title: Björn Ironside

text: William of Jumièges refers to Björn as "Bier Costae ferreae" (Ironside) who was "Lotbroci regis filio" (son of King Lodbrok). William's account of the Mediterranean expedition centers around Björn's foster-father Hastein. The two Vikings conducted many (mostly successful) raids in France. Later on Hastein got the idea to make Björn the new Roman Emperor and led a large Viking raid into the Mediterranean together with his protégée. They proceeded inland to the town of Luni, which they believed to be Rome at the time, but were unable to breach the town walls. To gain entry a tricky plan was devised: Hastein sent messengers to the bishop to say that, being deathly ill, he had a deathbed conversion and wished to receive Christian sacraments and/or to be buried on consecrated ground within their church. He was brought into the chapel with a small honor guard, then surprised the dismayed clerics by leaping from his stretcher. The Viking party then hacked its way to the town gates, which were promptly opened letting the rest of the army in. When they realised that Luni was not Rome, Björn and Hastein wished to investigate this city but changed their minds when they heard that the Romans were well prepared for defense. After returning to West Europe, the two men parted company. Björn was shipwrecked at the English coast and barely survived. He then went to Frisia where William says he died. There are some historical challenges with this account. Hastein appears in the contemporary sources later than Björn, and in order to be his foster-father would have been around his 80s when he died. That is certainly possible, citing the fact that their contemporaries, the Viking Rollo and King Harald Fairhair of Norway lived comparable lifespans. Luni is also known to have been plundered by Saracens.


title: Björn Ironside

text: The story of Björn and his brothers, the sons of the Scandinavian king Ragnar Lodbrok, was retold in different versions throughout the Middle Ages. The "Tale of Ragnar's Sons" ("Ragnarssona þáttr") is an Icelandic Fornaldar Saga from about the 14th century that combines traditional Norse oral history with legendary themes. It states that Björn was the son of Ragnar and Aslaug and that his brothers were Hvitserk, Ivar the Boneless, and Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye. The tale also tells of Björn's half-brothers Eric and Agnar.


title: Björn Ironside

text: The saga portrays Ragnar as the overlord of large parts of Sweden and possibly even Denmark. While he was still alive, Björn and his brothers left Sweden to conquer Zealand, Reidgotaland (here Jutland), Gotland, Öland and all the minor islands. They then settled at Lejre in Zealand, Denmark with Ivar the Boneless as their leader.


title: Björn Ironside

text: Ragnar's sons Eric and Agnar then sailed into Lake Mälaren and sent a message to the Swedish King Eysteinn, a vassal of Ragnar, that they wanted him to submit to Ragnar's sons. Moreover, Eric said that he wanted Eysteinn's daughter Borghild as wife. Eysteinn said that he first wanted to consult the Swedish chieftains. The chieftains said no to the offer, and ordered an attack on the rebellious sons. A battle ensued and Eric and Agnar were overwhelmed by the Swedish forces, whereupon Agnar died and Eric was taken prisoner.


title: Björn Ironside

text: Eysteinn offered Eric as much of Uppsala öd as he wanted, and Borghild, in wergild for Agnar. Eric proclaimed that after such a defeat he wanted nothing but to choose the day of his own death. Eric asked to be impaled on spears that raised him above the dead and his wish was granted. In Zealand, Björn, Aslaug and Hvitserk, who had been playing tafl, became upset and sailed to Sweden with a large army. Aslaug rode with cavalry across the land. In a great battle they killed Eysteinn.


title: Björn Ironside

text: According to the saga, their father Ragnar was captured and killed by King Ælla in England after a foolhardy invasion attempt. Björn and his brothers, seeking revenge, attacked Ælla but were beaten back. As Ivar realised that the English king could not be defeated right away, he sought reconciliation. He only asked for as much land as he could cover with an ox's hide and swore never to wage war against Ælla. Then Ivar cut the ox's hide into such fine strands that he could envelop a large fortress (in an older saga it was York and according to a younger saga it was London) which he could take as his own. Ivar made himself popular in England and asked his brothers to attack again. During the battle Ivar sided with his brothers and so did many of the English chieftains with their people, in loyalty to Ivar. Ælla was taken captive and in revenge they carved the blood eagle on him.


title: Björn Ironside

text: Later Björn and his brothers pillaged in England, Normandy, France, and Lombardy, until they came to the town Luna in Italy. When they came back to Scandinavia, they divided the kingdom so that Björn Ironside took Uppsala and Sweden.


title: Björn Ironside

text: The partly legendary Danish chronicle of Saxo Grammaticus, "Gesta Danorum" (c. 1200), is the first text to mention Björn Ironside as a King of Sweden. According to Saxo, Ragnar Lodbrok had a quarrel with the recently elevated ruler of the Swedes, Sörle. He therefore invaded the Swedish lands in company with his sons Björn, Fridleif and Radbard. Before battle had broken out, the opposing sides agreed to settle the matter through a combat. Ragnar and his three sons met the renowned champion Starkad and his seven sons in the sight of the two armies. "Björn, having inflicted great slaughter on the foe without hurt to himself, gained from the strength of his sides, which were like iron, a perpetual name [i.e., Ironside]". Ragnar and his sons slew their eight opponents, after which their troops fell on Sörle and his army and annihilated them. Ragnar then "presented Björn with the lordship of Sweden for his conspicuous bravery and service." Later on, another son of Ragnar, Ubbe, colluded with his maternal grandfather Esbjörn and conspired against Ragnar. Esbjörn sent envoys to Björn in Sweden to drum up support for a rebellion, but Björn refused to listen. Instead, he hanged the envoys while their party were slaughtered by the Swedes. Shortly afterwards Esbjörn was slain in a sea battle, and Ubbe was captured after a heroic resistance. In due time Ragnar appointed Björn regent of Norway, while Sweden was handed over to another son, Eric Weatherhat. After the death of Ragnar, Björn and his brothers attacked Ella in England with 400 ships and killed him. He then went back to his Swedish kingdom, but intervened in Denmark when the Danes rose against the rule of Ragnar's sons. With a fleet of 1,700 ships, he and his brothers crushed the insurgents at Slesvig. This is the last we hear about Björn Ironside in the "Gesta Danorum".


title: Björn Ironside

text: The "Hervarar saga" from the 13th century tells that Eysteinn Beli was killed by Björn and his brothers as told in "Ragnar Lodbrok's saga", and they conquered all of Sweden. When Ragnar died Björn Ironside inherited Sweden. He had two sons, Refil and Erik Björnsson, who became the next king of Sweden.


title: Björn Ironside

text: Anglo-Saxon and Irish sources suggest that the Danish invasion of England after 865 was led by three brothers called Ingvar (i.e. Ivar), Ubbe and Halfdan who, judging from the Irish "Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib", were sons of a Ragnall (Ragnar or a similar name). Björn is not mentioned in this context, but later Norman tradition suggests that he may have been a brother. According to William of Jumièges he died in Frisia, which also had an association with the invaders of England. Ubbe is sometimes labeled the "Frisian Jarl" and the invaders are occasionally called Scaldingi (men from Schelde). The kingships of Björn is at times historically problematic since it is not supported by older sources and presents insurmountable chronological inconsistencies.


title: Björn Ironside

text: A principal character in the History television series "Vikings", played as a young boy by Nathan O'Toole and through adulthood by Alexander Ludwig, is loosely based on the historical character and portrayed as the son of Lagertha, rather than of Aslaug. According to the lore, Björn is not the eldest son, while in the show he is the eldest of all the sons of Ragnar.


title: Björn Ironside

text: In the novel "Monster" by Michael Grant, one character, Armo, mentions that he's descended from "Björn Ironside, a very badass Viking".


title: Jack O'Connell (actor)

text: Jack O'Connell (born 1 August 1990) is an English actor. He gained recognition by playing James Cook in the British television series "Skins" (2009–2010, 2013). He is also known for Pukey Nicholls in "This Is England" (2006), roles in the slasher film "Eden Lake" (2009) and the television dramas "Dive" (2010), "United" (2011) and playing the lead, Roy Goode, in the Netflix wild west miniseries "Godless" (2017).


title: Jack O'Connell (actor)

text: O'Connell gave critically acclaimed performances in the independent films "Starred Up" (2013) and "'71" (2014). He subsequently starred as war hero Louis Zamperini in the war film "Unbroken" (2014), for which he received the BAFTA Rising Star Award. He has since starred in the thriller "Money Monster" (2016), the biographical drama "Trial by Fire" (2018) and the BBC miniseries "The North Water" (2021).


title: Jack O'Connell (actor)

text: O'Connell was born on 1 August 1990 into a working-class family in Alvaston, Derbyshire. His father, Johnny Patrick O'Connell, was an Irish citizen from Ballyheigue who worked on the British railways for Bombardier until his death from pancreatic cancer in 2009. His mother, Alison (née Gutteridge), who is English, was employed by the airline British Midland before taking on management of her son's career. His younger sister, Megan, is an actress. As the grandson of Ken Gutteridge, a player and later manager at Burton Albion FC, O'Connell aspired to become a professional footballer. He played as a striker for Alvaston Rangers and was later scouted by Derby County FC, where he had trials. After a series of injuries ended his career, he wanted to join the British Army, believing it to be his only realistic option to make an honest living. His parents sent him to the Army Cadet Force when he was 12 with the aim of teaching him discipline, but his juvenile criminal record prevented him from enlisting in the army.


title: Jack O'Connell (actor)

text: As a youth, O'Connell was in and out of court on charges related to alcohol and violence, and he received a one-year young offender's referral order when he was 17. Regarding his past transgressions, he has described himself as "a product of [his] environment". At age 16, O'Connell left Saint Benedict Catholic School with two GCSEs in drama and English. He later reflected on his "brutal" experience at Saint Benedict: "What I learnt aside from anything academic at school was probably very valuable lessons in terms of how to lie, how to play the game, how to play authority against itself." He took an interest in acting during the compulsory drama classes, and from age 13 he attended the free Television Workshop in Nottingham, where he trained in drama twice a week. He began attending auditions in London, where he sometimes slept outside because he was unable to afford a hotel. He eventually moved to Hounslow in London, working in between acting parts as a farmhand in Cobham, Surrey.


