I wonder why this book is not as popular as other Robert Louis Stevenson’s work, I’m guessing it's because the novel is way too Scottish for any reader who happens to be, well... not Scottish. Scottishness aside, the novel is marvellous. The first person narrator, David Balfour, begins the novel by introducing his journey from his home, Essendean, in 1751. He walks with the minister of Essendean, Mr. Campbell, for some of the way. David feels that with his parents dead, it is the time to move on. David's father had asked the minister to deliver a letter to his son. With the letter, David can travel to the Shaws, once home to his father. David never knew that his poor father was related to such a high family. The minister tells David to continue studying the Bible and gives David four gifts: money for his father's books, a Bible, a shilling, and a recipe. The latter three have symbolic meaning. Mr. Campbell hurries away because of his sadness regarding David's departure. There should be more books like this. There are books that after reading them, the first thing you want to do is to grab a good book. After I read Kidnapped I didn’t even wanted to see my queue in fear my next reading wouldn’t be half as good as this one was.

Kidnapped - A New Touring Rom-Com Adventure". National Theatre of Scotland. Archived from the original on 6 March 2023 . Retrieved 6 March 2023. Fisher, Mark (3 April 2023). "Kidnapped review – razzle-dazzling Robert Louis Stevenson". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 April 2023 . Retrieved 9 April 2023. Finally, I would like to correct my first statement and to say the truth regarding this book: "I know Kidnapped is an entertaining and compelling adventure novel, that is easy to read and easy to follow, in short, a novel to have a good time." Now, if I had to describe this novel by saying just one word, that one would be friendship. Alan and David's friendship is one of the most beautiful things I have ever read, and Stevenson really knows how to portray a true, unconditional friendship. I truly loved these two characters, being essentially their friendship the cherry on top of the cake for this story.Our Story". Edinburgh City of Literature. Archived from the original on 23 August 2017 . Retrieved 27 July 2017. a b Ekirch, A Roger (3 March 2010). "The story behind Kidnapped". Letters. The Spectator. Archived from the original on 10 December 2017 . Retrieved 10 December 2017. David Balfour is 17 and his parents have died. He seeks his inheritance from his father’s brother. The last name of this character is taken from the maiden name of the author’s mother. This is my first time reading anything by Suzanne Ferrell and it won’t be the last. The title, book cover, and the synopsis pulled me in. The storyline kept me engaged from start to finish and the twists and turns made for a wonderful story of romance, danger, and suspense.

Either he’s a rogue cop, ex-military or maybe even a federal agent. From his clothes, I’d guess undercover at least. Fourth, he’s convinced the police are out to get him.” So, what was my main problem with this book? I suppose you know the answer: that's right, the language. Once some sailors and a boat were introduced in the story, I knew some things might be a little hard to follow, though I guess I was so naïve: it was not only really hard to understand the nautical vocabulary, but also some parts of the book turned into a confusing and beyond-my-understanding story. As for the dialogues, they were literally incomprehensible—especially when Alan or the sailors said something—and even some expressions/words didn't sound like anything I had heard before, it was like a completely different language. It turns out that it was indeed a different language – I googled it and it is apparently something called Lowland Scots(?); so, in a nutshell, the reason why I couldn't make out the story from that moment on was very clear to me. Either way, I'm assuming this would not be a problem for a native English speaker (characters are speaking both English and this Scottish language, mixing both languages together while speaking), but clearly it was a problem for me—I'm neither a native English speaker nor a fluent English speaker (yet), so it is comprehensible—and I have to admit it was also frustrating to struggle with this situation at this point in the story. Balfour survives, of course, but for almost everyone else their fate is death. Stevenson himself died suddenly of a stroke on the island of Samoa on 3 December 1894, aged 44. A note on the textA woman whom David asks for directions to the Shaws. She hates Ebenezer to the point where she spits on the ground. Torrance What confuses me is "David Balfour #1" in parentheses after the title. I guess RLS wrote sequels using this character, much the way Twain ruined Tom Sawyer by writing books like Tom Sawyer, Detective (God spare us). No doubt about it! Like its companion tale, TREASURE ISLAND, KIDNAPPED is an exciting tale that will enthrall young people of all ages. In the bargain, it will provide teachable moments on themes of friendship, morality, loyalty, and, of course, bravery, selflessness, heroism and courage. In today’s uncertain world of hard-core partisan politics, KIDNAPPED even goes so far as to demonstrate that friendship can transcend and survive differences of political opinion that do not constitute differences in morality. The man who helps David leave Essendean after the death of his father, Mr. Campbell goes to Rankeillor in search of David, which helps support David's story once David has returned. Colin Campbell Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) planned to write this story as early as 1880. He immersed himself in books on Scotland in the early and middle 18th century in preparation for writing. He was born and raised in Edinburgh, then travelled in England, France and the US. After his father died, he took his wife, children and his own mother as he traveled in search of a place more salutary to his health, finally building a house in Samoa, where he later died at age 44. He wrote Kidnapped on his stay in England.

On the plus side I liked the sense of the cultural differences between the lowlanders and the Highlanders which comes through strongly, although I was not sure how far the prejudices against the highlanders reflected Stevenson's own views or what he felt would be a reasonable reflection of those held by contemporary lowlanders. Alternatively this is a moment in a children's book in which the child's moral values and intellectual capabilities are shown to be superior to that of an adult. Film and television versions were made in 1917, 1938, 1948, 1960, 1968, 1971, 1978, 1986, 1995 and 2005.The young boy who brings Ebenezer a letter from Hoseason, Ransome is later killed violently on the Covenant by Mr. Shuan. Ransome had lived so long in the company of ships men that he did not believe one could have a normal life on land. Minister Campbell I enjoyed the part leading up to the ship, and the ship, more than the rest of it. Stevenson probably won't have long-term chemistry with me since I dislike some of the rambling , but the writing overall is beautiful and the story held my interest at least half the time. I regret it started souring for me later. David learns that his new friend has survived, and David has two encounters with beggarly guides: one who attempts to stab him with a knife, and another who is blind but an excellent shot with a pistol. David soon reaches Torosay, where he is ferried across the river, receives further instructions from Alan's friend Neil Roy McRob, and later meets a catechist who takes the lad to the mainland.

There are two things that men should never weary of, goodness and humility; we get none too much of them in this rough world among cold, proud people.” As part of the events to celebrate Edinburgh becoming the first UNESCO City of Literature, [16] three versions of Kidnapped were made freely available by being left in public places around the city. [17] Throughout February 2007, 25,000 copies of the novel were distributed in that way. [18] a b Corbett, John (2007). "Press-Ganging Scottish Literature? Kidnapped and the City of Literature's One Book, One Edinburgh Project". International Journal of Scottish Literature (2). Archived from the original on 2 August 2019 . Retrieved 27 July 2017.Following this colloquial language. It cannot get more Scottish than one amazing scene. Two gents challenge each other for a dual, but instead of deadly combat with pistols and ten steps etc... they settle on a bagpipe showdown!! There is a huge divide between the "hielands" and the lowlands. England analysed Scotland as one country at this stage but all of the Clan's saw many different countries in Scotland. In the highlands - people mostly only speak Gaelic which alienates David in their presence. The closer the south of Scotland you were... the more English you were.. does that play a part perhaps? Colin Roy Campbell, also known as the Red Fox. He meets David at Appin on his walk across Scotland, just before a sniper shoots him dead. The Appin murder mentioned in the story was a historical event followed by a controversial trial. [2]