Treasure Island - A mirror of Robert Louis Stevenson's childhood? We can often see many parallels between a writer's life and experiences and their works. A biographical approach to Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson is not easy, because at first glance the characters do not have much in common with the author and up to the time when the story was written , Stevenson had not visited the West Indies or other exotic destinations. places. But there are still possibilities to connect Stevenson's biography with his work. Robert Louis Stevenson was born on November 13, 1850, the only son of Thomas Stevenson, a lighthouse engineer, and Margaret Isabella Balfour, the daughter of a minister. From his early childhood, RL Stevenson suffered from poor health. During his long periods of illness, his parents and nanny would sit at his bedside and tell or read to him stories. Her nanny, for example, read the Bible, because she was very religious and her father even made up stories for her. According to David Daiches, Thomas Stevenson "had a romantic imagination and went to sleep each night with stories of ships, wayside inns, thieves, old sailors and traveling salesmen before the age of steam" . (David Daiches, Robert Louis Stevenson and His World, p. 8) He entertained his grandson with similar stories which certainly had a great effect on the young boy. RL Stevenson was barely six years old when he dictated “A Story” to his mother. of Moses, a blend of carefully memorized biblical language and a child's narrative style. As he grew up, he became more and more interested in literature. Due to his frequent illnesses, his school attendance became quite sporadic and, in general, he was considered a rather solitary boy who spent his free time reading and writing, who invented games for himself and who lived in large quantities. part of his own imagination. He also often accompanied his father to the seaside. This seemed to have a fascinating impact on him and he soon learned to deal with the sand and the sea. Perhaps Jim Hawkins and his adventures were already part of his imagination at this time. Or perhaps he even represented a counterpart, an ideal self, of the sick little boy and reflected his wishes and dreams. Jim Hawkins is also an only child, but he comes from a completely different social background than the author..