Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde[化身博士]

Throughouthislife,RobertLouisBalfourStevensonwastormentedbypoorhealth.Yetdespitefrequentphysicalcollapses–mainlyduetoconstantrespiratoryillness–hewasanindefatigablewriterofnovels,poems,essays,letters,travelbooks,andchildren'sbooks.HewasbornonNovember13,1850,inEdinburgh,ofaprosperousfamilyoflighthouseengineers.Thoughhewasexpectedtoenterthefamilyprofession,hestudiedinsteadfortheScottishbar.Bythetimehewascalledtothebar,however,hehadalreadybegunwritingseriously,andheneveractuallypracticedlaw.In1880,againsthisfamily'swishes,hemarriedanAmericandivorcée,FannyVandegriftOsbourne,whowastenyearshissenior;butthefamilywassoonreconciledtothematch,andthemarriageprovedahappyone.AllhislifeStevensontraveled–ofteninadesperatequestforhealth.HeandFanny,havingmarriedinCaliforniaandspenttheirhoneymoonbyanabandonedsilvermine,traveledbacktoScotland,thentoSwitzerland,totheSouthofFrance,totheAmericanAdirondacks,andfinallytothesouthofFrance,totheSouthSeas.Asanovelisthewasintriguedwiththegeniusofplace:TreasureIsland(1883)beganasamaptoamuseaboy.Indeed,allhisworksrevealaprofoundsenseoflandscapeandatmosphere:Kidnapped(1886);TheStrangeCaseofDr.JekyllandMr.Hyde(1886);TheMasterofBallantrae(1889).In1889Stevenson'sdeterioratinghealthexiledhimtothetropics,andhesettledinSamoa,wherehewasgivenpatriarchalstatusbythenatives.Hishealthimproved,yetheremainedhomesickforScotland,anditwastothe"coldoldhuddleofgreyhills"oftheLowlandsthathereturnedinhislast,unfinishedmasterpiece,WeirofHermiston(1896).StevensondiessuddenlyonDecember3,1894,notofthelong-fearedtuberculosis,butofacerebralhemorrhage.ThekindlyauthorofJekyllandHydewentdowntothecellartofetchabottleofhisfavoriteburgundy,uncorkeditinthekitchen,abruptlycriedouttohiswife,"What'sthematterwithme,whatisthisstrangeness,hasmyfacechanged?"–andfelltothefloor.Thebrilliantstorytellerandmasteroftransformationshadbeenstruckdownatforty-four,attheheightofhiscreativepowers.