By Cara Sulieman
AS SCOTLAND’S most famous literary figure celebrates a big birthday this year, it is also time to honour another great Scottish author.
Although Robert Louis Stevenson is one of the country’s most renowned writers, there is little information available online.
Now three of Scotland’s universities have come together to create a website dedicated to the life and work of the Kidnapped author.
At the moment, there is no site available for those studying the work of Stevenson, and that is what Napier, Edinburgh and Stirling Universities aim to do.
Dr Linda Dryden from Napier said: “The site will include a brief biography of Stevenson, a timeline, publication history, and pages devoted to the major figures in his life from his parents, to Belle Strong and W. E. Henley.”
“We have built into it an element of schools’ resources, such as reading packs and recommended reading for school children. This will mean that they too can begin to appreciate the extraordinary talent that this Scottish writer possessed.”
Along with this information will be guides to all the locations important to Stevenson’s life. This will not only include significant spots in Scotland, but will also cover Vailima on Samoa and other international aspects.
As with Homecoming 2009, the project aims to celebrate the talent of Scotland and promote the country and its artists to an international audience.
Dr Dryden explained: “This project is designed to benefit Scotland, to involve academics in Scottish institutions, to celebrate Scottish literary heritage and to project all of this onto a world-wide community.”
Robert Louis Stevenson’s most famous book is Treasure Island, now a classic children’s tale of pirates and adventure.