title: Jack O'Connell (actor)

text: Since the start of his career, O'Connell has mainly played young delinquents; "The New York Times" writer John Freeman noted retrospectively, "If a British film called for a tough case, a grappler, someone with a bit of grit, chances were O'Connell got the part. [He] has delivered one gripping physical performance after another, bringing an electric authenticity to the portrayal of angry, troubled youth." O'Connell made his professional acting debut in 2005 when he played a runaway with anger issues in an episode of "Doctors", followed by a recurring role as a boy accused of rape in "The Bill". His stage debut came that same year after a rendition of the play "The Spider Men" by the Television Workshop was selected to be performed at the Royal National Theatre in London. O'Connell played his debut film role in "This Is England" (2006), a critically acclaimed coming-of-age drama set in the skinhead subculture of the early 1980s. At age 15, he was deemed too old to play the main character, leading filmmaker Shane Meadows to write the supporting role of the belligerent Pukey specifically for him.


title: Jack O'Connell (actor)

text: During 2007, O'Connell appeared in television episodes of "Waterloo Road", "Holby City" and "Wire in the Blood". He played a 15-year-old pupil involved in a sexual relationship with his teacher in the play "Scarborough", first performed at the Edinburgh Festival before its transfer the following year to London's Royal Court Theatre. "Variety"s David Benedict wrote of his stage performance, "His sincere grasp of Daz's innocent tenderness is, paradoxically, a sign of the character's—and the actor's—unexpected maturity." In the horror–thriller "Eden Lake" (2008), which received positive reviews, O'Connell played a psychopathic gang leader who terrorises a young married couple. He next starred as a juvenile delinquent in "Between You and Me" (2008), an educational film produced by the Derbyshire Constabulary, followed by a minor role in the ITV serial "Wuthering Heights" (2009).


title: Jack O'Connell (actor)

text: O'Connell first found fame, chiefly among people his age, as the troubled and hard-living James Cook in the third and fourth series of the E4 teen drama "Skins" (2009–10). "Grantland" writer Amos Barshad opined that among his co-stars, which included Dev Patel and Nicholas Hoult, none "ever quite matched the luminescent, leering mania of O'Connell's Cook. As a preposterously ramped up bad boy, Cook was almost like a baby Tyler Durden." He won a TV Choice Award for Best Actor for his performance in the fourth series. O'Connell later reprised his role in the feature-length special "Skins Rise" (2013), which follows a twenty-something Cook on the run from authorities. He has said of Cook, "He's probably the most similar character to myself that I had the good fortune of portraying," though he noted that unlike Cook he had matured beyond adolescence.


title: Jack O'Connell (actor)

text: In the vigilante thriller "Harry Brown" (2009), which polarised critics, O'Connell played an abused child turned vicious gang member. He impressed lead actor Michael Caine, who shouted "Star of the future!" at him during filming. His portrayal of a teenaged father in the BBC Two drama "Dive" (2010) earned him critical praise; Euan Ferguson of "The Guardian" described it as "a performance that is of an actor twice his years: mesmerising, comedic and soulful." "The Daily Telegraph" critic Olly Grant concurred, writing, "He was a revelation; nuanced, understated, wise beyond his years." Following a lead role in the Sky1 serial "The Runaway" (2011), set in the criminal underworld of 1970s London, O'Connell starred as football player Bobby Charlton in another well-received BBC Two drama, "United" (2011), which chronicles the 1958 Munich air crash that killed eight players of Manchester United.


title: Jack O'Connell (actor)

text: His next film, the theatrically released "Weekender" (2011), showcased the Manchester rave scene of the early 1990s. Though the film received poor reviews, O'Connell's "dumb but sparky sidekick" was called "a godsend" by Tim Robey of "The Daily Telegraph". Similarly, the thriller "Tower Block" (2012), about flat tenants under attack from a sniper, received mixed reviews, but "The Hollywood Reporter" critic Jordan Mintzer singled out O'Connell as "the standout [of the cast]" as the building's protection racketeer. Following his turn as a soldier in "Private Peaceful" (2012), an adaptation of a novel of the same name by Michael Morpurgo, he co-starred as the apprentice of a hitman played by Tim Roth in "The Liability" (2012), both of which met with mixed critical reception.


title: Jack O'Connell (actor)

text: O'Connell's career breakthrough came when he starred in the independent prison drama "Starred Up" (2013). His portrayal of a violent teenager incarcerated in the same prison as his father received widespread critical acclaim; "Entertainment Weekly" critic Chris Nashawaty wrote, "O'Connell bristles with terrifying hair-trigger unpredictability. Watching him, you feel like you're witnessing the arrival of a new movie star." Peter Travers of "Rolling Stone" agreed, describing his "mad-dog incarnate" portrayal as "a star-is-born performance." O'Connell next starred in another acclaimed independent film, "'71" (2014), portraying a soldier deployed to Belfast at the height of political violence in Northern Ireland. He was director Yann Demange's first and only choice for the part. Writing for "Empire", Nev Pierce opined, "In a superb ensemble, O'Connell is outstanding," adding, "We know he can do violence, but here he holds the screen with no swagger—just a simple desire to survive." He received consecutive nominations for the British Independent Film Award for Best Actor.


title: Jack O'Connell (actor)

text: Following a supporting role as an Athenian warrior in his first blockbuster, "" (2014), O'Connell played his first leading role in a major Hollywood picture, "Unbroken" (2014), directed by Angelina Jolie. He portrayed Louis Zamperini, an Italian-American Olympic distance runner who, as a bombardier in the Second World War, survived a plane crash over the Pacific and was held for two years in Japanese prisoner-of-war camps. To prepare for the role, he underwent a strict diet to lose almost 30 pounds and worked with a dialect coach to mask his thick Derbyshire accent. The resulting performance was positively received; Richard Corliss of "Time" concluded, "Jolie has made a grand, solid movie of the Zamperini story, but O'Connell is the part of "Unbroken" that was truly worth the wait." For his work in "Starred Up" and "Unbroken", O'Connell received the Breakthrough Award from the National Board of Review. He additionally became the tenth recipient of the publicly voted BAFTA Rising Star Award. In August 2021, it was announced that O'Connell had joined the cast of a film adaption of "Lady Chatterley's Lover", playing the lover, Oliver.


title: Jack O'Connell (actor)

text: O'Connell has said that he does not consider himself British, instead identifying specifically with his Derbyshire upbringing and Irish heritage. He has lived in East London since 2014.


title: Jack O'Connell (actor)

text: After his father died when O'Connell was 18, he coped in part by engaging in self-destructive behaviour, later commenting that he "didn't stop partying for like seven years". While living in Bristol during his tenure on "Skins", he acquired a reputation in the tabloids as a "party boy", a "bad boy", and a "bit of rough". He regularly gave interviews while hungover. His childhood nickname "Jack the Lad" (a phrase meaning "a conspicuously self-assured, carefree, brash young man") is tattooed on his arm.


title: Jack O'Connell (actor)

text: O'Connell's troubled youth has influenced his work, resulting in him playing mainly delinquents for the first decade of his career, while his juvenile criminal record initially prevented him from being cast in Hollywood productions as he was unable to obtain a U.S. visa. By age 24, he had largely changed his lifestyle, saying, "I'm not trying to have the most fun I've ever had ever, anymore. That used to be the mentality every time I left the house." He has credited Angelina Jolie, who directed him in his first Hollywood film "Unbroken", with influencing his outlook and described working with her as an "intervention".


title: Jack O'Connell (actor)

text: On 20 June 2016, World Refugee Day, O'Connell, as well as Holliday Grainger, featured in a film from the United Nations' refugee agency UNHCR to help raise awareness of the global refugee crisis. The film, titled "Home", has a family take a reverse migration into the middle of a war zone. Inspired by primary accounts of refugees, and is part of UNHCR's #WithRefugees campaign, which also includes a petition to governments to expand asylum to provide further shelter, integrating job opportunities, and education. "Home", written and directed by Daniel Mulloy, went on to win a BAFTA Award and a Gold Lion at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity among many other awards.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as "Treasure Island", "Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde", "Kidnapped" and "A Child's Garden of Verses".


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: Born and educated in Edinburgh, Stevenson suffered from serious bronchial trouble for much of his life, but continued to write prolifically and travel widely in defiance of his poor health. As a young man, he mixed in London literary circles, receiving encouragement from Andrew Lang, Edmund Gosse, Leslie Stephen and W. E. Henley, the last of whom may have provided the model for Long John Silver in "Treasure Island". In 1890, he settled in Samoa where, alarmed at increasing European and American influence in the South Sea islands, his writing turned away from romance and adventure fiction toward a darker realism. He died of a stroke in his island home in 1894 at age 44.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: A celebrity in his lifetime, Stevenson's critical reputation has fluctuated since his death, though today his works are held in general acclaim. In 2018 he was ranked, just behind Charles Dickens, as the 26th-most-translated author in the world.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: Stevenson was born at 8 Howard Place, Edinburgh, Scotland, on 13 November 1850 to Thomas Stevenson (1818–1887), a leading lighthouse engineer, and his wife, Margaret Isabella (born Balfour, 1829–1897). He was christened Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson. At about age 18, he changed the spelling of "Lewis" to "Louis", and he dropped "Balfour" in 1873.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: Lighthouse design was the family's profession; Thomas's father (Robert's grandfather) was civil engineer Robert Stevenson, and Thomas's brothers (Robert's uncles) Alan and David were in the same field. Thomas's maternal grandfather Thomas Smith had been in the same profession. However, Robert's mother's family were gentry, tracing their lineage back to Alexander Balfour who had held the lands of Inchrye in Fife in the fifteenth century. His mother's father Lewis Balfour (1777–1860) was a minister of the Church of Scotland at nearby Colinton, and her siblings included physician George William Balfour and marine engineer James Balfour. Stevenson spent the greater part of his boyhood holidays in his maternal grandfather's house. "Now I often wonder what I inherited from this old minister," Stevenson wrote. "I must suppose, indeed, that he was fond of preaching sermons, and so am I, though I never heard it maintained that either of us loved to hear them."


