Kidnapped (Penguin Classics)

As a writer, Stevenson knows his stuff. The charcterisation of David and Alan, the two main characters, is excellent and the plot is driven forward by being in the form of a journey for survival in the Scottish wilderness. The Highlands and Islands are depicted realistically in the book and it is historically accurate (Unlike that flim with Mel Gibson in it).
When I first picked up this book I was expecting a historical action-adveture story. In fact, this novel has character driven plot and the main source of conflict is the way that David's conservative, lowland views clash with the personality of Alan, a jacobite. However, this does not put you off reading the book as this is handled very well.
Off course, the book still has action in it, as David has to cope with such dangers as kidnapping, an evil uncle who tries to kill him and torrential Highland downpours.

People to Remember (2/2 people found this helpful)

When I was younger, my family had a collection of illustrated Classic books with a cartoon on every page. Kidnapped was the only book I never read of the collection because of the horrible pictures. (By the way, that problem has been repeated in practically every edition I have seen.) Several years ago I blundered into the book and it has become, by far, one of my favorites.

The beauty of the book is the development of the two characters David Balfour and Alan Breck. I agree with Henry James that the beginning of the books drags, as we are introduced to young David and his unappealing uncle Ebenezer. Alan Breck splashes into the story and provides the contrast to David's personality. The excitement of the book comes when David and Alan are stuck together traveling through the wilderness alone with their own personal grievances against each other. The beautifully realized characters create the tension that propels this compelling story.

Of course, there is the history of the real events this story is based on, and readers may find they want to look further into that, as I have. It's David and Alan, though, that make the story worth anyone's while.

thrilling and enjoyable (1/1 people found this helpful)

'Kidnapped' details Davey Balfour's adventures, beginning with his journey to find his uncle as an orphan, subsequent kidnapping aboard the the brig 'Covenant' and latter events with Alan Breck, a Highland Jacobite. The story is a riproaring adventure, fastpaced and insightful. There is plenty of humour in Davey's exchanges with Alan and insight in the protagonist's views of the world. Readers may wish to gain some insight into Scottish history, particularly as regards the Whigs and Jacobites to fully understand the importance of the book. Altogether, a thoroughly good read.

Original-text edition reveals original intent, adult work. (11/18 people found this helpful)

Robert Louis Stevenson, one of the most undervalued authors (by adult readers, at least) in English literature, created in _Kidnapped_ a fast-paced adventure tale; a subtle examination of Scottish history and culture; and a pair of unforgettable characters -- the sensible young Lowland protagonist, David Balfour, and his "wild Hielandman" mentor, Alan Breck Stewart. Stevensonian scholar Barry Menikoff offers a challenging new approach to the old favourite in this handsome edition transcribed from the original manuscript in the Huntington Library (and, for the final chapters, from the 1886 serialised version). The result is a text that is closer to the author's original intent than any edition yet published. In his illuminating introduction, itself a model of critical clarity and stylistic grace, Menikoff emphasizes both the mythic appeal of Stevenson's narrative of David Balfour's odyssey and what he terms the "starkness of its realism." The editor's analysis of the author's economical employment of description as the agent of atmosphere and emotion places RLS in the vanguard of a revolution in prose technique that would culminate in the experiments of Hemingway. Menikoff makes a strong case for reexamining the so-called "children's classic" in the light in which it was received by early readers and critics (including Stevenson's friend and literary champion Henry James) -- as a mature work of serious fiction.

Robert Louis Stevenson

Reader Reviews:

You can almost smell the soggy peat (0/0 people found this helpful)

People to Remember (2/2 people found this helpful)

thrilling and enjoyable (1/1 people found this helpful)

Original-text edition reveals original intent, adult work. (11/18 people found this helpful)

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