Kidnapped

Kidnapped has become a classic of historical romance the world over and is justly famous as a novel of travel and adventure set deep in the Scottish landscape. Stevenson's vivid descriptive powers were never better than in this account of remote places and dangerous action in the Highlands in the years following Culloden. Introduced by Barry Menikoff, with a preface by Louise Welsh.

After the death of his father, the seventeen-year-old orphan David Balfour discovers the existence of an uncle, and sets off in search of him. His uncle Ebenezer is far from welcoming, however, and David, after barely escaping with his life, finds himself kidnapped and bound for America, where he is to be sold into slavery. Yet when the hot-headed Jacobite rebel Alan Breck Stewart comes on board, David soon finds himself thrust into a perilous adventure, and fleeing for his life across the Scottish Highlands. Inspired by real historical events, Kidnapped is an unforgettable and action-packed adventure story that has delighted and captivated readers for more than a century.

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850—1894) was a Scottish novelist, poet, travel writer, and essayist. He was a celebrity during his lifetime for works like "Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" and "Treasure Island." Now he is one of the most translated authors in the world. "Kidnapped" is a historical fiction adventure novel set around real eighteen century events in Scotland, the "Appin Murder", which occurred in the aftermath of the Jacobite rising of 1745. Many of the characters like Alan Breck Stewart are real people lived during that period. The plot revolves around the adventures of David, how he was kidnapped and cast away on a desert isle, his journey in the wild highlands and the meeting with Highland Jacobites.

Inspired by real events, Kidnapped is a swashbuckling adventure of bizarre encounters, political assassination and wild carousings with Robert Louis Stevenson’s unique counterpoint of low morals and high comedy threaded throughout. Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition is introduced by Louise Welsh and features black and white illustrations. Headstrong David Balfour, orphaned at seventeen, sets out from the Scottish lowlands to seek his fortune in Edinburgh and finds himself abducted on the orders of his wealthy Uncle Ebenezer. He’s carried away to sea to be sold into slavery in the Carolinas, where he secures a timely alliance with Jacobite adventurer Alan Breck, and together they make an epic escape across the western Highlands.

Puffin Classics bring the very best children's classics to a new generation. When young David Balfour's father dies and leaves him in poverty, he tracks down his Uncle Ebenezer to seek his inheritance. But his uncle is a mean, nasty man with a dark family secret. David finds himself in terrible danger when he is kidnapped and taken prisoner on board a ship bound for slavery - he must escape. With the help of daring rebel Alan Breck, David faces a wild adventure as he is hunted across the desolate Scottish moors.

First published as a serial in Young Folks between May and July 1886 and now reprinted in an Everyman edition on the centenary of Stevenson's death. Kidnapped is an adventure story that has become the model for any thriller of escape and suspense. Set in 1751, the flight of David Balfour and Alan Breck across the Highlands of Scotland is based on real events. Through he wrote the book to make money, while living as an invalid in Bournemouth. Stevenson was proud of it; he inscribed a presentation copy with the couplet. Here is the one sound page of all my writing. The one I'm proud of and that I delight in. Rowland Hilder is famous for his paintings of the English countryside but his work in book illustration covered a much wider canvas. His drawing for Kidnapped were first published in 1930 and have undesevedly, been long out of print.

'As a writer of the English language there has been no one to touch Stevenson in a hundred years...as a story-teller he is unsurpassed' George MacDonald Fraser When young David Balfour is orphaned he discovers some surprising truths about his family. His meeting with his uncle Ebenezer turns out to have disastrous consequences leading to kidnap and imprisonment on board a ship bound for the Carolinas. However, the voyage is full of incident and after violent conflict and a shipwreck, David finds himself in a daredevil chase across the Scottish Highlands in the company of the irrepressible warrior Alan Breck Stewart...

'For God's sake, hold on!' On a stormy night off the coast of Scotland, young David Balfour faces his most terrifying test yet. He's been double-crossed by his wicked uncle, tricked into a sea voyage and sold into slavery. When the dashing Alan Breck Stewart comes aboard, he finds a brave friend at least, and the pair fight back against their treacherous, black-hearted shipmates. But then the ship hits a reef, it's every man for himself, and David must battle against the raging sea itself!

Robert Louis Stevenson's Kidnapped is at once a rollicking adventure story and an earnest political allegory. This Penguin Classics edition is edited with an introduction and notes by Donald McFarlan and a foreword by Alasdair Gray. Orphaned and penniless, David Balfour sets out to find his last living relative, miserly and reclusive Uncle Ebenezer. But Ebenezer is far from welcoming, and David narrowly escapes being murdered before he is kidnapped and imprisoned on a ship bound for the Carolinas. When the ship is wrecked, David, along with the fiery rebel Alan Breck, makes his way back across the treacherous Highland terrain on a quest for justice. Through his powerful depiction of the two very different central characters - the romantic Breck and the rational Whig David - Stevenson dramatized a conflict at the heart of Scottish culture in the aftermath of the Jacobite rebellion, as well as creating an unforgettable adventure story. This new edition includes a foreword by Alasdair Gray discussing Stevenson's life and literary career and how he came to write Kidnapped. In his introduction, Donald McFarlan considers the novel's realism and a depiction of Scotland. This volume also includes a historical note, a map, notes, new further reading and a glossary. Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) was born in Edinburgh, the son of a prosperous civil engineer. Although he began his career as an essayist and travel writer, the success of Treasure Island (1883) and Kidnapped (1886) established his reputation as a writer of tales of action and adventure. Stevenson's Calvinist upbringing lent him a preoccupation with predestination and a fascination with the presence of evil, themes he explored in The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886), and The Master of Ballantrae (1893).

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) was a Scottish novelist, poet, travel writer, and essayist. He was a celebrity during his lifetime for works like "Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" and "Treasure Island". Now he is one of the most translated authors in the world. "Kidnapped" is a historical fiction adventure novel set around real eighteen century events in Scotland, the "Appin Murder," which occurred in the aftermath of the Jacobite rising of 1745. Many of the characters like Alan Breck Stewart are real people lived during that period. The plot revolves around the adventures of David, how he was kidnapped and cast away on a desert isle, his journey in the wild highlands and the meeting with Highland Jacobites.