Kidnapped

By Robert Louis Stevenson and Louis Rhead

Recently orphaned, seventeen-year-old David Balfour discovers that he is the rightful heir of the House of Shaws. However, his cruel and greedy uncle, desperate to keep him from claiming his inheritance, sells his nephew into slavery. David teams up with the roguish outlaw Alan Breck Stewart, who helps him escape. As their adventures continue, they become shipwrecked, are wanted for murder, get caught between Scotland's warring political factions, and run for their lives across the bleak and unforgiving Highlands. This historical adventure novel by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson was first published in 1886. This unabridged version includes a preface written by Stevenson's wife Fanny for the biographical edition, as well as illustrations by English-born American artist Louis Rhead, first published in 1921.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lerner Publishing
• Release date: Jan 1, 2018
• ISBN: 9781541518391

Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) was a Scottish poet, novelist, and travel writer. Born the son of a lighthouse engineer, Stevenson suffered from a lifelong lung ailment that forced him to travel constantly in search of warmer climates. Rather than follow his father’s footsteps, Stevenson pursued a love of literature and adventure that would inspire such works as Treasure Island (1883), Kidnapped (1886), Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886), and Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes (1879).

Book preview

A seventeen-year-old orphan is the rightful heir to a fortune, but his greedy uncle has him kidnapped to keep him from his inheritance. Robert Louis Stevenson first published this historical adventure novel in 1886. The text is in the public domain. The text has been put into a new design to make this book appealing and easier to read in both digital and paperback formats. This book also features original illustrations drawn by Louis Rhead, which were first published 1921. The eBook contains a hyperlinked Table of Contents for navigation. The First Avenue Classics™ version is unabridged and has been proofed for formatting errors. Errors and alternate spellings found in the original book have not been changed. When necessary, artwork was modified to fit the format of this edition.

Copyright © 2018 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.

All rights reserved. International copyright secured. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written permission of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

The Cataloging-in-Publication Data for Kidnapped is on file at the Library of Congress.

ISBN: 978–1–5124–8608–7 (PB)

ISBN: 978–1–5124–8618–6 (EB)

Manufactured in the United States of America

1-43418-33191-9/14/2017

9781541518391 ePub

9781541518407 mobi

9781541518414 ePub

Being Memoirs of the Adventures of David Balfour In the Year 1751

How He Was Kidnapped and Cast Away; His Sufferings in a Desert Isle; His Journey in the Wild Highlands;His Acquaintance with Alan Breck Stewart and Other Notorious Highland Jacobites;with All That He Suffered at the Hands of His Uncle, Ebenezer Balfour Of Shaws, Falsely So Called

Written By Himself And Now Set Forth By Robert Louis Stevenson With A Preface By Mrs. Stevenson

Table of Contents

Preface To The Biographical Edition

Dedication

Chapter I: I Set Off upon My Journey to the House of Shaws

Chapter II: I Come to My Journey’s End

Chapter III: I Make Acquaintance of My Uncle

Chapter IV: I Run a Great Danger in the House Of Shaws

Chapter V I: Go to the Queen’s Ferry

Chapter VI: What Befell at the Queen’s Ferry

Chapter VII: I Go to Sea in the Brig Covenant of Dysart

Chapter VIII: The Round-House

Chapter IX: The Man with the Belt of Gold

Chapter X The Siege of the Round-House

Chapter XI: The Captain Knuckles Under

Chapter XII: I Hear of the Red Fox

Chapter XIII: The Loss of the Brig

Chapter XIV: The Islet

Chapter XV: The Lad with the Silver Button: through the Isle of Mull

Chapter XVI: The Lad with the Silver Button: across Morven

Chapter XVII: The Death of the Red Fox

Chapter XVIII: I Talk with Alan in the Wood of Lettermore

Chapter XIX: The House of Fear

Chapter XX: The Flight in the Heather: The Rocks

Chapter XXI: The Flight in the Heather: the Heugh of Corrynakiegh

Chapter XXII: The Flight in the Heather: the Moor

Chapter XXIII: Cluny’s Cage

Chapter XXIV: The Flight in the Heather: the Quarrel

Chapter XXV: In Balquhidder

Chapter XXVI: End of The Flight: We Pass the Forth

Chapter XXVII: I Come to Mr. Rankeillor

Chapter XXVIII: I Go in Quest of My Inheritance

Chapter XXIX: I Come into My Kingdom

Chapter XXX: Good-Bye

List of Illustrations

frontis

I Set off upon My Journey to the House of Shaws

Held me at arm’s length, looking at me with his face all working with sorrow

I Come to My Journey’s End

The nearer I got to the house the drearier it appeared

I Make Acquaintance of My Uncle

Do ye ken what’s in it? he asked, suddenly.

