Robert Louis Stevenson was born in Edinburgh in 1850. He suffered from extremely poor health from infancy, and struggled with the effects of tuberculosis (a potentially fatal disease that mainly affects the lungs) all his life. He was the son of a lighthouse engineer and although initially he followed in his father’s footsteps, his poor health meant he needed a less active life. He chose to study law. However, he had been writing since his childhood and eventually he decided to become a professional writer.