Portrait by John Singer Sargent, 1887

1. RobertLouisStevensonwasaScottishnovelist, poet, essayistandtravelwriter. Hisbest-knownbooksincludeTreasureIsland, Kidnapped, andStrangeCaseofDrJekyllandMrHyde.A literarycelebrityduringhislifetime, Stevensonnowranksamongthe 26 mosttranslatedauthorsintheworld. Hehasbeengreatlyadmiredbymanyauthors, whosaidofhimthathe "seemedtopicktherightworduponthepointofhispen, likeamanplayingspillikins."

2. Stevenson was a celebrity in his own time, but with the rise of modern literature after World War I, he was seen for much of the 20th century as a writer of the second class.Stevenson was an amateur composer who wrote songs typical of California in the 1880. Portrait by John Singer Sargent, 1887

3. Treasure Island is an adventure novel, narrating a tale of "pirates and buried gold". Traditionally considered a coming-of-age story, Treasure Island is an adventure tale known for its atmosphere, characters and action, and also as a wry commentary on the ambiguity of morality — as seen in Long John Silver — unusual for children's literature then and now. It is one of the most frequently dramatized of all novels. The influence of Treasure Island on popular perceptions of pirates is enormous, including treasure maps marked with an "X", schooners, the Black Spot, tropical islands, and one-legged seamen carrying parrots on their shoulders.

4. The novel is divided into 6 parts and 34 chapters: Jim Hawkins is the narrator. The novel opens in a seaside village in south-west England in the mid-18th century. The narrator, James "Jim" Hawkins, is the young son of the owners of the Admiral Benbow Inn.There are a number of islands which could be the real-life inspiration for Treasure Island. One story goes that a mariner uncle had told the young Stevenson tales of his travels to Norman Island in the British Virgin Islands