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: Lewis Balfour and his daughter both had weak chests, so they often needed to stay in warmer climates for their health. Stevenson inherited a tendency to coughs and fevers, exacerbated when the family moved to a damp, chilly house at 1 Inverleith Terrace in 1851. The family moved again to the sunnier 17 Heriot Row when Stevenson was six years old, but the tendency to extreme sickness in winter remained with him until he was 11. Illness was a recurrent feature of his adult life and left him extraordinarily thin. Contemporaneous views were that he had tuberculosis, but more recent views are that it was bronchiectasis or even sarcoidosis.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: Stevenson's parents were both devout Presbyterians, but the household was not strict in its adherence to Calvinist principles. His nurse Alison Cunningham (known as Cummy) was more fervently religious. Her mix of Calvinism and folk beliefs were an early source of nightmares for the child, and he showed a precocious concern for religion. But she also cared for him tenderly in illness, reading to him from John Bunyan and the Bible as he lay sick in bed and telling tales of the Covenanters. Stevenson recalled this time of sickness in "The Land of Counterpane" in "A Child's Garden of Verses" (1885), dedicating the book to his nurse.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: Stevenson was an only child, both strange-looking and eccentric, and he found it hard to fit in when he was sent to a nearby school at age 6, a problem repeated at age 11 when he went on to the Edinburgh Academy; but he mixed well in lively games with his cousins in summer holidays at Colinton. His frequent illnesses often kept him away from his first school, so he was taught for long stretches by private tutors. He was a late reader, learning at age 7 or 8, but even before this he dictated stories to his mother and nurse, and he compulsively wrote stories throughout his childhood. His father was proud of this interest; he had also written stories in his spare time until his own father found them and told him to "give up such nonsense and mind your business." He paid for the printing of Robert's first publication at 16, entitled "The Pentland Rising: A Page of History, 1666". It was an account of the Covenanters' rebellion which was published in 1866, the 200th anniversary of the event.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: In September 1857, when he was six years old, Stevenson went to "Mr Henderson's School" in India Street, Edinburgh, but because of poor health stayed only a few weeks and did not return until October 1859, aged eight. During his many absences, he was taught by private tutors. In October 1861, aged ten, he went to Edinburgh Academy, an independent school for boys, and stayed there sporadically for about fifteen months. In the autumn of 1863, he spent one term at an English boarding school at Spring Grove in Isleworth in Middlesex (now an urban area of West London). In October 1864, following an improvement to his health, the 13-year-old was sent to Robert Thomson's private school in Frederick Street, Edinburgh, where he remained until he went to university. In November 1867, Stevenson entered the University of Edinburgh to study engineering. He showed from the start no enthusiasm for his studies and devoted much energy to avoiding lectures. This time was more important for the friendships he made with other students in The Speculative Society (an exclusive debating club), particularly with Charles Baxter, who would become Stevenson's financial agent, and with a professor, Fleeming Jenkin, whose house staged amateur drama in which Stevenson took part, and whose biography he would later write. Perhaps most important at this point in his life was a cousin, Robert Alan Mowbray Stevenson (known as "Bob"), a lively and light-hearted young man who, instead of the family profession, had chosen to study art.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: Each year during the holidays, Stevenson travelled to inspect the family's engineering works: to Anstruther and Wick in 1868, with his father on his official tour of Orkney and Shetland islands lighthouses in 1869, and for three weeks to the island of Erraid in 1870. He enjoyed the travels more for the material they gave for his writing than for any engineering interest. The voyage with his father pleased him because a similar journey of Walter Scott with Robert Stevenson had provided the inspiration for Scott's 1822 novel "The Pirate". In April 1871, Stevenson notified his father of his decision to pursue a life of letters. Though the elder Stevenson was naturally disappointed, the surprise cannot have been great, and Stevenson's mother reported that he was "wonderfully resigned" to his son's choice. To provide some security, it was agreed that Stevenson should read law (again at Edinburgh University) and be called to the Scottish bar. In his 1887 poetry collection "Underwoods", Stevenson muses on his having turned from the family profession:


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: In other respects too, Stevenson was moving away from his upbringing. His dress became more Bohemian; he already wore his hair long, but he now took to wearing a velveteen jacket and rarely attended parties in conventional evening dress. Within the limits of a strict allowance, he visited cheap pubs and brothels. More significantly, he had come to reject Christianity and declared himself an atheist. In January 1873, when he was 22, his father came across the constitution of the LJR (Liberty, Justice, Reverence) Club, of which Stevenson and his cousin Bob were members, which began: "Disregard everything our parents have taught us". Questioning his son about his beliefs, he discovered the truth. Stevenson no longer believed in God and had grown tired of pretending to be something he was not: "am I to live my whole life as one falsehood?" His father professed himself devastated: "You have rendered my whole life a failure." His mother accounted the revelation "the heaviest affliction" to befall her. "O Lord, what a pleasant thing it is", Stevenson wrote to his friend Charles Baxter, "to have just damned the happiness of (probably) the only two people who care a damn about you in the world."


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: Stevenson's rejection of the Presbyterian Church and Christian dogma, however, did not turn into lifelong atheism or agnosticism. On February 15, 1878, the 27-year-old wrote to his father and stated:


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: Stevenson did not resume attending church in Scotland. However, he did teach Sunday School lessons in Samoa, and prayers he wrote in his final years were published posthumously.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: Justifying his rejection of an established profession, in 1877 Stevenson offered "An Apology for Idlers". "A happy man or woman", he reasoned, "is a better thing to find than a five-pound note. He or she is a radiating focus of goodwill" and a practical demonstration of "the great Theorem of the Liveableness of Life". So that if they cannot be happy in the "handicap race for sixpenny pieces", let them take their own "by-road".


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: Stevenson was visiting a cousin in England in late 1873 (Stevenson was 23) when he met two people who became very important to him: Sidney Colvin and Fanny (Frances Jane) Sitwell. Sitwell was a 34-year-old woman with a son, who was separated from her husband. She attracted the devotion of many who met her, including Colvin, who married her in 1901. Stevenson was also drawn to her, and they kept up a warm correspondence over several years in which he wavered between the role of a suitor and a son (he addressed her as "Madonna"). Colvin became Stevenson's literary adviser and was the first editor of his letters after his death. He placed Stevenson's first paid contribution in "The Portfolio", an essay titled "Roads".


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: Stevenson was soon active in London literary life, becoming acquainted with many of the writers of the time, including Andrew Lang, Edmund Gosse and Leslie Stephen, the editor of "The Cornhill Magazine" who took an interest in Stevenson's work. Stephen took Stevenson to visit a patient at the Edinburgh Infirmary named William Ernest Henley, an energetic and talkative poet with a wooden leg. Henley became a close friend and occasional literary collaborator, until a quarrel broke up the friendship in 1888, and he is often considered to be the inspiration for Long John Silver in "Treasure Island".


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: Stevenson was sent to Menton on the French Riviera in November 1873 to recuperate after his health failed. He returned in better health in April 1874 and settled down to his studies, but he returned to France several times after that. He made long and frequent trips to the neighbourhood of the Forest of Fontainebleau, staying at Barbizon, Grez-sur-Loing and Nemours and becoming a member of the artists' colonies there. He also travelled to Paris to visit galleries and the theatres. He qualified for the Scottish bar in July 1875, aged 24, and his father added a brass plate to the Heriot Row house reading "R.L. Stevenson, Advocate". His law studies did influence his books, but he never practised law; all his energies were spent in travel and writing. One of his journeys was a canoe voyage in Belgium and France with Sir Walter Simpson, a friend from the Speculative Society, a frequent travel companion, and the author of "The Art of Golf" (1887). This trip was the basis of his first travel book "An Inland Voyage" (1878).


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: Stevenson had a long correspondence with fellow Scot J.M. Barrie. He invited Barrie to visit him in Samoa, but the two never met.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: The canoe voyage with Simpson brought Stevenson to Grez-sur-Loing in September 1876, where he met Fanny Van de Grift Osbourne (1840–1914), born in Indianapolis. She had married at age 17 and moved to Nevada to rejoin husband Samuel after his participation in the American Civil War. Their children were Isobel (or "Belle"), Lloyd and Hervey (who died in 1875). But anger over her husband's infidelities led to a number of separations. In 1875, she had taken her children to France where she and Isobel studied art. By the time Stevenson met her, Fanny was herself a magazine short-story writer of recognized ability.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: Stevenson returned to Britain shortly after this first meeting, but Fanny apparently remained in his thoughts, and he wrote the essay "On falling in love" for "The Cornhill Magazine". They met again early in 1877 and became lovers. Stevenson spent much of the following year with her and her children in France. In August 1878, she returned to San Francisco and Stevenson remained in Europe, making the walking trip that formed the basis for "Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes" (1879). But he set off to join her in August 1879, aged 28, against the advice of his friends and without notifying his parents. He took a second-class passage on the steamship "Devonia", in part to save money but also to learn how others travelled and to increase the adventure of the journey. He then travelled overland by train from New York City to California. He later wrote about the experience in "The Amateur Emigrant". It was a good experience for his writing, but it broke his health.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: He was near death when he arrived in Monterey, California, where some local ranchers nursed him back to health. He stayed for a time at the French Hotel located at 530 Houston Street, now a museum dedicated to his memory called the "Stevenson House". While there, he often dined "on the cuff," as he said, at a nearby restaurant run by Frenchman Jules Simoneau, which stood at what is now Simoneau Plaza; several years later, he sent Simoneau an inscribed copy of his novel "Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" (1886), writing that it would be a stranger case still if Robert Louis Stevenson ever forgot Jules Simoneau. While in Monterey, he wrote an evocative article about "the Old Pacific Capital" of Monterey.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: By December 1879, aged 29, Stevenson had recovered his health enough to continue to San Francisco where he struggled "all alone on forty-five cents a day, and sometimes less, with quantities of hard work and many heavy thoughts," in an effort to support himself through his writing. But by the end of the winter, his health was broken again and he found himself at death's door. Fanny was now divorced and recovered from her own illness, and she came to his bedside and nursed him to recovery. "After a while," he wrote, "my spirit got up again in a divine frenzy, and has since kicked and spurred my vile body forward with great emphasis and success." When his father heard of his 28-year-old son's condition, he cabled him money to help him through this period.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: Fanny and Robert were married in May 1880. She was 40; he was 29. Although he said that he was "a mere complication of cough and bones, much fitter for an emblem of mortality than a bridegroom." He travelled with his new wife and her son Lloyd north of San Francisco to Napa Valley and spent a summer honeymoon at an abandoned mining camp on Mount Saint Helena (today designated Robert Louis Stevenson State Park). He wrote about this experience in "The Silverado Squatters". He met Charles Warren Stoddard, co-editor of the "Overland Monthly" and author of "South Sea Idylls", who urged Stevenson to travel to the South Pacific, an idea which returned to him many years later. In August 1880, he sailed with Fanny and Lloyd from New York to Britain and found his parents and his friend Sidney Colvin on the wharf at Liverpool, happy to see him return home. Gradually, his wife was able to patch up differences between father and son and make herself a part of the family through her charm and wit.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: The Stevensons shuttled back and forth between Scotland and the Continent, finally settling in 1884 in the Westbourne district of the English seaside town of Bournemouth in Dorset. They lived in a house Stevenson named 'Skerryvore' after a Scottish lighthouse built by his uncle Alan.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: From April 1885, 34-year-old Stevenson had the company of the novelist Henry James. They had met previously in London and had recently exchanged views in journal articles on the “art of fiction” and thereafter in a correspondence in which they expressed their admiration for each other’s work. After James had moved to Bournemouth to help support his invalid sister, Alice, he took up the invitation to pay daily visits to Skerryvore for conversation at the Stevensons' dinner table.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: Largely bedridden, Stevenson described himself as living "like a weevil in a biscuit." Yet, despite ill health, during his three years in Westbourne, Stevenson wrote the bulk of his most popular work: "Treasure Island", "Kidnapped", "Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" (which established his wider reputation), "A Child's Garden of Verses" and "Underwoods".


