Robert Louis Stevenson - Children's Author

Robert Louis Stevenson was born to Thomas and Margaret Isabella Balfour Stevenson in Edinburgh on 13 November 1850. From the beginning he was sickly. Through much of his childhood he was attended by his faithful nurse, Alison Cunningham, known as Cummy in the family circle. She told him morbid stories about the Covenanters (the Scots Presbyterian martyrs), read aloud to him Victorian penny-serial novels, Bible stories, and the Psalms, and drilled the catechism into him, all with his parents' approval. Thomas Stevenson was quite a storyteller himself, and his wife doted on their only child, sitting in admiration while her precocious son expounded on religious dogma. Stevenson inevitably reacted to the morbidity of his religious education and to the stiffness of his family's middle-class values, but that rebellion would come only after he entered Edinburgh University.

The juvenilia that survives from his childhood shows an observer who was already sensitive to religious issues and Scottish history. Not surprisingly, the boy who listened to Cummy's religious tales first tried his hand at retelling Bible stories: "A History of Moses" was followed by "The Book of Joseph." When Stevenson was sixteen his family published a pamphlet he had written entitled The Pentland Rising, a recounting of the murder of Nonconformist Scots Presbyterians who rebelled against their royalist persecutors.

 

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Featured Books, with extracts by Robert Louis Stevenson

Kidnapped
Robert Louis Stevenson
The thrilling adventures of David Balfour are told by himself in this fast-paced narrative of kidnap, escape and a quest for revenge. Set against the rugged Scottish scenery which Stevenson evokes beautifully, the story ducks and dives to a most...
Featured in: 11+ readers | 9+ readers | Children's Classics | eBooks
Format: Paperback - Released: 06/09/2012
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Treasure Island
Robert Louis Stevenson
Pirates! One of the greatest adventures ever told, this classic made readily accessible in a fresh-feeling edition is a must read for all lovers of a great yarn. The young narrator re-tells the story of a thrilling search for treasure...
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Format: Paperback - Released: 02/08/2012
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Kidnapped (Oxford Children's Classics)
Robert Louis Stevenson
Breathtaking and daring, this is one of the greatest adventure stories ever told.  When orphan David Balfour is shipwrecked off the Scottish coast he miraculously survives with one companion, Alan Breck. Together, the two set off across the treacherous terrain...
Featured in: 11+ readers | 9+ readers | Children's Classics
Format: Hardback - Released: 03/03/2011
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Kidnapped (with an introduction by Alexander McCall Smith)
Robert Louis Stevenson
Action packed and compelling, Kidnapped is a classic adventure story involving danger and revealing great courage. David Balfour has to track down his uncle to seek his inheritance. But his uncle is not all that he seems. David is kidnapped...
Featured in: 11+ readers | Children's Classics
Format: Paperback - Released: 06/08/2009
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A Child's Garden of Verses
Robert Louis Stevenson
This book helps you rediscover the delight and innocence of childhood in these classic poems from celebrated author, Robert Louis Stevenson. From make-believe to climbing trees, bedtime stories to morning play and favourite cousins to beloved mothers. Here is a...
Featured in: 5+ readers | 7+ readers
Format: Paperback - Released: 07/08/2008
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Treasure Island (with an Introduction by Eoin Colfer)
Robert Louis Stevenson
This is a much-loved favourite classic - and here are the thoughts of no less than four of our favourite authors, who all selected it !  June 2011 Guest Editor Michael Morpurgo remembers: 'A terrifically exciting tale of a dead...
Featured in: 7+ readers | 9+ readers | Children's Classics
Format: Paperback - Released: 28/02/2008
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Treasure Island
Robert Louis Stevenson
This is a much-loved favourite classic. Here are the thoughts of three favourite authors:  Michael Morpurgo: 'A terrifically exciting tale of a dead man’s map, mutinous pirates, skulduggery and buried treasure that will be thoroughly enjoyed by a child...
Featured in: 11+ readers | 14+ readers | 9+ readers | Children's Classics | eBooks
Format: Hardback - Released: 02/08/2007
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Treasure Island (Illustrated by Robert Ingpen)
Robert Louis Stevenson
This complete and unabridged text of one of the classics of the high seas has been enhanced with over 70 original illustrations by award-winning artist Robert Ingpen, who has set his imagination loose on this breathtaking adventure, bringing the unforgettable...
Featured in: 11+ readers | Children's Classics
Format: Hardback - Released: 01/08/2005
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Treasure Island
Robert Louis Stevenson
When Jim Hawkins discovers a map in an old sea chest, he little guesses of the danger and excitement which lie ahead. He sets sail for Treasure Island in search of treasure. A terrifically exciting tale of a dead man’s...
Featured in: 9+ readers | eBooks
Format: Paperback - Released: 18/07/2005
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The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Tales of Terror
Robert Louis Stevenson
Published as a 'shilling shocker', Robert Louis Stevenson's dark psychological fantasy gave birth to the idea of the split personality. The story of respectable Dr Jekyll's strange association with 'damnable young man' Edward Hyde, the hunt through fog-bound London for...
Featured in: 14+ readers
Format: Paperback - Released: 27/02/2003
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