If you haven’t heard of the novel Treasure Island, then you must either be living on another planet or haven’t lived at all. The novel is regarded as one of the best fictional accounts of a treasure hunt and has inspired movies, TV shows and even an animated flick Treasure Planet.

The famous novel was written by well-known writer Robert Louis Stevenson, who is the subject of this book in the series, Tell Me About Writers and Illustrators.

Written by John Malam, the 22-page book is filled with paintings and images of the great writer. It tells the readers that R. L. Stevenson, as the writer was commonly known, was born on 13 November 1850, in Edinburgh, Scotland, to a family of engineers who used to build lighthouses. Despite being an only child of wealthy parents, the youngster was often ill and was unable to attend school due to this problem. However, he spent his time with his cousins and his toy theatre, when alone, and was looked after by a nanny, who would read stories to him.

According to this account of the famous writer, his fascination with the sea began when he was young. Not only did he travel a lot, but he even met his future wife while on a trip to America. He was as good an illustrator as he was a writer, which is one of the reasons why his novels come out as ‘picture perfect’.

This book tells the readers that most of the paintings used in his novels were drawn by him, and if your mind wanders to ‘X Marks the Spot’, yes, he was the one behind that idea.

This book brings forth the fact that R. L. Stevenson, who decided to become a lawyer rather than an engineer, came up with the ideas for his famous novels in an interesting way. If his stepson’s drawing prompted him to write Treasure Island, then his bedridden illness was the motivation behind The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Besides these two novels, he was famous for a lot of other books as well as poems. His A Child’s Garden of Verses featuring poems about pirates, travels and children, is still being enjoyed by children across the world, despite being over a century old.

Once you get through these pages, you will know why his work is still being read, and what makes his books relevant for generations to come. It will also tell you that the author of Kidnapped and other novels spent his final years in Upolu Island, which is currently part of Western Samoa. He loved the place so much that he settled there with his family. He was known as ‘Tusitala’ a teller of tales in the region and that’s why when his life was cut short at the age of 44 due to prolonged illness and he was buried on Mount Vaea, behind his house.

The book also contains sketches made by the writer and information regarding his family. The last two pages provide his life history and glossary while the rest of the book explains why he is so popular even today. It will make you understand the life and times of one of the best authors in the world, and thanks to the photographs and illustrations, you will be able to relate to the man without whom English literature wouldn’t have been the same.

Published in Dawn, Young World, November 5th, 2022