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: Thomas Stevenson died in 1887 leaving his 36-year-old son feeling free to follow the advice of his physician to try a complete change of climate. Stevenson headed for Colorado with his widowed mother and family. But after landing in New York, they decided to spend the winter in the Adirondacks at a cure cottage now known as Stevenson Cottage at Saranac Lake, New York. During the intensely cold winter, Stevenson wrote some of his best essays, including "Pulvis et Umbra". He also began "The Master of Ballantrae" and lightheartedly planned a cruise to the southern Pacific Ocean for the following summer.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: Stevenson's critical essays on literature contain "few sustained analyses of style or content". In "A Penny Plain and Two-pence Coloured" (1884) he suggests that his own approach owed much to the exaggerated and romantic world that, as a child, he had entered as proud owner of Skelt's Juvenile Drama—a toy set of cardboard characters who were actors in melodramatic dramas. "A Gossip on Romance" (1882) and "A Gossip on a Novel of Dumas's" (1887) imply that it is better to entertain than to instruct.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: Stevenson very much saw himself in the mould of Sir Walter Scott, a storyteller with an ability to transport his readers away from themselves and their circumstances. He took issue with what he saw as the tendency in French realism to dwell on sordidness and ugliness. In "The Lantern-Bearer" (1888) he appears to take Emile Zola to task for failing to seek out nobility in his protagonists.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: In "A Humble Remonstrance", Stevenson answers Henry James's claim in "The Art of Fiction" (1884) that the novel competes with life. Stevenson protests that no novel can ever hope to match life's complexity; it merely abstracts from life to produce a harmonious pattern of its own.Man's one method, whether he reasons or creates, is to half-shut his eyes against the dazzle and confusion of reality...Life is monstrous, infinite, illogical, abrupt and poignant; a work of art, in comparison, is neat, finite, self-contained, rational, flowing, and emasculate...The novel, which is a work of art, exists, not by its resemblances to life, which are forced and material ... but by its immeasurable difference from life, which is designed and significant. It is not clear, however, that in this there was any real basis for disagreement with James. Stevenson had presented James with a copy of "Kidnapped", but it was "Treasure Island" that James favoured. Written as a story for boys, Stevenson had thought it in “no need of psychology or fine writing", but its success is credited with liberating children's writing from the "chains of Victorian didacticism".


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: During his college years, Stevenson briefly identified himself as a "red-hot socialist". But already by age 26 he was writing of looking back on this time "with something like regret. ... Now I know that in thus turning Conservative with years, I am going through the normal cycle of change and travelling in the common orbit of men's opinions." His cousin and biographer Sir Graham Balfour claimed that Stevenson "probably throughout life would, if compelled to vote, have always supported the Conservative candidate." In 1866, then 15-year-old Stevenson did vote for Benjamin Disraeli, the Tory democrat and future Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, for the Lord Rectorship of the University of Edinburgh. But this was against a markedly illiberal challenger, the historian Thomas Carlyle. Carlyle was notorious for his anti-democratic and pro-slavery views.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: In "The Day after Tomorrow", appearing in "The Contemporary Review" (April 1887), Stevenson suggested: "we are all becoming Socialists without knowing it". Legislation "grows authoritative, grows philanthropical, bristles with new duties and new penalties, and casts a spawn of inspectors, who now begin, note-book in hand, to darken the face of England". He is referring to the steady growth in social legislation in Britain since the first of the Conservative-sponsored Factory Acts (which, in 1833, established a professional Factory Inspectorate). Stevenson cautioned that this "new waggon-load of laws" points to a future in which our grandchildren might "taste the pleasures of existence in something far liker an ant-heap that any previous human polity". Yet in reproducing the essay his latter-day libertarian admirers omit his express understanding for the abandonment of Whiggish, classical-liberal notions of laissez faire. "Liberty", Stevenson wrote, "has served us a long while" but like all other virtues "she has taken wages". [Liberty] has dutifully served Mammon; so that many things we were accustomed to admire as the benefits of freedom and common to all, were truly benefits of wealth, and took their value from our neighbour's poverty...Freedom to be desirable, involves kindness, wisdom, and all the virtues of the free; but the free man as we have seen him in action has been, as of yore, only the master of many helots; and the slaves are still ill-fed, ill-clad, ill-taught, ill-housed, insolently entreated, and driven to their mines and workshops by the lash of famine.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: In January 1888, aged 37, in response to American press coverage of the Land War in Ireland, Stevenson penned a political essay (rejected by "Scribner's" magazine and never published in his lifetime) that advanced a broadly conservative theme: the necessity of "staying internal violence by rigid law". Notwithstanding his title, "Confessions of a Unionist", Stevenson defends neither the union with Britain (she had "majestically demonstrated her incapacity to rule Ireland") nor "landlordism" (scarcely more defensible in Ireland than, as he had witnessed it, in the goldfields of California). Rather he protests the readiness to pass "lightly" over crimes—"unmanly murders and the harshest extremes of boycotting"—where these are deemed "political". This he argues is to "defeat law" (which is ever a "compromise") and to invite "anarchy": it is "the sentimentalist preparing the pathway for the brute".


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: In June 1888, Stevenson chartered the yacht "Casco" and set sail with his family from San Francisco. The vessel "plowed her path of snow across the empty deep, far from all track of commerce, far from any hand of help." The sea air and thrill of adventure for a time restored his health, and for nearly three years he wandered the eastern and central Pacific, stopping for extended stays at the Hawaiian Islands, where he became a good friend of King Kalākaua. He befriended the king's niece Princess Victoria Kaiulani, who also had Scottish heritage. He spent time at the Gilbert Islands, Tahiti, New Zealand and the Samoan Islands. During this period, he completed "The Master of Ballantrae", composed two ballads based on the legends of the islanders, and wrote "The Bottle Imp". He preserved the experience of these years in his various letters and in his "In the South Seas" (which was published posthumously). He made a voyage in 1889 with Lloyd on the trading schooner "Equator", visiting Butaritari, Mariki, Apaiang and Abemama in the Gilbert Islands. They spent several months on Abemama with tyrant-chief Tem Binoka, whom Stevenson described in "In the South Seas".


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: Stevenson left Sydney, Australia, on the "Janet Nicoll" in April 1890 for his third and final voyage among the South Seas islands. He intended to produce another book of travel writing to follow his earlier book "In the South Seas", but it was his wife who eventually published her journal of their third voyage. (Fanny misnames the ship in her account "The Cruise of the Janet Nichol".) A fellow passenger was Jack Buckland, whose stories of life as an island trader became the inspiration for the character of Tommy Hadden in "The Wrecker" (1892), which Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne wrote together. Buckland visited the Stevensons at Vailima in 1894.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: In December 1889, 39-year-old Stevenson and his extended family arrived at the port of Apia in the Samoan islands and there he and Fanny decided to settle. In January 1890 they purchased at Vailima, some miles inland from Apia the capital, on which they built the islands’ first two-storey house. Fanny's sister, Nellie Van de Grift Sanchez, wrote that “it was in Samoa that the word ‘home’ first began to have a real meaning for these gypsy wanderers”. In May 1891, they were joined by Stevenson's mother, Margaret. While his wife set about managing and working the estate, 40-year-old Stevenson took the native name Tusitala (Samoan for "Teller of Tales"), and began collecting local stories. Often he would exchange these for his own tales. The first work of literature in Samoan was his translation of "The Bottle Imp", which presents a Pacific-wide community as the setting for a moral fable.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: Immersing himself in the islands' culture, occasioned a "political awakening": it placed Stevenson "at an angle" to the rival great powers, Britain, Germany and the United States whose warships were common sights in Samoan harbours. He understood that, as in the Scottish Highlands (comparisons with his homeland "came readily"), an indigenous clan society was unprepared for the arrival of foreigners who played upon its existing rivalries and divisions. As the external pressures upon Samoan society grew, tensions soon descended into several inter-clan wars.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: No longer content to be a "romancer", Stevenson became a reporter and an agitator, firing off letters to "The Times" which "rehearsed with an ironic twist that surely owed something to his Edinburgh legal training", a tale of European and American misconduct. His concern for the Polynesians is also found in the "South Sea Letters", published in magazines in 1891 (and then in book form as "In the South Seas" in 1896). In an effort he feared might result in his own deportation, Stevenson helped secure the recall of two European officials. "" (1892) was a detailed chronicle of the intersection of rivalries between the great powers and the first Samoan Civil War.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: As much as he said he disdained politics—"I used to think meanly of the plumber", he wrote to his friend Sidney Colvin, "but how he shines beside the politician!"—Stevenson felt himself obliged to take sides. He openly allied himself with chief Mataafa, whose rival Malietoa was backed by the Germans whose firms were beginning to monopolise copra and cocoa bean processing.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: Stevenson was alarmed above all by what he perceived as the Samoans' economic innocence—their failure to secure their claim to proprietorship of the land (in a Lockean sense) through improving management and labour. In 1894 just months before his death, he addressed the island chiefs:There is but one way to defend Samoa. Hear it before it is too late. It is to make roads, and gardens, and care for your trees, and sell their produce wisely, and, in one word, to occupy and use your country... if you do not occupy and use your country, others will. It will not continue to be yours or your children's, if you occupy it for nothing. You and your children will, in that case, be cast out into outer darkness". He had "seen these judgments of God", not only in Hawaii where abandoned native churches stood like tombstones "over a grave, in the midst of the white men’s sugar fields", but also in Ireland and "in the mountains of my own country Scotland".These were a fine people in the past brave, gay, faithful, and very much like Samoans, except in one particular, that they were much wiser and better at that business of fighting of which you think so much. But the time came to them as it now comes to you, and it did not find them ready...


