Vailima Letters (1895) by: Robert Louis Stevenson in Bloomington, MN

Stevenson was born at 8 Howard Place, Edinburgh, Scotland, on 13 November 1850, to Thomas Stevenson (1818-87), a leading lighthouse engineer, and his wife Margaret Isabella (born Balfour; 1829-97). He was christened Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson. At about age 18, Stevenson changed the spelling of "Lewis" to "Louis", and in 1873, he dropped "Balfour