Samoa: Robert Louis Stevenson Museum
Robert Luis Stevenson (RLS), the author of Treasure Island, spent the last years of his life on Samoa with his family, where he died at the age of 44 (from a heart attack while trying to open a bottle of wine, but he also had tuberculosis). He settled in Samoa purchasing a massive 1304-acre estate, building a humongous and sprawling house (with all wood and materials imported from California – redwood – and New Zealand – kauri), and taking a local Samoan name of Tusitala – Teller of Tales. Today, the estate on the Upolu island, high up on the mountain plateau, is a museum of the famous writer with almost all the interior and items being original. It’s the only house in Samoa with a fireplace (actually two of them), but they were never used since Samoan climate is tropical all the time). Many books and manuscripts are original, including the first editions of Treasure Island and Jackyl & Hyde (I didn’t even realize it was RLS who wrote it). The writer was revered by Samoans and he himself considered Samoa his home and often sided with locals against the colonial powers. After Samoa independence, the RLS estate was used as the seat of the country’s government.
