David Balfour (Barnes & Noble Digital Library): Being Memoirs of His Adventures at Home and Abroad

By Robert Louis Stevenson

In this sequel to his novel Kidnapped, Robert Louis Stevenson continues the exploits of David Balfour. Once again, Balfour is in allegiance with Alan Breck Stewart, and the two are committed to supporting the Highlander cause. As Balfour travels beyond Scotland to further his education, he falls in love with the beautiful Catriona Drummond.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Barnes & Noble
• Release date: Mar 1, 2011
• ISBN: 9781411439016

Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Louis Stevenson was born in Edinburgh in 1850, the only son of an engineer, Thomas Stevenson. Despite a lifetime of poor health, Stevenson was a keen traveller, and his first book An Inland Voyage (1878) recounted a canoe tour of France and Belgium. In 1880, he married an American divorcee, Fanny Osbourne, and there followed Stevenson's most productive period, in which he wrote, amongst other books, Treasure Island (1883), The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and Kidnapped (both 1886). In 1888, Stevenson left Britain in search of a more salubrious climate, settling in Samoa, where he died in 1894.

Reviews for David Balfour (Barnes & Noble Digital Library)

[hhornblower_3 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A surprisingly well done sequel/continuation of a very famous story. I never knew it existed until I saw it at the Huntington gift shop. Having just finish Kidnapped, I figured I'd give it a shot and was pleasantly surprised. Well worth a read.

[schmerguls · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is a sequel to Kidnapped, which I read in 1970. I read a synopsis of it to prepeare to read this volume, which was first published in 1893, the year before Stevenson died. The first 265 pages tell of David traipsing around Scotland, and the things he was trying to do and that others were preventing him from doing are a mite obscure. And there is much Scot dialect, which is a real pain to read and to try to make sense of. But the second part beginning on page 267, tells of David's trip to Europe, accompanied by the love of his life. This part has little Scot dialect, and tells a good story, even poignant at times. The morals of David and his love are exemplary and people wearied by modern fiction characters who have no morals at all will enjoy the contrast which David displays. Ths book is an illustration of the wisdom of not giving up on a book just because the first 265 pages are a chore at times to read.

[parelle · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

No, this isn't as good at Kidnapped. I fully admit to being a sap in saying that I enjoyed it, for it isn't the high-flying adventure story that the first book is - at all. No, here we have Davie in loooooooove. I do think though that this book is still best for the connections it has to Kidnapped - whether it be David doing right by the people who helped him before, or the rare and wonderful appearances of Alan Breck. And yet, even in this somewhat strained circumstances, I still liked him - and her, as well.

[themulhern · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The immediate sequel to Kidnapped. This is not an adventure or travel tale, but a tale of politics, love, propriety, and misunderstanding. David must think through his position constantly, and ultimately accomplishes very little, though he works at it very hard. James Mor MacGregor-Drummond is so exasperating as to be quite entertaining. David has a very refreshing hard-headedness or cold-bloodedness when those whom he has truly disliked die, but his affection for his friends is unaffected and very strong.