Robert Louis Stevenson has an important place in the history of the short story in the British Isles: the form had been elaborated and developed in America, France and Russia from the mid-19th century, but it was Stevenson who initiated the British tradition. Stevenson's Calvinist creation and his constant struggle against ill health led to his preoccupation with death and the darker side of human nature as revealed in his work. Despite Stevenson's claim that "fiction is to adult man what the toy represents to the child," he had, at the end of his life, mastered a huge variety of types of fiction, from tales of historical adventures and novels of swordsmen to horror stories in Gothic style.In this selection of his most interesting works you will find the following stories:The Waif WomanThe Bottle ImpThrawn JanetMarkheimThe Body SnatcherOlallaStrange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Born on November 13, 1850, in Edinburgh, Scotland, Robert Louis Stevenson traveled often, and his global wanderings lent themselves well to his brand of fiction. Stevenson developed a desire to write early in life, having no interest in the family business of lighthouse engineering. He was often abroad, usually for health reasons, and his journeys led to some of his early literary works.Publishing his first volume at the age of 28, Stevenson became a literary celebrity during his life when works such as Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde were released to eager audiences. He died in Samoa in 1894.