I Run a Great Danger in the House Of Shaws

My hand slipped upon an edge and found nothing but emptiness beyond it

I Go to the Queen’s Ferry

Snapping his fingers in the air and footing it right cleverly

What Befell at the Queen’s Ferry

I gave a piercing cry—Help, Help! Murder!

I Go to Sea in the Brig Covenant of Dysart

I was awakened by the light of a lantern shining in my face

The Round-House

Sit down! roars the captain

The Man with the Belt of Gold

The stern had been thrown into the air, and the man had leaped up

The Seige of the Round-House

Alan ran upon the others like a bull, roaring as he went

The Captain Knuckles Under

Alan cut me off one of the silver buttons from his coat

I Hear of the Red Fox"

Alan and I smoked a pipe or two of the captain’s fine tobacco

The Loss of the Brig

When I kicked out with both feet, I soon began to find that I was moving

The Islet

A coble with a brown sail came flying round that corner of the isle

The lad with the Silver Button: through the Isle of Mull

The catechist began to swear and to strike for my legs with his staff

The Lad with the Silver Button across Morven

He began ladling snuff into his nose in most excessive quantities

The Death of the Red Fox

Jouk in here among the trees, said a voice close by

I Talk with Alan in the Wood of Lettermore

And now let’s take another peep at the redcoats

The House of Fear

He whistled three times, in a particular manner

The Flight in the Heather: The Rocks

I bent low on my knees and flung myself forth

The Flight in the Heather: the Heugh of Corrynakiegh

Getting a piece of wood, he fashioned it in a cross

The Flight in the Heather: the Moor

The next moment we were lying on our backs, each with a dirk at his throat

Cluny’s Cage

Here’s a toast to ye: The Restoration!

The Flight in the Heather: the Quarrel

Do ye gang easier so, Davie?

In Balquhidder

Robin Oig, he said, Ye are a great piper.

End of The Flight: We Pass the Forth

David, it is a very fine lass.

I Come to Mr. Rankeillor

Here he sate down, and bade me be seated

I Go in Quest of My Inheritance

These two went on ahead in very close talk, and Torrance and I brought up the rear

I Come into My Kingdom

My uncle just sat where he was on the top doorstep and stared upon us like a man turned to stone

Good-Bye

Well, Good-bye, said Alan, and held out his left hand

Preface To The Biographical Edition

While my husband and Mr. Henley were engaged in writing plays in Bournemouth they made a number of titles, hoping to use them in the future. Dramatic composition was not what my husband preferred, but the torrent of Mr. Henley’s enthusiasm swept him off his feet. However, after several plays had been finished, and his health seriously impaired by his endeavours to keep up with Mr. Henley, play writing was abandoned forever, and my husband returned to his legitimate vocation. Having added one of the titles, The Hanging Judge, to the list of projected plays, now thrown aside, and emboldened by my husband’s offer to give me any help needed, I concluded to try and write it myself.

As I wanted a trial scene in the Old Bailey, I chose the period of 1700 for my purpose; but being shamefully ignorant of my subject, and my husband confessing to little more knowledge than I possessed, a London bookseller was commissioned to send us everything he could procure bearing on Old Bailey trials. A great package came in response to our order, and very soon we were both absorbed, not so much in the trials as in following the brilliant career of a Mr. Garrow,

who appeared as counsel in many of the cases. We sent for more books, and yet more, still intent on Mr. Garrow, whose subtle cross-examination of witnesses and masterly, if sometimes startling, methods of arriving at the truth seemed more thrilling to us than any novel.

Occasionally other trials than those of the Old Bailey would be included in the package of books we received from London; among these my husband found and read with avidity:—

THE,

TRIAL

OF

JAMES STEWART

in Aucharn in Duror of Appin

FOR THE

Murder of COLIN CAMPBELL of Glenure, Esq;

Factor for His Majesty on the forfeited

Estate of Ardshiel.