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: Five years after Stevenson's death, the Samoan Islands were partitioned between Germany and the United States.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: Stevenson wrote an estimated 700,000 words during his years on Samoa. He completed "The Beach of Falesá", the first-person tale of a Scottish copra trader on a South Sea island. Wiltshire is heroic in terms neither of his actions nor a preoccupation with his own soul. Rather he is a man of limited understanding and imagination, comfortable with his own prejudices: where, he wonders, can he find "whites" for his "half caste" daughters. The villains are white, their behaviour towards the islanders ruthlessly duplicitous.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: Stevenson saw "The Beach of Falesá" as the ground-breaking work in his turn away from romance to realism. Stevenson wrote to his friend Sidney Colvin:


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: "The Ebb-Tide" (1894), the misadventures of three deadbeats marooned in the Tahitian port of Papeete, has been described as presenting "a microcosm of imperialist society, directed by greedy but incompetent whites, the labour supplied by long-suffering natives who fulfil their duties without orders and are true to the missionary faith which the Europeans make no pretence of respecting". It confirmed the new Realistic turn in Stevenson's writing away from romance and adolescent adventure. The first sentence reads: "Throughout the island world of the Pacific, scattered men of many European races and from almost every grade of society carry activity and disseminate disease". No longer was Stevenson writing about human nature "in terms of a contest between Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde": "the edges of moral responsibility and the margins of moral judgement were too blurred". As with "The Beach of Falesà", in "The Ebb Tide" contemporary reviewers find parallels with several of Conrad's works: "Almayer’s Folly", "An Outcast of the Islands", "The Nigger of the 'Narcissus'’", "Heart of Darkness", "Lord Jim".


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: With his imagination still residing in Scotland and returning to earlier form, Stevenson also wrote "Catriona" (1893), a sequel to his earlier novel "Kidnapped" (1886), continuing the adventures of its hero David Balfour.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: Although he felt, as a writer, that "there was never any man had so many irons in the fire". by the end of 1893 Stevenson feared that he had "overworked" and exhausted his creative vein. His writing was partly driven by the need to meet the expenses of Vailima. But in a last burst of energy he began work on "Weir of Hermiston". "It's so good that it frightens me," he is reported to have exclaimed. He felt that this was the best work he had done. Set in eighteenth century Scotland, it is a story of a society that (however different), like Samoa is witnessing a breakdown of social rules and structures leading to growing moral ambivalence.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: On 3 December 1894, Stevenson was talking to his wife and straining to open a bottle of wine when he suddenly exclaimed, "What's that?", then asked his wife, "Does my face look strange?", and collapsed. He died within a few hours, at the age of 44, due to a stroke. The Samoans insisted on surrounding his body with a watch-guard during the night and on bearing him on their shoulders to nearby Mount Vaea, where they buried him on a spot overlooking the sea on land donated by British Acting Vice Consul Thomas Trood. Based on Stevenson's poem "Requiem", the following epitaph is inscribed on his tomb:


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: Stevenson was loved by Samoans, and his tombstone epigraph was translated to a Samoan song of grief. The requiem appears on the eastern side of the grave. On the western side the biblical passage of Ruth 1:16-17 is inscribed:


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: Half of Stevenson's original manuscripts are lost, including those of "Treasure Island", "The Black Arrow" and "The Master of Ballantrae". His heirs sold his papers during World War I, and many Stevenson documents were auctioned off in 1918.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: Stevenson was a celebrity in his own time, being admired by many other writers, including Marcel Proust, Arthur Conan Doyle, Henry James, J. M. Barrie, Rudyard Kipling, Emilio Salgari, and later Cesare Pavese, Bertolt Brecht, Ernest Hemingway, Jack London, Vladimir Nabokov, and G. K. Chesterton, who said that Stevenson "seemed to pick the right word up on the point of his pen, like a man playing spillikins."


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: Stevenson was seen for much of the 20th century as a second-class writer. He became relegated to children's literature and horror genres, condemned by literary figures such as Virginia Woolf (daughter of his early mentor Leslie Stephen) and her husband Leonard Woolf, and he was gradually excluded from the canon of literature taught in schools. His exclusion reached its nadir in the 1973 2,000-page "Oxford Anthology of English Literature" where he was entirely unmentioned, and "The Norton Anthology of English Literature" excluded him from 1968 to 2000 (1st–7th editions), including him only in the eighth edition (2006).


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: The late 20th century brought a re-evaluation of Stevenson as an artist of great range and insight, a literary theorist, an essayist and social critic, a witness to the colonial history of the Pacific Islands and a humanist. He was praised by Roger Lancelyn Green, one of the Oxford Inklings, as a writer of a consistently high level of "literary skill or sheer imaginative power" and a pioneer of the Age of the Story Tellers along with H. Rider Haggard. He is now evaluated as a peer of authors such as Joseph Conrad (whom Stevenson influenced with his South Seas fiction) and Henry James, with new scholarly studies and organisations devoted to him. Throughout the vicissitudes of his scholarly reception, Stevenson has remained popular worldwide. According to the Index Translationum, Stevenson is ranked the 26th-most-translated author in the world, ahead of Oscar Wilde and Edgar Allan Poe.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: The Writers' Museum near Edinburgh's Royal Mile devotes a room to Stevenson, containing some of his personal possessions from childhood through to adulthood.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: A bronze relief memorial to Stevenson, designed by the American sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens in 1904, is mounted in the Moray Aisle of St Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh. Saint-Gaudens' scaled-down version of this relief is in the collection of the Montclair Art Museum. Another small version depicting Stevenson with a cigarette in his hand rather than the pen he holds in the St. Giles memorial is displayed in the Nichols House Museum in Beacon Hill, Boston.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: In the West Princes Street Gardens below Edinburgh Castle a simple upright stone is inscribed: "RLS – A Man of Letters 1850–1894" by sculptor Ian Hamilton Finlay in 1987. In 2013, a statue of Stevenson as a child with his dog was unveiled by the author Ian Rankin outside Colinton Parish Church. The sculptor of the statue was Alan Herriot, and the money to erect it was raised by the Colinton Community Conservation Trust.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: Stevenson's house Skerryvore, at the head of Alum Chine, was severely damaged by bombs during a destructive and lethal raid in the Bournemouth Blitz. Despite a campaign to save it, the building was demolished. A garden was designed by the Bournemouth Corporation in 1957 as a memorial to Stevenson, on the site of his Westbourne house, "Skerryvore", which he occupied from 1885 to 1887. A statue of the Skerryvore lighthouse is present on the site. Robert Louis Stevenson Avenue in Westbourne is named after him.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: In 1994, to mark the 100th anniversary of Stevenson's death, the Royal Bank of Scotland issued a series of commemorative £1 notes which featured a quill pen and Stevenson's signature on the obverse, and Stevenson's face on the reverse side. Alongside Stevenson's portrait are scenes from some of his books and his house in Western Samoa. Two million notes were issued, each with a serial number beginning "RLS". The first note to be printed was sent to Samoa in time for their centenary celebrations on 3 December 1994.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: The Stevenson House at 530 Houston Street in Monterey, California, formerly the French Hotel, memorializes Stevenson's 1879 stay in "the Old Pacific Capital", as he was crossing the United States to join his future wife, Fanny Osbourne. The Stevenson House museum is graced with a bas-relief depicting the sickly author writing in bed.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: Spyglass Hill Golf Course, originally called Pebble Beach Pines Golf Club, was renamed "Spyglass Hill" by Samuel F. B. Morse (1885–1969), the founder of Pebble Beach Company, after a place in Stevenson's "Treasure Island". All the holes at Spyglass Hill are named after characters and places in the novel.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: The Robert Louis Stevenson Museum in St. Helena, California, is home to over 11,000 objects and artifacts, the majority of which belonged to Stevenson. Opened in 1969, the museum houses such treasures as his childhood rocking chair, writing desk, toy soldiers and personal writings among many other items. The museum is free to the public and serves as an academic archive for students, writers and Stevenson enthusiasts.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: At least six US public and private schools are named after Stevenson, in the Upper West Side of New York City, in Fridley, Minnesota, in Burbank, California, in Grandview Heights, Ohio (suburb of Columbus), in San Francisco, California, and in Merritt Island, Florida. There is an R. L. Stevenson middle school in Honolulu, Hawaii and in Saint Helena, California. Stevenson School in Pebble Beach, California, was established in 1952 and still exists as a college preparatory boarding school. Robert Louis Stevenson State Park near Calistoga, California, contains the location where he and Fanny spent their honeymoon in 1880.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: A street in Honolulu's Waikiki District, where Stevenson lived while in the Hawaiian Islands, was named after his Samoan moniker: Tusitala.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: Stevenson's former home in Vailima, Samoa, is now a museum dedicated to the later years of his life. The Robert Louis Stevenson Museum presents the house as it was at the time of his death along with two other buildings added to Stevenson's original one, tripling the museum in size. The path to Stevenson's grave at the top of Mount Vaea starts at the museum.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: The Chemin de Stevenson (GR 70) is a popular long-distance footpath in France that approximately follows Stevenson's route as described in "Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes". There are numerous monuments and businesses named after him along the route, including a fountain in the town of Saint-Jean-du-Gard where Stevenson sold his donkey Modestine and took a stagecoach to Alès.


