The Bottle Imp

Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson) was born in Edinburgh in 1850 to a family of lighthouse engineers. He was an only child and was often sickly, so he was primarily educated by private tutors. From an early age, he wrote stories, poems, and essays. His parents were supportive of his writing ambitions, though his father expressed some disappointment when Stevenson decided not to follow in his footsteps and pursue engineering. Despite his frequent bouts of ill health, travel was one of Stevenson’s great passions, and he took trips by land and water throughout his life. His love of adventure inspired many of his works, including Treasure Island.

In 1888, Stevenson chartered a yacht and traveled with his family throughout the Pacific region, visiting Hawaii, Tahiti, New Zealand, and the Samoan Islands, among other places. He was inspired by the people and the landscapes, and these travels influenced much of his later work, including “The Bottle Imp.” He also collected stories from local storytellers and “The Bottle Imp” was eventually translated into Samoan, marking a storytelling exchange between cultures.

He and his family settled in Samoa. He spent the last years of his life there, becoming involved in Samoan politics as a journalist and worrying about the influence of European powers in the islands and the danger they posed to Indigenous sovereignty.