My husband was always interested in this period of his country’s history, and had already the intention of writing a story that should turn on the Appin murder. The tale was to be of a boy, David Balfour, supposed to belong to my husband’s own family, who should travel in Scotland as though it were a foreign country, meeting with various adventures and misadventures by the way. From the trial of James Stewart my husband gleaned much valuable material for his novel, the most important being the character of Alan Breck. Aside from having described him as smallish in stature, my husband seems to have taken Alan Breck’s personal appearance, even to his clothing, from the book.

A letter from James Stewart to Mr. John Macfarlane, introduced as evidence in the trial, says: There is one Alan Stewart, a distant friend of the late Ardshiel’s, who is in the French service, and came over in March last, as he said to some, in order to settle at home; to others, that he was to go soon back; and was, as I hear, the day that the murder was committed, seen not far from the place where it happened, and is not now to be seen; by which it is believed he was the actor. He is a desperate foolish fellow; and if he is guilty, came to the country for that very purpose. He is a tall, pock-pitted lad, very black hair, and wore a blue coat and metal buttons, an old red vest, and breeches of the same colour. A second witness testified to having seen him wearing a blue coat with silver buttons, a red waistcoat, black shag breeches, tartan hose, and a feathered hat, with a big coat, dun coloured, a costume referred to by one of the counsel as French cloathes which were remarkable.

There are many incidents given in the trial that point to Alan’s fiery spirit and Highland quickness to take offence. One witness declared also That the said Alan Breck threatened that he would challenge Ballieveolan and his sons to fight because of his removing the declarant last year from Glenduror. On another page: Duncan Campbell, change-keeper at Annat, aged thirty-five years, married, witness cited, sworn, purged and examined ut supra, depones, That, in the month of April last, the deponent met with Alan Breck Stewart, with whom he was not acquainted, and John Stewart, in Auchnacoan, in the house of the walk miller of Auchofragan, and went on with them to the house: Alan Breck Stewart said, that he hated all the name of Campbell; and the deponent said, he had no reason for doing so: But Alan said, he had very good reason for it: that thereafter they left that house; and, after drinking a dram at another house, came to the deponent’s house, where they went in, and drunk some drams, and Alan Breck renewed the former Conversation; and the deponent, making the same answer, Alan said, that, if the deponent had any respect for his friends, he would tell them, that if they offered to turn out the possessors of Ardshiel’s estate, he would make black cocks of them, before they entered into possession by which the deponent understood shooting them, it being a common phrase in the country.

Some time after the publication of Kidnapped we stopped for a short while in the Appin country, where we were surprised and interested to discover that the feeling concerning the murder of Glenure (the Red Fox, also called Colin Roy) was almost as keen as though the tragedy had taken place the day before. For several years my husband received letters of expostulation or commendation from members of the Campbell and Stewart clans. I have in my possession a paper, yellow with age, that was sent soon after the novel appeared, containing The Pedigree of the Family of Appine, wherein it is said that Alan 3rd Baron of Appine was not killed at Flowdoun, tho there, but lived to a great old age. He married Cameron Daughter to Ewen Cameron of Lochiel. Following this is a paragraph stating that John Stewart 1st of Ardsheall of his descendants Alan Breck had better be omitted. Duncan Baan Stewart in Achindarroch his father was a Bastard.

One day, while my husband was busily at work, I sat beside him reading an old cookery book called The Compleat Housewife: or Accomplish’d Gentlewoman’s Companion. In the midst of receipts for Rabbits, and Chickens mumbled, Pickled Samphire, Skirret Pye, Baked Tansy, and other forgotten delicacies, there were directions for the preparation of several lotions for the preservation of beauty. One of these was so charming that I interrupted my husband to read it aloud. Just what I wanted! he exclaimed; and the receipt for the Lily of the Valley Water was instantly incorporated into Kidnapped.

