In the same spirit of high adventure as Stevenson’s Treasure Island comes Kidnapped, the tale of a young Scottish boy, David Balfour, in 1751, five years after the Battle of Culloden ended Bonnie Prince Charlie’s desperate attempt to gain the throne of England. David’s evil uncle, Ebenezer Balfour, arranges to have the boy kidnapped to keep him from discovering that Ebenezer’s family estate, called Shaws, really belongs to David.
The boy is shipped out aboard the brig Covenant, where he meets the dashing Alan Breck Stewart, one of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s supporters and a survivor of the Culloden disaster. Their adventures and escapes are set against the background of the Scottish Highlands and those tumultuous years of history. But never fear; this is a book written first and foremost as an adventure story for older children.
Download and start listening now!
"The main theme of Kidnapped is the friendship between Alan and Davi, a friendship that i would never thought would happened. The book makes me think that if these two given their bloody history can be friends then anyone in life can be friends no matter what they have been through. If not be friends then people can always find a way to look eye to eye. Even though David could get away he has too much loyalty to Alan to leave him even when Alan looses their money David does not leave. I feel like all good relationships are tested by stressful moments, good friends can get through things together and support each other. I can relate some of my friendships to this not with the same circumstances but I feel like my friendships were also tested like theirs and can relate to them."
— Chelsea (4 out of 5 stars)
“A masterpiece.”
— Henry James“One of the classic coming-of-age stories for children and young adults today.”
— School Library Journal" Um, very interesting to read an old school little kids book. My boys were actually interested. "
— Heather, 2/19/2014" Good book much like "Treasure Island." "
— Jerry, 2/19/2014" this was soooo boring. Not recommended to anyone "
— Sara, 2/17/2014" I can see its appeal for children - there's plenty of drama here - but in fact I found it too 'busy', with never a moment's rest from the action. "
— David, 2/12/2014" Listen to this on Audio by a reader that uses the Scottish accent. It's great! "
— Rebekah, 2/11/2014" I'm sorry that I had not read this book before now. A long stay in Scotland is on my bucket list, especially to the Heberdies. The descriptions of the lonely landscape and the Highland society took me to this special place. The twists and turns of the story had a rhythm that was suited to the way the book was originally published which feels a bit choppy to us now. Sadly, hard copies of the book could not be found in either my local bookstore nor my public library . Happily the Gutnburgh project has made it available electronically. "
— Joan, 2/11/2014" Read it when i was around 11. Deep and sensitive but also rebellious. "
— Dacus, 2/11/2014" The overall story for this book was good, but the strong Scottish dialect made it difficult to follow. Once I gave up on trying to figure out exactly what was going on, the book was more enjoyable. "
— Julie, 2/10/2014" i thought this was a good and readable book right until the end which i thought was a total lame cop out. WTF? "
— Kristin, 2/7/2014" I read this after I had seen a movie version on TV. It really helped that I had seen that before because I could follow it (old language, etc) better. Got on a Stevenson kick after that :) "
— Sheridan, 2/6/2014" I learned about Scotland, it's history and complicated rivalry. "
— Cindy, 2/6/2014Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) was born in Scotland. He studied engineering and law at the University of Edinburgh and then began writing while traveling in France. The publication of Treasure Island in 1883 brought him fame and entered him on a course of romantic fiction beloved by young and old alike.