Mark Twain

About the Author

Johann David Wyss (1743–1818) was a Swiss writer best known for The Swiss Family Robinson. Wyss was inspired by Daniel Defoe’s classic novel Robinson Crusoe but wanted to create a story that would be accessible to children. His iconic novel has been adapted numerous times for television, film, and the stage.

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) was born in Edinburgh. He studied at Edinburgh University and then went on to write novels, short stories, and poems, including the beloved A Child’s Garden of Verses. Like the adventure-loving seafarers in Treasure Island, Stevenson traveled the world. He died in Samoa in 1894.

Mark Twain (1835–1910) was born as Samuel Langhorne Clemens. When he was four years old, he moved to Hannibal, Missouri, which later inspired the setting of his novels The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Before he wrote books, Twain worked as a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River.