F. V. DE G. S.

Dedication

MY DEAR CHARLES BAXTER:

If you ever read this tale, you will likely ask yourself more questions than I should care to answer: as for instance how the Appin murder has come to fall in the year 1751, how the Torran rocks have crept so near to Earraid, or why the printed trial is silent as to all that touches David Balfour. These are nuts beyond my ability to crack. But if you tried me on the point of Alan’s guilt or innocence, I think I could defend the reading of the text. To this day you will find the tradition of Appin clear in Alan’s favour. If you inquire, you may even hear that the descendants of the other man who fired the shot are in the country to this day. But that other man’s name, inquire as you please, you shall not hear; for the Highlander values a secret for itself and for the congenial exercise of keeping it. I might go on for long to justify one point and own another indefensible; it is more honest to confess at once how little I am touched by the desire of accuracy. This is no furniture for the scholar’s library, but a book for the winter evening school-room when the tasks are over and the hour for bed draws near; and honest Alan, who was a grim old fire-eater in his day has in this new avatar no more desperate purpose than to steal some young gentleman’s attention from his Ovid, carry him awhile into the Highlands and the last century, and pack him to bed with some engaging images to mingle with his dreams.

As for you, my dear Charles, I do not even ask you to like this tale. But perhaps when he is older, your son will; he may then be pleased to find his father’s name on the fly-leaf; and in the meanwhile it pleases me to set it there, in memory of many days that were happy and some (now perhaps as pleasant to remember) that were sad. If it is strange for me to look back from a distance both in time and space on these bygone adventures of our youth, it must be stranger for you who tread the same streets—who may to-morrow open the door of the old Speculative, where we begin to rank with Scott and Robert Emmet and the beloved and inglorious Macbean—or may pass the corner of the close where that great society, the L. J. R., held its meetings and drank its beer, sitting in the seats of Burns and his companions. I think I see you, moving there by plain daylight, beholding with your natural eyes those places that have now become for your companion a part of the scenery of dreams. How, in the intervals of present business, the past must echo in your memory! Let it not echo often without some kind thoughts of your friend,

R.L.S. SKERRYVORE, BOURNEMOUTH.

Chapter I

I Set Off upon My Journey to the House of Shaws

will begin the story of my adventures with a certain morning early in the month of June, the year of grace 1751, when I took the key for the last time out of the door of my father’s house. The sun began to shine upon the summit of the hills as I went down the road; and by the time I had come as far as the manse, the blackbirds were whistling in the garden lilacs, and the mist that hung around the valley in the time of the dawn was beginning to arise and die away.

Mr. Campbell, the minister of Essendean, was waiting for me by the garden gate, good man! He asked me if I had breakfasted; and hearing that I lacked for nothing, he took my hand in both of his and clapped it kindly under his arm.

Well, Davie, lad, said he, I will go with you as far as the ford, to set you on the way. And we began to walk forward in silence.

Are ye sorry to leave Essendean? said he, after awhile.

Why, sir, said I, if I knew where I was going, or what was likely to become of me, I would tell you candidly. Essendean is a good place indeed, and I have been very happy there; but then I have never been anywhere else. My father and mother, since they are both dead, I shall be no nearer to in Essendean than in the Kingdom of Hungary, and, to speak truth, if I thought I had a chance to better myself where I was going I would go with a good will.

Ay? said Mr. Campbell. Very well, Davie. Then it behoves me to tell your fortune; or so far as I may. When your mother was gone, and your father (the worthy, Christian man) began to sicken for his end, he gave me in charge a certain letter, which he said was your inheritance. ‘So soon,’ says he, ‘as I am gone, and the house is redd up and the gear disposed of’ (all which, Davie, hath been done), ‘give my boy this letter into his hand, and start him off to the house of Shaws, not far from Cramond. That is the place I came from,’ he said, ‘and it’s where it befits that my boy should return. He is a steady lad,’ your father said, ‘and a canny goer; and I doubt not he will come safe, and be well lived where he goes.’

The house of Shaws! I cried. What had my poor father to do with the house of Shaws?

Nay, said Mr. Campbell, who can tell that for a surety? But the name of that family, Davie, boy, is the name you bear—Balfours of Shaws: an ancient, honest, reputable house, peradventure in these latter days decayed. Your father, too, was a man of learning as befitted his position; no man more plausibly conducted school; nor had he the manner or the speech of a common dominie; but (as ye will yourself remember) I took aye a pleasure to have him to the manse to meet the gentry; and those of my own house, Campbell of Kilrennet, Campbell of Dunswire, Campbell of Minch, and others, all well-kenned gentlemen, had pleasure in his society. Lastly, to put all the elements of this affair before you, here is the testamentary letter itself, superscrived by the own hand of our departed brother.

