Robert Louis Stevenson: The Wild Life of the Man Who Created Jekyll and Hyde
- Haydn Wood
- Feb 25
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 5
Robert Louis Stevenson wasn't just some Victorian writer sitting quietly by a candle, scribbling away in peace (trying to ignore the smell of the Thames). No, he lived like a man who had a deadline from the devil himself. He was wild, brilliant, sickly, adventurous, and constantly running from either tuberculosis or boredom - and I'm not entirely sure which one he was more afraid of.
A Man Who Refused to Sit Still
Born in 1850 in Edinburgh, Scotland, Stevenson came from a family of engineers who built lighthouses. But did he want to spend his life drawing blueprints for giant lights? Absolutely not. Instead, he decided to set the world ablaze with stories. Unfortunately, his lungs had other plans - he was sickly from childhood, plagued by respiratory issues, and yet somehow refused to let that slow him down (then again, I suppose writing is not the worst thing for your lungs).
Stevenson was a rebel at heart. While his father expected him to become an engineer, Stevenson went full literary rogue and studied law, such a disappointment! To be fair, he did not plan on using his law degree - he just wanted a backup plan in case the whole 'writing' thing didn't work out. Spoiler: it did.
A Love Story Worthy of a Novel
Then came Fanny Osbourne. I am not too sure why Fanny was such a popular name... even Keats had Fanny Brawne. Literary greats just love fanny. Anyway, so she was the love of his life. A strong-willed, independent American woman, Fanny was older, already married, and had kids. Did that stop Stevenson? Not a chance. He pursued her with the passion of a man who knew he was writing his own epic love story. He chased her across continents, which was definitely not good for his lungs and he nearly died in the process, finally marrying her in 1880. Their marriage was fiery, dramatic, and full of love - exactly what you'd expect from a man whose stories were anything but dull.
Why Jekyll and Hyde?
Now, onto Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde - a novel that wasn't just written, but exploded into existence. Legend has it that Stevenson wrote the first draft in three days, fuelled by feverish inspiration (and possibly a little bit of laudanum, a Victorian favourite). When Fanny read it, she thought it could be better. He took her advice - by throwing it into the fire and rewriting the entire thing from scratch in another three days. If nothing else, Stevenson was committed to his craft.
But why did he write Jekyll and Hyde? Well, picture Victorian society - prim and proper on the surface, but underneath? A seething underworld of debauchery. Stevenson, with his sharp eye for human nature, saw the duality in everyone. He knew that respectable gentlemen were often leading double lives, and the strict moral codes of the time only made it worse. He had seen it in himself, too - he was a proper literary man, yet he longed for adventure, for recklessness, for the thrill of the unknown. And for properly working lungs. Oh, and Fanny.
The story of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde wasn't just about science or horror - it was about the human condition. We all have a little Jekyll and Hyde in us. The part that smiles politely and the part that wants to throw a chair across the room. Stevenson captured this struggle so perfectly that his story has remained one of the most famous in literary history.
The Final Adventure
Stevenson didn't slow down. He kept writing, kept exploring, and eventually settled in Samoa, where the locals adored him and called him "Tusitala" (Teller of Tales). He died in 1894 at just 44 years old - collapsing suddenly while making a bottle of wine. If that isn't the way a writer should go, I don't know what is. Maybe chocking on the nib of a pen...
Robert Louis Stevenson lived fast, wrote furiously (which I am sure were great for his lungs), and left behind stories that still grip us today. He didn't just write about adventure - he was the adventure, or at least tried to be. And that's why his works, especially Jekyll and Hyde, still resonate. Because deep down, we all know that good and evil aren't just things in stories. They live inside us, waiting for the right - or wrong - moment to take control.
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