Chinese children grow up reading the works of Tusitala, and now those translated works have found a home in Villa Vailima, the Robert Louis Stevenson Museum.

The museum has a large collection of Stevenson’s works in nearly 30 languages, and until yesterday only had one in Chinese, Treasure Island.

Thanks to Zhu Ling Xiao, the museum now owns the Chinese language editions of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, The Black Arrow and A Child’s Garden of Verses.

Margaret Silva, the museum manager said she is honoured to have these new books to add to the collection.

“We had thought only Treasure Island had been translated into Chinese, we had no idea there were others,” she said.

The museum sees many Chinese tourists coming through and they are always delighted, like others, to see their own languages represented in the collection.

Ms Zhu is a retired senior editor who worked in Chinese literature most of her career, and established a contemporary literature award in China.

She said Stevenson is considered a great treasure among writers in China, and his works are popular among children.

While they may not necessarily know Stevenson’s history, or his life in Samoa, they will certainly know his works like Treasure Island and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

“I am very happy to bring these books to your museum,” said Ms Zhu.

She said writing is an important skill and she hopes Stevenson is a good role model to young writers and readers.

The literary foundation she worked at sponsored ten young writers a year to compose a work to publication.

Ms Zhu said she learned as an editor that writers need to love their art, and nourish that story inside them that needs to come out.