He gave me the letter, which was addressed in these words: To the hands of Ebenezer Balfour, Esquire, of Shaws, in his house of Shaws, these will be delivered by my son, David Balfour. My heart was beating hard at this great prospect now suddenly opening before a lad of seventeen years of age, the son of a poor country dominie in the Forest of Ettrick.

Mr. Campbell, I stammered, and if you were in my shoes, would you go?

Of a surety, said the minister, that would I, and without pause. A pretty lad like you should get to Cramond (which is near in by Edinburgh) in two days of walk. If the worst came to the worst, and your high relations (as I cannot but suppose them to be somewhat of your blood) should put you to the door, ye can but walk the two days back again and risp at the manse door. But I would rather hope that ye shall be well received, as your poor father forecast for you, and for anything that I ken come to be a great man in time. And here, Davie, laddie, he resumed, it lies near upon my conscience to improve this parting, and set you on the right guard against the dangers of the world.

Here he cast about for a comfortable seat, lighted on a big boulder under a birch by the trackside, sate down upon it with a very long, serious upper lip, and the sun now shining in upon us between two peaks, put his pocket-handkerchief over his cocked hat to shelter him. There, then, with uplifted forefinger, he first put me on my guard against a considerable number of heresies, to which I had no temptation, and urged upon me to be instant in my prayers and reading of the Bible. That done, he drew a picture of the great house that I was bound to, and how I should conduct myself with its inhabitants.

Be soople, Davie, in things immaterial, said he. Bear ye this in mind, that, though gentle born, ye have had a country rearing. Dinnae shame us, Davie, dinnae shame us! In yon great, muckle house, with all these domestics, upper and under, show yourself as nice, as circumspect, as quick at the conception, and as slow of speech as any. As for the laird—remember he’s the laird; I say no more: honour to whom honour. It’s a pleasure to obey a laird; or should be, to the young.

Well, sir, said I, it may be; and I’ll promise you I’ll try to make it so.

Why, very well said, replied Mr. Campbell, heartily. And now to come to the material, or (to make a quibble) to the immaterial. I have here a little packet which contains four things. He tugged it, as he spoke, and with some great difficulty, from the skirt pocket of his coat. Of these four things, the first is your legal due: the little pickle money for your father’s books and plenishing, which I have bought (as I have explained from the first) in the design of re-selling at a profit to the incoming dominie. The other three are gifties that Mrs. Campbell and myself would be blithe of your acceptance. The first, which is round, will likely please ye best at the first off-go; but, O Davie, laddie, it’s but a drop of water in the sea; it’ll help you but a step, and vanish like the morning. The second, which is flat and square and written upon, will stand by you through life, like a good staff for the road, and a good pillow to your head in sickness. And as for the last, which is cubical, that’ll see you, it’s my prayerful wish, into a better land.

With that he got upon his feet, took off his hat, and prayed a little while aloud, and in affecting terms, for a young man setting out into the world; then suddenly took me in his arms and embraced me very hard; then held me at arm’s length, looking at me with his face all working with sorrow; and then whipped about, and crying good-bye to me, set off backward by the way that we had come at a sort of jogging run. It might have been laughable to another; but I was in no mind to laugh. I watched him as long as he was in sight; and he never stopped hurrying, nor once looked back. Then it came in upon my mind that this was all his sorrow at my departure; and my conscience smote me hard and fast, because I, for my part, was overjoyed to get away out of that quiet country-side, and go to a great, busy house, among rich and respected gentlefolk of my own name

Reviews for Kidnapped

[danielstj · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Disappointing and dated.

[cbl_tn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

After his father's death in 1751, young David Balfour learns about an uncle he'd never heard of before. David is surprised to learn that he is the heir to an estate, but before he can get used to the idea, his uncle has him kidnapped on a ship headed for the American colonies. En route, he befriends Jacobite Alan Breck Stewart. Although the highland Catholic Alan and the lowland Protestant David make an unlikely pair, they share adventures including shipwreck and pursuit through the highlands. It's an entertaining tail of adventure, and it's worth reading just to get acquainted with David Balfour. I listened to the audio version and I found it difficult to understand the reader's accent and the somewhat archaic Scots dialect.

[stuart10er_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Two hundred page buildup for a four page payoff. Reminds me of a much shorter "Count of Monte Cristo". All setup for revenge. But with both writers, what a sweet payoff as we see Balfour's uncle get his due. Fantastic. I can read it fairly easily, but the dialect is beyond children now.