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: List of short stories sorted chronologically. Note: does not include collaborations with Fanny found in "More New Arabian Nights: The Dynamiter".


title: Robert Louis Stevenson

text: Although not well known, his island fiction and non-fiction is among the most valuable and collected of the 19th century body of work that addresses the Pacific area.


title: T.I.

text: Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. (born September 25, 1980), better known by the stage names T.I. and Tip (often stylized as TIP or T.I.P.), is an American rapper, record executive, and actor. Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Harris is one of the highest selling hip-hop artists of all time and is also known as one of the pioneers of the hip hop subgenre trap music, along with fellow Atlanta-based rappers Jeezy and Gucci Mane. Harris signed his first major-label record deal in 1999 with Arista Records subsidiary LaFace. In 2001, he released "I'm Serious", his solo debut and only album with the label, as well as formed the southern hip hop group P$C. Upon being dropped from Arista, Harris signed to Atlantic and soon co-founded his own label imprint, Grand Hustle Records, which he launched in 2002.


title: T.I.

text: Harris, a three time Grammy Award winner, has released 11 studio albums, with seven of them reaching the top five of the US "Billboard" 200 chart. During his career, Harris has also released several highly successful singles, including Billboard Hot 100 number-one hits "Whatever You Like" and "Live Your Life" (featuring Rihanna); the latter replaced the former atop the chart and made Harris one of the few artists who replaced themselves at number one and simultaneously occupied the top two positions. Harris began to gain major recognition in 2003 following his first high-profile feature on fellow Atlanta-based rapper Bone Crusher's single "Never Scared". Harris earned more prominence with the release of "Trap Muzik" (2003), which included the Top 40 songs "Rubber Band Man" and "Let's Get Away" (featuring Jazze Pha). The following year, Harris appeared on Destiny's Child's international hit "Soldier" (alongside Lil Wayne), and capitalized on it with the release of his "Urban Legend" (2004) album. His subsequent albums, "King" and "T.I. vs. T.I.P.", generated high record sales and were supported by popular singles, such as "What You Know" and "Big Shit Poppin' (Do It)", respectively.


title: T.I.

text: Harris' sixth album, "Paper Trail" (2008), became his most successful project, with the album being certified gold for first-week sales of over 500,000 copies in the United States, additionally making it his third consecutive number one album. In 2013, Harris was featured on Robin Thicke's single "Blurred Lines" (alongside Pharrell Williams), which peaked at number one on several major music charts. In November 2013, Harris announced that he had signed with Columbia Records after his 10-year contract with Atlantic came to an end. He released his Columbia debut "Paperwork," in October 2014. In February 2016, Harris signed a distribution deal with Roc Nation and another deal with Epic Records in September 2018. The former served as a means to release his political "Us or Else" EP series, while the latter released his long-delayed tenth album "Dime Trap" in October of that year.


title: T.I.

text: Harris has served two terms in county jail, twice for probation violations and a federal prison bid for a U.S. federal weapons charge. While serving 11 months in prison, he released his seventh studio album "No Mercy" (2010). Harris branched out into entrepreneurship with his label, Grand Hustle Records, which he co-founded in 2003 with longtime business partner Jason Geter. Prominent industry acts have been signed to T.I. through the label, including Travis Scott, B.o.B, and Iggy Azalea. Harris has also had a successful acting career, starring in the films "ATL", "Takers", "Get Hard", "Identity Thief", and in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films "Ant-Man" and its sequel. He is also a published author of two novels, "Power & Beauty" (2011) and "Trouble & Triumph" (2012), both of which were released to moderate success. Harris has also starred in the American reality television series "T.I.'s Road to Redemption", "", and "The Grand Hustle". In 2009, "Billboard" ranked him as the 27th best artist of the 2000s decade.


title: T.I.

text: Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. was born on September 25, 1980, in Atlanta, the son of Clifford "Buddy" Harris Sr. and Violeta Morgan. He was raised by his grandparents in Atlanta's Center Hill neighborhood just off Bankhead Highway. His father resided in New York City, and he would often go there to visit. Buddy Harris suffered from Alzheimer's disease and died from the disease.


title: T.I.

text: T.I. began rapping at age eight. He attended Douglass High School, but later dropped out. His stage name originally came from his childhood nickname "Tip", after his paternal great-grandfather. He was once known as Rubber Band Man, a reference to the custom of wearing rubber bands around the wrist to denote wealth in terms of drugs or money.


title: T.I.

text: In 1996, T.I. befriended local rapper Big Kuntry King, together they sold mixtapes out of the trunk of their car. Kawan "KP" Prather, a record executive, discovered T.I. and then signed him to his record label Ghet-O-Vision Entertainment. Upon signing with Arista Records subsidiary LaFace Records in 1999, he shortened his name from Tip to T.I., out of respect for Arista label-mate Q-Tip. T.I. relays the situation as:


title: T.I.

text: T.I. released his debut album, "I'm Serious", in October 2001 through Arista Records. The album spawned the a single of the same name featuring Jamaican reggae artist Beenie Man on June 26, 2001. The single received little airplay and failed to chart. The album features guest appearances from his Southern hip hop group P$C, Jazze Pha, Too Short, Bone Crusher, Lil Jon, Pastor Troy and YoungBloodZ, as well as Pharrell Williams of American record production team The Neptunes (who called him "the Jay-Z of the South").


title: T.I.

text: The production for "I'm Serious", was handled by The Neptunes, DJ Toomp, Madvac and The Grand Hustle Team. Despite the album's guests appearances and production team, the album peaked at number 98 and only sold 163,000 copies in the United States. Critics pointed to the fact that many of the tracks sounded the same and that a few were blatant rip-offs. Other critics commented saying, "T.I. claims to be the king of the South, but fails to show and prove. He does, however, have potential. If his talent ever matches his confidence, he may be headed for stardom."


title: T.I.

text: Due to the poor commercial reception of the album, T.I. was dropped from Arista Records. He then formed Grand Hustle Entertainment and began releasing several mixtapes with the assistance of DJ Drama. He resurfaced in mid-2003, appearing on fellow Atlanta-based rapper and former label-mate Bone Crusher's hit single, "Never Scared". His mixtapes and mainstream exposure from "Never Scared", eventually recaptured major label attention and T.I. signed a joint venture deal with Atlantic Records.


title: T.I.

text: T.I. released his second album "Trap Muzik" on August 19, 2003, through Grand Hustle Records; it debuted at number four and sold 109,000 copies in its first week. It spawned the singles "24s", "Be Easy", "Rubberband Man" and "Let's Get Away". The album features guest appearances from 8Ball & MJG, Jazze Pha, Bun B and Mac Boney; and was produced by Jazze Pha, Kanye West, David Banner, Madvac and DJ Toomp. Upon its release, "Trap Muzik" received generally favorable reviews from most music critics, who generally regarded it as a major improvement over his debut album, "I'm Serious". This included "Complex" naming the album one of the classic albums of the last decade in 2012. on February 20, 2013, allhiphop.com placed it as #5 as the best southern hip-hop album of all time.


title: T.I.

text: T.I. released his third studio album, "Urban Legend", in November 2004. It debuted at number seven on the US "Billboard" 200, selling 193,000 copies in its first week. The album's lead single, "Bring Em Out", which was produced by Swizz Beatz, was released in January 2005 and became T.I.'s first top ten hit, peaking at number nine on the US "Billboard" Hot 100, while the second single "U Don't Know Me" peaked at number twenty-three on the US "Billboard" Hot 100. His third single "ASAP" reached number 75 on the US charts, number 18 on the US R&B/Hip-Hop charts and number 14 on the Rap chart. T.I. filmed a dual music video for "ASAP" and "Motivation". However, "Motivation" only made it to number 62 on the US R&B/Hip-Hop singles chart. In 2004, T.I. was featured on Destiny's Child's hit single "Soldier", alongside New Orleans-bred rapper Lil Wayne, which peaked at number three on the Hot 100 chart.


title: T.I.

text: In September 2005, T.I. teamed up with his Pimp $quad Click (P$C) cohorts, Big Kuntry King, Mac Boney, C-Rod and AK, to release P$C's debut studio album, "25 to Life". The album, which was preceded by several self-released mixtapes by P$C, peaked at No.10 on the US "Billboard" 200 chart. The album was supported by the lead single "I'm a King", which was also included on the soundtrack to the film "Hustle & Flow", a collection also released by T.I.'s label imprint Grand Hustle, under the aegis of Atlantic Records.


title: T.I.

text: T.I.'s fourth album, "King", debuted at number one on the "Billboard" 200 chart in the first half of 2006, selling 522,000 copies in its first week. T.I. released "Front Back" and "Ride with Me" as promotional singles prior to the release of the album. The singles garnered little attention. The album's lead single "What You Know" became a hit in the U.S. and helped promote not only the album, but also "ATL", the film T.I. starred in that coincided with the album's release. The album also spawned the singles, "Why You Wanna", "Live in the Sky", and a remix of "Top Back", which was also included on the Grand Hustle compilation album "". "King" earned numerous awards and nominations including a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rap Album. He was also featured on newly signed Grand Hustle artist Young Dro's debut single "Shoulder Lean", which reached the top ten on the U.S. Hot 100 and #1 on the U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Tracks.


title: T.I.

text: "What You Know" won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance and was nominated for Best Rap Song at the 49th Grammy Awards. Also that year, T.I. collaborated with Justin Timberlake for "My Love", which proved to be a worldwide hit. It won a Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration with Timberlake at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards, and also won Best Male Hip-Hop Artist at the BET Awards for the second straight time. He then served as a featured performer on "We Takin' Over" by DJ Khaled also featuring Akon, Fat Joe, Rick Ross, Birdman and Lil Wayne.


title: T.I.

text: In 2006, T.I. received two Grammy Award nominations for Best Song Collaboration ("Soldier" w/ Destiny's Child & Lil Wayne) and Best Rap Solo Performance for "U Don't Know Me" at the 48th Grammy Awards ceremony. That same year he won Rap Artist of the Year, Rap Album Of The Year, Rap Album Artist Of The Year, Rap Song Artist of the Year and Video Clip Artist of the Year on the Billboard Music Award and Best Male Hip-Hop Artist on the BET Awards.


title: T.I.

text: T.I. released his fifth album, "T.I. vs. T.I.P.", on July 3, 2007. The lead single from the album was "Big Shit Poppin' (Do It)", which was produced by Mannie Fresh and was released to radio stations on April 17, 2007. The second single, "You Know What It Is" featuring Wyclef Jean, was released June 12, 2007. "T.I. vs. T.I.P." sold 468,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and debuted at number one on the "Billboard" 200 and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. It was T.I.'s second chart-topper in a row: "King" opened at number one on the Billboard 200 with 522,000 copies in late March 2006. The album included guest performances from Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, Wyclef Jean, Nelly, and Eminem, and production by Eminem, Jeff Bass, Mannie Fresh, Grand Hustle, The Runners, Just Blaze, Wyclef Jean and Danja. Absent from this album's production lineup was T.I.'s longtime producer DJ Toomp and The Neptunes. In October 2007, T.I. released his third single, "Hurt", featuring Busta Rhymes and Alfamega.


title: T.I.

text: In early 2008, T.I. collaborated with Mariah Carey on the "I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time" remix, peaking at number 58 on the U.S. Hot 100 and number 36 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.


title: T.I.

