James Hogg (1770-1835), the 'Ettrick Shepherd', was born to a farming family in the Scottish Borders. He earned the nickname through his work for a time as a shepherd. He taught himself to read from newspapers passed to him by the wife of his employer. Hogg began writing songs and plays and moved to Edinburgh in 1810 to pursue a full time writing career. A friend of many writers of his day including Sir Walter Scott, he was a prolific writer throughout his life, producing novels, poetry and songs up until his death.
R. L. Stevenson (1850-1894) was born in Edinburgh in 1850 and was a Scottish novelist, travel writer, essayist and poet. He spent a year on the French Riviera to recuperate from ill-health and whilst there developed his love of art. Three years spent touring the Pacific and South Seas resulted in some travel writing and formed the backdrop for many of his novels. Best known for Kidnapped and Treasure Island, Stevenson was a literary celebrity during his lifetime and now ranks among the 30 most translated authors in the world. Stevenson died in Samoa aged 44.
George Douglas Brown (1869-1902) was born in Ayrshire and educated at Glasgow University and Oxford before moving to London to embark upon a career in journalism. He was published in Blackwood's Magazine and in 1899 published a novel called Love and a Sword under a pseudonym. In 1901 his second novel, The House with the Green Shutters was published under his own name.