[dagwood_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I read this book as a child. It has always been my favorite. I would recommend it for readers of all ages.

[kristelh_15 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I found it simplistic and believe it's description as a boy's adventure novel fitting. It gives some good lessons for "coming of age" young people. I liked the Scottish dialogue, learning a bit of history and the description of the countryside to be an enjoyable part of the book.

[evertrap · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Plenty of action, strange characters and great descriptions of the landscape of Scotland. A fun read.

[jlcarroll · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

If you looking for a glimpse into Scottish Highlander hijinks - and don't mind wading through text that's heavy with brogue - then you'll enjoy this classic by Stevenson.

[leslie398 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed Michael Page's narration very much & his Scottish burr seemed spot on to these American ears. Betrayal, friendship and adventure in 1751 Scotland with some Jacobite politics in the background... What fun!

[a9stone5 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This story grabs the reader's attention through an action packed adventure around Scotland. We follow David Balfour through his travels to find who he is and claim his true inheritance. This story would be suitable for readers in grades 6 and up.

[themulhern · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An awesome adventure and nothing trivial or cliche about it. It is really the first part of a two volume story; it ends abruptly in Edinburgh with only some things resolved and its sequel, Catriona, picks up the story of David Balfour about an hour later. It inspired some thrilling illustrations by N.C. Wyeth and has some very funny bits. David's internal musings are moving and amusing and Allan Breck is a right handful. There is no extreme of weather that poor David does not endure.

[bookworm12_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Swashbuckling adventure set in Scotland, the author of Treasure Island revels in this wild story. It didn't really come alive for me until the shipwreck. Even then, it's not one that sucked me in with every page. An entertaining adventure story. I can see loving this one if I read it when I was young, but as an adult it didn't hold my attention as much.It fell into the same category as The Swiss Family Robinson, Treasure Island, A Journey to the Center of the Earth, all excellent stories. But I think I would've loved them more if I had read them when I was younger."To be feared of a thing and yet do it is what makes the prettiest kind of a man."

[ldobson_4 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This adventurous story follows a seventeen year old boy who is told to find his long lost uncle after his parents die. His travels take a dangerous turn and he ends up being in way more than he had bargained for. If you are looking for an adventure that is steeped in Scottish history and culture, this book is for you. Appropriate for ages 5th grade and up.

[lisa.johnson.james · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Well, even though this is supposed to be a kids' book, it was pretty engaging even for this Mom. I loved the fact that in my 1948 edition anyway, that even though the author sometimes writes in dialect, he takes the time to do footnotes of unfamiliar Scottish words that he uses in his writing. Most of it is fairly easy to figure out, but I appreciated it.The story itself is of a young man of 17 who's father passes away & leaves him an orphan, since the mother passed years before. David gets instructions from Mr. Campbell, his father's laird, to go seek his uncle Ebenezer, since he is the last of the Balfour family. Uncle Ebenezer, like the other famous character by that name, is not a nice guy. He arranges to have his nephew shanghai'd by a boat crew, to be sold as a white slave in the Carolinas. Well, all manner of mishaps occur, & the boat never makes it because it's wrecked off the coast. David makes his way across Scotland with Alan, who's a bit of a bad guy himself, but, he takes care of David, & that's how that odd friendship develops. Eventually, David makes his way back...I won't give away the ending, you'll just have to read it for yourself

[edgeworth_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"Kidnapped" is the third-most famous of Robert Louis Stevenson's novels, overshadowed by "Treasure Island" and "Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde," but it's the first of his that I've read. If it's anything to go by, I should definitely check out his other works.The novel begins in 1751 with David Balfour, our young and resourceful Scottish protagonist, setting out to the house of the Shaws upon the death of his parents. Here he meets his uncle Ebeneezer, a wheedling little man who, rather than welcoming him with open arms, attempts to murder him to seize the family fortune. When this fails he sells David into slavery aboard a ship bound for the Carolinas.What follows is a swashbuckling adventure of the highest order, containing shipwrecks, gunfights, sword duels, murder, pursuit by the British Army, outlaw hideouts and all manner of boy's adventure tropes. Yet it's a far more serious and polished novel than I make it sound, set against a well-developed political and historical backdrop and featuring several real-life figures - most notably David's friend and mentor Alan Breck, a Scottish Jacobite. I don't quite know what that is! Nonetheless, it grants "Kidnapped" a solid sense of time and place, which drags a little during David's endless flight across the heather but which, on the whole, contributes into making it a more refined novel than the sort of typical adventure tale that any halfway decent writer can churn out (and which, indeed, I have been churning out for many years).It's also, despite being written in the nineteenth century, a remarkably easy book to read. Writers back then often had higher standards of vocabulary and style, which means contemporary readers often have trouble reading them, but "Kidnapped" could easily have been penned in the mid-twentieth century. This is probably the oldest book I've read that I found both enjoyable and worth my time. ("Moby-Dick," written in 1851, was certainly worth my time, but "enjoyable" is not the first word it brings to mind.)Overall "Kidnapped" is a pretty fun read, and I'll check out "Treasure Island" when I get the chance.

