Lloyd Osbourne

Samuel Lloyd Osbourne (April 7, 1868–May 22, 1947) was an American writer best known as the stepson and literary collaborator of Robert Louis Stevenson. Born in San Francisco, he became part of Stevenson’s family when his mother, Fanny Osbourne, married the Scottish novelist in 1880.

As a young man, Osbourne traveled widely with the family, including to Samoa, and that sense of movement and adventure stayed with him. He collaborated with Stevenson on The Wrong Box, The Wrecker, and The Ebb-Tide, and he later wrote fiction, stories, and memoir pieces of his own.

Osbourne is often remembered both for his own writing and for the close view he offers of Stevenson’s world. That mix of lived adventure, family connection, and literary partnership makes him an especially interesting figure for readers who enjoy late 19th- and early 20th-century fiction.