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1[[quoteright:281:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Robert_Louis_Stevenson_2108.jpg]]
2
3-> Home is the sailor, home from the sea,\
4And the hunter home from the hill.
5
6Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson (13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a 19th century [[UsefulNotes/{{Scotland}} Scottish]] writer and [[WalkingTheEarth traveler]] who is well-known for his novel ''Literature/TheStrangeCaseOfDrJekyllAndMrHyde'' (the plot was revealed to him [[BasedOnADream in a dream]]), as well as other novels such as ''Literature/TreasureIsland'' and ''Literature/{{Kidnapped}}''. However, his bibliography is very extensive, as he also wrote poetry and several essays.
7
8Stevenson was admired by many higher-ups in literature such as Creator/JorgeLuisBorges and Creator/GKChesterton. Both of them were great fans of Stevenson's accessible, nigh-perfect prose. Creator/HenryJames liked his works so much that he used ''Treasure Island'' when needing an example of a novel that perfectly did what it set out to do.
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10Though he wrote many books, his work was [[WhatCouldHaveBeen drastically cut short]], as Stevenson died at 44 due to health problems in Upolu, one of the Samoan islands. The inscription on his tombstone became a well-known and still-sung GriefSong for many Samoans.
11
12!!Some of his stories are:
13[[index]]
14* ''Literature/TreasureIsland''
15* ''Literature/TheStrangeCaseOfDrJekyllAndMrHyde''
16* ''Literature/{{Kidnapped}}''
17* ''Literature/TheBottleImp''
18* ''New Arabian Nights''
19* ''The Sire de Maletroit's Door''
20* ''Literature/TheWrongBox''
21* ''Literature/TheBodySnatcher''
22* ''Literature/{{Olalla}}''
23* ''Literature/WeirOfHermiston''
24* ''Literature/ThePavilionOnTheLinks''
25* ''Literature/TheMasterOfBallantrae''
26* ''Literature/TheBlackArrow''
27[[/index]]
28
29Most of his works can be read [[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search.html/?default_prefix=author_id&sort_order=downloads&query=35 at Project Gutenberg.]]
30----
31!!His works contain examples of the following tropes:
32* ChromosomeCasting: The majority of Stevenson's works have a cast of characters that are predominantly male.
33* DealWithTheDevil: ''The Bottle Imp'' has the titular bottle which can grant its owner every wish, but whoever owns it will go to Hell after death. The only way to get rid of the bottle is to sell it to another person at a loss... which becomes a problem when the main character bought it for one penny. [[spoiler:The solution is in exchange rates; there are foreign coins worth less than a US penny.]]
34* GothicLiterature: ''Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'', ''Olalla'' and ''The Body Snatcher'' fit the bill.
35* HistoricalFiction: Stevenson has dabbled in a few, such as ''Kidnapped'' (set in the aftermath of the Jacobite rising of 1745) and ''The Black Arrow'' (set during the War of the Roses).
36* JekyllAndHyde: ''The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'' would become the TropeMaker, with the titular characters setting the foundation for adaptations and characters with the trait down the road.
37* KidHero: Jim Hawkins from ''Treasure Island'' and David Balfour from ''Kidnapped''.

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