[rajivc_18 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I must say that, for once, I found a book a bit difficult to follow. He has written the book very well. No doubt about this. There is lots of local flavour when it comes to the language. However, I did not follow the plot as well as I usually do, and was a bit happy when the book finally ended!

[brakketh-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A young man is dispossessed by his 'evil' uncle and has many challenges on his way back to reclaiming his inheritance. Despite the unrealistic story line the hardships of young David Balfour are portrayed realistically.

[mthelibrarian_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

It took 2 weeks of struggle and 3 formats to get through this book. I found it a slog, whereas I enjoyed "Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde." I liked the e-reader format because of the built-in dictionary (though quite a few of the words are not in a modern e-dictionary), but ultimately I had to finish it on audiobook. I am interested in the author's use of the name Ebanezer for a Scrooge-like character.

[mbmackay · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Written for teens. Has much more character development than Treasure Island and covers quite a bit of Jacobite history. Good stuff.Read in Samoa June 2004

[jmoncton_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The overall story for this book was good, but the strong Scottish dialect made it difficult to follow. Once I gave up on trying to figure out exactly what was going on, the book was more enjoyable.

[nikkles_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is perhaps my favorite adventure novel. The characters are just great and the plot is very quick. In my opinion its much better then Treasure Island. If you want to read a classic that is actually fun, this is the way to go.

[glenline · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is on a par with Treasure Island although it lacks the excitement of a treasure hunt, there is plenty of excitement anyway and the plot is better.

[nielspeterqm · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

At first sight, this work seems disquietingly similar to Stevenson's better known Treasure Island: around the middle of the 18th Century (not Stevenson's own 19th Century), an impoverished, inexperienced, but self-respecting teenage hero is set to sea by circumstance. Here he faces a crew of thugs whom, supported by strong role-models, he valiantly defeats. Then follows a long voyage of wandering & discovery until at last he comes to spiritual & material independence under the wise & watchful eye of his mentors, portrayed as very pillars of a romanticized British Empire.But there the similarity does stop. Kidnapped is exclusively about 18th Century Scotland & its entirely unforgettable inhabitants. Its sea voyage is a circumnavigation of Scotland, no more, no less. The perilous return to the home town takes place across hills & heather. Finally & most important, every character in the novel is as Scottish as its teenage hero - or as Stevenson was himself.You might say that Kidnapped offers all the assets of Treasure Island, plus one: the tense but warm atmosphere of an independence-loving nation during the waning years of its armed rebellion against the English. Stevenson, in loving mastery of his subject yet never as uncritical as he seems, ignores neither politics, intrigues, & clan quarrels, nor the (predictable) homage to bagpipe & tartans. The book is therefore flavoursome in a manner that even Treasure Island, for all its power, never attains. The historical & cultural depth here is simply greater - & the book perhaps as entertaining.

[the_hibernator · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When 16-year-old David Balfour meets his estranged uncle for the first time, he is shocked by the man's cruelty. Soon, Balfour has been kidnapped and he must rescue himself and travel back to the town of his uncle to claim his inheritance. This is an exciting little book...not quite up to scratch with Treasure Island, but still has quite an adventure. It would probably be a fun book for teenagers to read, if they like classics (or if you want to thrust classics upon them).

[hilarymclean6 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When I was a kid, my father had given me his copy that he had as a boy and told me I must read it. No way, too much like Treasure Island, or so I thought. A thoroughly enjoyable tale full of adventure and action and more than a little sprinkling of historical fact from the land of the Scots and English.

