "It [Cunningham's influence] is admitted to have been enormous...But it is perhaps worthwhile to emphasize the fact that, while Alison Cunningham was not only a devoted nurse, night and day, to the delicate child, she actually was in many ways responsible for the peculiar bent of Stevenson's mind"(Swinnerton 13).  Even though Stevenson had a difficult childhood, Alison Cunningham was able to make his life more enjoyable by reading to him and tutoring him.  When the author reached fifteen he started traveling with his parents to find a climate that suited him better than the weather of his home Scotland.
     In the late nineteenth century it was common to seek treatment for ailments in places with natural wonders or astounding beauty.  Many times this type of treatment was unsuccessful, but it is evident from his personal writing, that Robert Louis Stevenson was helped by certain climates (Swinnerton 23).  In 1873 Stevenson met Lady Colvin and Sidney Colvin who gave him moral support and provided him with his first trip in search of health in France.  Stevenson was  accompanied by Sidney Colvin on a  journey to Paris where he was able to relax (Swinnerton 18). France must have suited Stevenson because he returned to his home in Scotland only shortly, and then returned to France for five years.  He enjoyed steady work writing and publishing The Wrecker and Fontainebleau, which details his life in Paris and on the French Rivera (Swinnerton 19). Stevenson's early travel books create a foundation for the style or writing that appears in his other works of literature:
          His first published volume, An Inland Voyage (1878), is an account of the journey he made by canoe from Antwerp to northern France, in which prominence is given to the author and his thoughts.  A companion work, Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes (1879), gives us more of his thoughts on life and human society and continues in consolidating the image of the debonair narrator that we also fined in his essays and letters (which can be classed among his best works) (Robert Louis 1).
While in France, Robert Louis Stevenson met Fanny Osbourne and fell in love with her, even though she was a marrie...

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