Kidnapped

Robert Louis Stevenson

Kidnapped — First published in 1886, Kidnapped is an adventure novel set in Scotland in the mid-eighteenth century, after the Jacobite rising led by Bonnie Prince Charlie to restore the Stuarts to the throne. The rising was brutally suppressed, and the government then imposed strict controls on Highlanders and outlawed many clan leaders. The protagonist of Stevenson’s novel is young David Balfour, who is in his late teens. David sets off from his hometown after the death of both of his parents to seek out his sole remaining relative, his uncle Ebenezer. Expecting to be welcomed, he is shocked by the hostile reception he is given by the old man, who is a hermit much despised by his neighbours. Ebenezer tricks young David and arranges for him to be kidnapped and taken to be sold into slavery. A series of unexpected events occur, however, and David finds himself at large in the Highlands, seeking the help of the outlaw Alan Breck Stewart, who entangles him in further complications. Kidnapped is one of Stevenson’s most popular novels for young people, and has been adapted several times for movies and television.