“Happiness and goodness, according to canting moralists, stand in the relation of effect and cause. There was never anything less proved or less probable: our happiness is never in our own hands; we inherit our constitution; we stand buffet among friends and enemies; we may be so built as to feel a sneer or an aspersion with unusual keenness and so circumstanced as to be unusually exposed to them; we may have nerves very sensitive to pain, and be afflicted with a disease very painful. Virtue will not help us, and it is not meant to help us.”

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About Robert Louis Stevenson

Scottish novelist, essayist, poet, and travel writer

Robert Louis Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet, and travel writer. He is remembered for fiction that includes Treasure Island, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and Kidnapped. His work also includes the poetry collection A Child's Garden of Verses. He wrote across several forms, but is most closely associated with adventure stories, moral darkness, and verse for children.

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Books by Robert Louis Stevenson

Treasure Island

1910

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The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

1875

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The black arrow

1888

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Kidnapped

2002

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David Balfour

1892

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