Markheim

Occasionally an author appears who, in a short career, emblazons a legacy so bright and so distinct, as well as popular, that it is difficult to believe it is the output of only one man. Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was such a talent. Stevenson was born on 13th November 1850 in Edinburgh. Despite a late start to reading and writing, he was a voracious story-teller, regularly performing yarns for all those around him. His health though was poorly; he suffered lifelong bronchial problems and was incapacitated by this and other ailments throughout his life. In Grez, France, in September 1876, he met the American Fanny Van de Grift Osbourne. She was married with children but distress and anger at her husband's infidelities led to several separations. By the time she met Stevenson, she was already a promising short-story writer. In 1880 she was at last free to remarry and life, despite his health issues, was good. In the ensuing years travel and exploration would be their calling and the