In 1890, living in Samoa, Robert Louis Stevenson sent a letter to his fellow writer Henry James, explaining a momentous decision on his part: Disillusioned with a rapidly changing, technologically driven world, Stevenson intended to remain in "exile" on the island, never to return to his native Britain.

"I was never fond of towns, houses, society or (it seems) civilisation," Stevenson wrote, explaining his choice. Indeed, he died in Samoa four years later...