text: While under house arrest, T.I. began writing lyrics down on paper for his sixth studio album. The first official single from the album, titled "No Matter What", was released in April 2008. The music video was released in June 2008 on MTV's FN Premieres. The official lead single was "Whatever You Like", released in July 2008, and became the most successful single of his career up until that point, breaking the record for the highest jump to number one on the "Billboard" Hot 100, jumping from number 71 to number one and also becoming T.I.'s first solo number one single on the chart. The third single was "Swing Ya Rag" which featured vocals and production from Swizz Beatz. T.I. released his sixth album, "Paper Trail", in September 2008. The title of the album refers to the lyrics he had written down on paper. Like many other rappers, T.I. abandoned this style of rapping after his debut album "I'm Serious" by just memorizing lyrics. His representative explained that T.I. wanted to "take more time to really put something down [this time]". The album debuted at number one on the "Billboard" 200 selling 568,000 copies in the United States.


title: T.I.

text: The second single from the album, "Swagga Like Us", featuring Kanye West, Jay-Z and Lil Wayne, debuted and peaked at number five on the "Billboard" Hot 100. With the third single "Live Your Life" featuring Rihanna, and produced by Canei Finch and Just Blaze, T.I. broke his own record on the "Billboard" Hot 100 when it jumped from number 80 to the number one. The fourth single "Dead and Gone", featuring Justin Timberlake, peaked at number two for five weeks on the "Billboard" Hot 100, eventually going on to be nominated during the 52nd Grammy Awards for both "Best Rap/Sung Collaboration" and "Best Rap Song". During the 51st Grammy Awards, he was nominated for four Grammy Awards, eventually winning Best Rap Performance by a Duo Or a Group for "Swagga Like Us". "Remember Me", featuring Mary J. Blige, was released digitally on July 7, 2009. It was the planned first single from the re-release of T.I.'s sixth studio album, "Paper Trail", but the re-release was eventually shelved. The single peaked at number 29 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. On October 6, "Hell of a Life" was released digitally and went on to peak at number 54 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. In 2009, T.I. appeared as himself on an episode of "". On the episode, he took the comedian to Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles in LA and gave her a lesson on how to "swagger".


title: T.I.

text: On November 21, 2008, T.I. testified in the murder trial of a member of his entourage and a close friend, Philant Johnson (1980–2006), who was murdered in a shooting that occurred after a post-concert party at a club in Cincinnati. T.I. has dedicated several songs to Johnson, from the single version of "Live in the Sky" to "Dead and Gone" where Johnson's grave can be seen in the video.


title: T.I.

text: On March 26, 2010, T.I. was released from a halfway house where he had been serving the remainder of his prison sentence for weapons possession. Soon after his release he was in the studio working on his seventh studio album titled "King Uncaged". Jim Jonsin, the producer who previously worked with him on his single, "Whatever You Like" and R&B singer Trey Songz, were scheduled to work on the project.


title: T.I.

text: T.I. made his first public appearance since prison, stepping out with then fiancée Tameka "Tiny" Cottle in support of her Alzheimer's research fundraiser "For the Love of Our Fathers" at Atlanta's Opera venue. "I am very well, very happy to be seen," said T.I., who joined Cottle onstage at the end of the benefit. T.I. released a new promotional single titled "I'm Back" on March 8, 2010. The single peaked at No. 44 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 charts. Around this time, he made a featured guest appearance on Diddy-Dirty Money's single "Hello Good Morning", the single peaked at No. 27 in US and charted internationally in eight other countries.


title: T.I.

text: He also made a guest appearance on Larry King Live on May 13, to discuss with Larry King about his nine-month prison term on federal gun charges and other topics. T.I. released a promotional soundtrack single entitled, "Yeah Ya Know (Takers)" on May 24. It peaked at number forty-four on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and number sixty-eight on the Canadian Hot 100. T.I. released another promotional single entitled; "Got Your Back" which featured American R&B singer Keri Hilson and peaked at number thirty-eight in the US. Later, T.I. made more featured single appearances such as Jamie Foxx's single "Winner" also featuring Justin Timberlake and Drake's single "Fancy" also featuring Swizz Beatz. Both singles made charted on the Billboard charts peaking at the top 50.


title: T.I.

text: Prior to the album's release T.I. decided to release a mixtape titled "Fuck a Mixtape"; the move was somewhat controversial due to its title, with many feeling he was insulting the Mixtape format. T.I. has addressed the issue by stating that it was a response to all the people who told him to just focus on an album and not on a mixtape. T.I. further defended his decision to release a mixtape by saying: "I already have 60, 70 songs. A lot of these songs are period pieces that speak volumes to what's going on right now. If I hold onto them next year or the year after, they'll be dated, because my life will be in another direction. If I'm not gonna put it on the album — and they all can't make the album — then they might as well have another platform to present it to the world".


title: T.I.

text: On September 1, T.I. and his wife Tiny were arrested for drug charges. On October 15, 2010, T.I. was sentenced to 11 months in prison for violating the terms of his probation. Following his arrest, T.I. scrapped "King Uncaged" as the title for his seventh studio album and renamed it "No Mercy", due to his new prison sentencing. He then released the lead single from the newly titled album, "Get Back Up" featuring Chris Brown, on the same day that he was sentenced back to prison for violating the terms of his probation. "Get Back Up" peaked at number seventy in the US. T.I. began serving his sentence in November 2010 and his date of release was set to be September 29, 2011.


title: T.I.

text: "No Mercy" was released on December 7, 2010. The album peaked at number four in the US and it sold over 159,000 copies in its first week. RIAA certified "No Mercy" Gold with over 500,000 copies sold. His second and final single from the album was "That's All She Wrote" his second collaboration with Eminem, and was released on December 19, peaking at number eighteen in the US.


title: T.I.

text: T.I. was nominated for two Grammy Awards for Best Rap Solo Performance for "I'm Back" and Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group (Fancy with Drake and Swizz Beatz) at the 53rd Grammy Awards. He was also nominated for a Soul Train Music Award for Best Hip Hop Song of the Year for "Got Your Back" and he earned three BET Hip Hop Awards nominations for Hustler of the Year, Made You Look Award, and Best Club Banger for "Hello Good Morning".


title: T.I.

text: In early June 2011, T.I. said in a letter: "I'll be releasing a record in the near future (couple of weeks tops) to hold y'all over til I get back in action." On June 30, 2011, a new song was released onto T.I.'s official website and on his official YouTube channel – titled "We Don't Get Down Like Y'all", which features fellow Grand Hustle rapper B.o.B on the hook. While commenting on the song, T.I. said in another letter; "It's a song that I did soon after my release last time. What inspired me to write this record was the differences in how we do us and how they do them suddenly became incredibly evident in just a very short period of time." It was originally only available on Atlantic Records's online store. The song was available on iTunes and other vendors, such as Spotify on August9 and it peaked at No.78 in the US.


title: T.I.

text: After being released from prison in August 2011, T.I. signed a deal with VH1 for a new reality show that will follow him as he re-adjusts to life as a free man after the incarceration and he also announced he working on a novel entitled, "Power & Beauty" which was set to be released in October.


title: T.I.

text: On September 30, 2011, T.I. released "I'm Flexin'", the first promotional single from his upcoming eighth studio album. The song features vocals and production from Big K.R.I.T. T.I. reunited with Young Jeezy on "F.A.M.E." for Jeezy's album "TM103". "I'm Flexin" peaked at number sixty-six on the "Billboard" Hot 100, while "F.A.M.E." peaked at number sixty-seven on the Billboard Hip Hop/R&B chart. On October 18, T.I. made appearances on The Howard Stern Show and The View to promote his new novel, "Power & Beauty: A Love Story of Life on the Streets" and discuss other issues involving his time in prison. Later that day, he released the second promotional single, "Here Ye, Hear Ye" featuring Pharrell Williams under the alias "Sk8brd".


title: T.I.

text: After his release from prison, T.I. appeared on several remixes including; "Spend It" by 2 Chainz, "Sleazy" by Kesha, "Niggas in Paris" with Jay-Z and Kanye West, "Hard White (Up in the Club)" by Yelawolf also featuring Slaughterhouse, "Ima Boss" by Meek Mill alongside a freestyle over Drake's "Headlines", and Lil Wayne's "She Will". He was also featured on southern rapper Future's second single "Magic", taken from his debut studio album "Pluto", which was the first song he hopped on after his release from prison according to Future.


title: T.I.

text: T.I. revealed the title of his eighth studio album to be "Trouble Man". The title was partly inspired by Marvin Gaye's 1972 song of the same name, he revealed on "Billboard". In a previous interview with "Rolling Stone"; he said he was debating between two titles, "Trouble Man" and "Kill the King". The third promotional single "Pyro", was released on November 21.


title: T.I.

text: In preparation for the album, T.I. released a mixtape entitled, "Fuck da City Up" on New Year's Day. Two songs off the mixtape charted on the "Billboard" Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, "Popped Off", featuring vocals and production from Dr. Dre and "This Time of Night" featuring Nelly, respectively.


title: T.I.

text: While on set for the "Strange Clouds" music video, MTV interviewed B.o.B and confronted him of a rumor that he and T.I. are working on a collaborative album. B.o.B responded: "The joint album, it actually started as a joke. Tip would always refer to me as 'the Martian', and in one of his lyrics, he said, 'It's the man and the Martian,' and we said, 'Man that could be an album title.' We kinda just played around with it. But it seems to be taking form in a very organic way." On December 1, 2011, B.o.B appeared on New York City's Hot 97 radio station and confirmed that he and T.I. are indeed working on a collaborative album titled "The Man and the Martian".


title: T.I.

text: On March 1, 2012, T.I. announced he signed Iggy Azalea, Chipmunk and Trae Tha Truth to Grand Hustle Records. He was executive producer on Azalea's debut extended play "Glory" and was featured on her debut single "Murda Bizness", which premiered March 26, 2012. On March 30, T.I. released a snippet of "Love This Life", "Trouble Man"s promotional single, produced by Mars of 1500 or Nothin'. The song was officially released on April 2, where the song peaked at number eight-one in the US.


title: T.I.

text: T.I. joined singer Sean Kingston for his new single "Back 2 Life (Live It Up)". He shot the video for the track, which also sampled Soul II Soul's 1989 chart-topping hit "Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)". The song peaked at number fifty-two in Canada. During his visit to Angie Martinez's radio show, he revealed that the album will be released on September 4. He recorded collaborations with Trey Songz and Usher. ""It's just a dope, dope collabo". "Usher and Tip, two Atlanta natives,"" Rico Love told Rap-Up.com. ""This time I finally feel like they got a record that's gonna be a humongous hit."" T.I.'s VH1 reality show "" was renewed for a second season, which aired on September 3. T.I. released another promotional song off "Trouble Man" on May 15, entitled "Like That". T.I. appeared on Trey Songz's second single off his album "Chapter V" titled "2 Reasons". The song peaked at number forty-three in the US. Another promotional single off "Trouble Man", entitled "Go Get It" was released on July 17. The song peaked at number seventy-seven and number eighty-six in Canada.


