Alexander Hay Japp and Japp's conversation attracted Stevenson and his father. Stevenson read to Japp the early chapters of "Treasure Island", then called "The Sea Cook", and Japp negotiated its publication in "Young Folks". Subsequently Stevenson and Japp corresponded on intimate terms; and Japp's last work, "Robert Louis Stevenson: a Record, an Estimate, and a Memorial" (1905), was the result of their contacts. Japp was versatile and prolific writer, writing under pseudonyms such as "H. A. Page", "A. F. Scot", "E. Conder Gray", and "A. N. Mount Rose" as well as in his own name. In his own name he issued in 1865
Robert Louis Stevenson in 1869, and for three weeks to the island of Erraid in 1870. He enjoyed the travels more for the material they gave for his writing than for any engineering interest. The voyage with his father pleased him because a similar journey of Walter Scott with Robert Stevenson had provided the inspiration for Scott's 1822 novel "The Pirate". In April 1871, Stevenson notified his father of his decision to pursue a life of letters. Though the elder Stevenson was naturally disappointed, the surprise cannot have been great, and Stevenson's mother reported that he was "wonderfully resigned" to his son's choice.