[jeffome · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

St. Barts 2017 #7 - Famous Stevenson tale that i have heard about my entire life, and is usually the case, i cannot believe i have not ever read. So off on my vacation it came, and i read it at the same time as a friend. I certainly enjoyed the adventure, but the Scottish dialect language, even with the Stevenson-installed footnotes, and the very confusing political climate at the time of this story left me spinning more than i wanted. Scottish clan battles and English Kings obviously dominated daily lives at the time of this story, and having absolutely zero knowledge of the players and the motives, it was just a lot of distracting clutter to me. Our hero David Balfour does struggle mightily with many things not going his way, and tells this story with a certain charm and self-deprecating style that saves this for me. Lots of swashbuckling sea-faring excitement, some time spent on an island, & a healthy dose of eclectic characters challenge David as he struggles to survive his ordeal. I always thought of this as a children's book, but i think i was either wrong, or I am just way in over my head. Very glad that it is now on the pile of books i have read!

[john257hopper · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A great story with a good narrative drive involving the betrayal and kidnapping of the central character, David Balfour, his flight across the Scottish landscape and his eventual rescue and restoration to his fortune. There are a number of other colourful and intriguing characters especially David's uncle Ebenezer (similar to his Dickensian namesake) and Alan Breck Stewart. Good stuff, though there are an awful lot of Scots words not recognised in the OED and only a few of which are explained in footnotes in the Delphi Collected Works edition.

[abbottthomas · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Coming late to this adventure, I enjoyed reading it, even with the use of the Scots language (the free Kindle version has frequent footnotes translating the more unguessable words). The story is set in the year 1751, five years after the battle of Culloden which finally ended the Jacobite uprisings. Scotland is a divided nation and the old clan system is under threat. Highlanders are forbidden to carry arms and wearing the tartan is proscribed. The divisions between the clans are deep, particularly between those that have accepted Hanoverian rule and the Jacobite sympathisers.The book's hero, David Balfour, is a Lowland Scot. His parents both dead, he sets out to find his extended family. The book starts and ends with his search for his rightful inheritance but the bulk of the book is the story of an epic journey, first in an ill-fated brig around Scotland and then across the country on foot as a fugitive with a colourful Jacobite companion, Alan Breck Stewart. Stevenson takes a true event, the Appin murder, as the start of this. Colin Roy Campbell, the King's factor in the Western Highlands was shot and killed by an unknown sniper. Alan Stewart (an historical character) was blamed by many, probably wrongly, but never apprehended. In a major miscarriage of justice, James Stewart, a clan chief, was hanged as an aider and abetter. Kidnapped has David Balfour joining up with a fictionalised Alan Stewart and sharing his flight to safety.The first part of the book with the kidnap and the time at sea is exciting although, to be honest, the flight across the heather in the second part is fairly uneventful, focussing more on the variable relationship between David and Alan than any derring-do. The descriptions of the changing Highland weather and landscape are worth reading for the sense of atmosphere.This was regarded, like Treasure Island, as the equivalent of a YA book in my youth and it is interesting to read in Stevenson's dedication that he doesn't necessarily expect the dedicatee to enjoy it but he thinks his son might. I am glad I caught up with it.

[audacity88_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Rarely thrilling, Kidnapped is an adventure story only secondarily. It is best described as an evocation of Scotland in the 1700s, a place and time in which honor retained its power to motivate, without having fallen into stiffness - a balance best witnessed in Alan Breck, a man as quick to laugh as he is quick to take offense at a slight.

[krista23 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Adventure, murder and friendship. Young boys will find adventure along with David Balfour in the Scottish Highlands during this historical novel of trials through war and the relief of homecoming.

[fuzzi_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Forty plus years after reading "Treasure Island", I have finally completed my second book by Robert Louis Stevenson, "Kidnapped".Protagonist David Balfour is the heir to his uncle's estate, but his uncle doesn't want to share, so he arranges for his nephew to be taken to the Carolinas as a slave. Sometimes plans just don't follow through as we'd like, and David finds himself on the run, trying to survive long enough to get home and enact revenge.Good story, should be interesting and/or readable for youth and up.Note: I gave this book three stars: the story moved along nicely, although the Scottish words used throughout the text had me skipping to the glossary in the back of the book, a lot.