title: T.I.

text: In September, T.I. appeared on "106 & Park" to promote his book "Trouble & Triumph", a sequel to his previous novel "Power & Beauty". During his visit, he announced a new release date for his album set for December 18. He revealed that the album will feature collaborations from Pharrell, André 3000, CeeLo Green, R. Kelly, Lil Wayne, and ASAP Rocky. He also stated that he's working on a women's clothing line from A.K.O.O. He later released a new song "Trap Back Jumpin'", which he premiered during his visit on Angie Martinez's radio show. On October 9, 2012, T.I. was featured on the annual BET Hip Hop Awards cypher, alongside his Grand Hustle artists Iggy Azalea, B.o.B, Chip and Trae tha Truth.


title: T.I.

text: A song titled "Ball", was released on October 16, as the lead single from his upcoming eighth studio album. The song featured fellow American rapper Lil Wayne and was produced by American record producer Rico Love, alongside Earl & E. The song peaked at number fifty in the US and number fifty-eight in the Canada. On October 23, he previewed twelve tracks from the album at its listening party in New York City, and also revealed their titles. The tracks previewed feature artists such as Kendrick Lamar.


title: T.I.

text: In the following month, T.I. leaked the illustrated cover art from his newly named album entitled, "" along with the track list and a few newly added features from the album. T.I. explained, "I think it's a lot more urban than "Paper Trail", and less apologetic than "No Mercy". I think it's more diversified than "T.I. vs. T.I.P." though. It's got a lotta heart, it's got a lotta edge. It's a creative album. It's probably harder than most of the shit that's coming out right now." "Sorry" featuring Andre 3000 was released as the fifth promotional single via iTunes on November 27. "Sorry" peaked at number 36 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Then "Hello" featuring CeeLo Green was released to iTunes on December 11 as the sixth promotional single. The album debuted at number two on the US "Billboard" 200, with first-week sales of 179,000 copies in the United States. As of September 2, 2013, it has sold 502,000 copies.


title: T.I.

text: Shortly before "Trouble Man: Heavy Is the Head" was released, T.I. announced he would release the sequel as his next album, titled "Trouble Man II: He Who Wears the Crown". The sequel is due to T.I. recording more material than needed, being cited by T.I. as much as 120 songs. In early January 2013, B.o.B announced an upcoming Grand Hustle compilation album titled "Hustle Gang". On January 18, 2013, it was announced T.I. drew a close to his 10-year contract with Atlantic records the month before, after releasing "Trouble Man: Heavy Is the Head". It was reported he proposed a $75 million deal for any label that wants to provide a home for him and his imprint. TMZ reported that T.I. has drawn up the details, which include "3 albums, 10-20 percent of publishing, touring, merchandise, film and TV rights, corporate endorsement deals, as well as exclusive signing of all Grand Hustle artists". T.I. was also allegedly being coaxed by some of the biggest names in the industry. There were reports that Jay-Z was looking to sign T.I., hoping to add him to the Roc Nation roster. T.I. also had an exclusive dinner at Katana with Dr. Dre, who is thought to have proposed an Interscope signing the rapper. T.I. had also met with Sony, who offered him $50 million, and spoke with Universal later that week.


title: T.I.

text: In February 2013, T.I. revealed he chose "Hello", as the third official single from "Trouble Man: Heavy Is the Head". According to T.I., the CeeLo Green-featured song was selected due to its heavy radio play. On March 8, 2013, T.I. told Rap-Up that he was already 60-70% completed with "Trouble Man II: He Who Wears the Crown". He also spoke on the Grand Hustle compilation, "Hustle Gang", which B.o.B announced earlier in January. In March 2013, T.I. revealed he would soon be filming the music video for "Hello". On March 19, 2013, T.I. performed "Hello" on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!". In March, T.I. and B.o.B filmed the music video for "Memories Back Then", a song featuring Kendrick Lamar and Kris Stephens. The song, which was recorded for "Trouble Man: Heavy Is the Head", originally sampled "Somebody That I Used to Know", as performed by Gotye. T.I. said to Rap-Up. Although the track failed to appear on "Trouble Man", due to sample-clearance issues, it was released as the lead single from the "Hustle Gang" compilation album.


title: T.I.

text: On March 26, 2013, T.I. appeared alongside Pharrell, on Robin Thicke's lead single "Blurred Lines" from his album of the same name. The song quickly became a worldwide hit and peaked at number one on the "Billboard" Hot 100, making it T.I.'s fourth number one Hot 100 single. The song has also reached number one in 13+ countries, including the United Kingdom and Germany. In March 2013, Lil Wayne announced T.I. would be co-headlining the second "America's Most Wanted Tour". T.I. explained that the tour would begin on July5 and go through September 1, 2013. American rappers French Montana and 2Chainz, were later confirmed to join the tour, among others. The first "America's Most Wanted Tour", had taken place five years prior and featured Young Jeezy, Soulja Boy, Pleasure P, Jeremih and Young Money. On May 21, 2013, T.I. released a single titled "Wit Me" featuring Lil Wayne. The song was released in promotion for the tour and peaked at number 80 on the Hot 100 chart.


title: T.I.

text: In a July 2013 interview, with Power 98 FM, T.I. spoke on his then-upcoming album, "Trouble Man II: He Who Wears the Crown". While he didn't reveal many album specifics, he did promise a project that would make whoever decides to distribute the album very "happy": "I've been working on this one since the last one dropped. I haven't decided exactly where I'm going to take [the new album] yet as far as a company for distribution, but wherever I take it, there's going to be some happy people in that building." In September 2013, T.I. was featured throughout Lil Wayne's twelfth solo mixtape "Dedication 5". On September 1, 2013, it was revealed that T.I. would be featured on American pop star Lady Gaga's album "ARTPOP", on the song "Jewels n' Drugs", alongside fellow American rappers Too Short and Twista. Another pop star, Britney Spears, later announced T.I. would appear on her song "Tik Tik Boom", from her eighth studio album "Britney Jean" (2013). T.I. was also featured on British singer Cher Lloyd's single "I Wish", which was released in September 2013.


title: T.I.

text: On November 22, 2013, T.I. announced that he had signed a deal with Columbia Records, to release his upcoming ninth studio album. T.I. later clarified the deal is solely for his ninth album. T.I. revealed he recruited Pharrell Williams, who was influential in his move to Columbia, to executive produce the LP, with plans to release the album in early 2014. In December 2013, T.I. revealed although he had originally planned to release "Trouble Man II", since getting into the studio with the album's executive producer, Pharrell Williams, he had a change of heart. He stated: "Since we started working on the project and the project started has taken a different shape, I think we're going to postpone that title. We're gonna rework that. I got a couple of things in mind." He still plans to release the sequel to "Trouble Man", however, he said: "All I'ma say is, it's gonna be a motion picture, it's gonna be a theatrical-worthy title. Something that will definitely seem instant classic. I'm thinking something like 'Trap Champion', 'Paperwork,' but whatever it is the subtitle will be 'The Motion Picture'." On December 16, 2013, it was reported that T.I. decided to name it "Paperwork".


title: T.I.

text: On May 9, 2014, T.I. released a music video for a song titled "Turn It", in promotion for "Paperwork". On June 3, 2014, T.I. released a song titled "About the Money", via digital distribution. The song, which serves as the first single from "Paperwork", features up-and-coming Atlanta-based rapper Young Thug. The music video for "About the Money", directed by T.I. and Kennedy Rothchild, was released on June 2, 2014. On June 17, 2014, T.I. release the second single from "Paperwork", a song titled No Mediocre, which was produced by West Coast hip hop producer DJ Mustard and features a guest verse from his then protege Iggy Azalea. Since its release "No Mediocre" reached number 33 on the Hot 100 chart and was certified platinum by the RIAA.


title: T.I.

text: On August 20, 2014, one day after speaking out on America in his online treatise about Ferguson, Missouri, in the wake of the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown, T.I. released a new song titled "New National Anthem." The song, which features vocals from American singer-songwriter Skylar Grey, includes socially conscious lyrics centered on racism and injustice. On September 23, 2014, "Paperwork" was made available for pre-order with "New National Anthem" as the "instant gratification track". Also on September 23, the official audio for "New National Anthem" was released via T.I.'s official Vevo account.


title: T.I.

text: T.I.'s ninth album "Paperwork", was released on October 21, 2014. Upon its release, the album debuted at number two on the US "Billboard" 200, with first-week sales of 80,000 copies in the United States. "Paperwork" received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 69, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on ten reviews.


title: T.I.

text: On March 11, 2015, T.I. released a single titled "Project Steps". On March 24, 2015, T.I. announced his tenth album would be titled "Trap's Open". In a June 2015 interview, T.I. revealed his tenth studio album was completed and awaiting release. He also announced he was working on a project as part of the hip hop collective Bankroll Mafia, alongside Shad da God and Young Thug, among others. On June 26, 2015, T.I. released the music video for the single "Project Steps" and announced his tenth album's new title would be "The Dime Trap". In July 2015, T.I. revealed "The Dime Trap" was being mixed and mastered; he also added that "It is a lot more urban, a lot more edgy, a lot more unapologetically ghetto than "Paperwork"".


title: T.I.

text: In promotion for the album, T.I. unexpectedly released an extended play (EP) titled "Da' Nic", on September 11, 2015. The EP contains five songs, including the singles "Project Steps" and "Check, Run It". The five-track project, which includes features from Young Thug and Young Dro, as well as production from Jazz Feezy, Sho Nuff, League of Starz, London on da Track and Mars, was launched independently. It was released through San Francisco's Empire Distribution and T.I.'s King Inc. imprint, marking T.I.'s first ever independent release. During this period, T.I. reverted to his previous pseudonym, Tip.


title: T.I.

text: On September 18, 2015, T.I. announced his departure from Columbia Records. In an interview with HitsDailyDouble.com, he addressed his situation: "Having just exited my deal at Columbia, I was a rogue artist, busting creativity, just waiting to put music in the marketplace, so while I'm sorting out my next situation, I'm blessed enough to be able to control my destiny and put music out as quickly as I want to, and was able to release a Tip album, which I had wanted to do for a long time."