Robert Louis Stevenson - Kidnapped Paperback – November 8, 2016

Everyone has heard that this is a classic - often required reading, but somehow I had never read it! It’s as good as reported to be. I love the Scottish dialogue, the descriptions of the land and the current events. And of course, every few pages one encounters a famous Stevenson quoteMost impressive to me however, was the introspection of the young protagonist. His compassion for,others,and his intellectual and emotional rigor in self-criticism is an example for all of us. I don’t believe I’ve ever encountered another character with the same unflinching commitment to analysis and commitment to learning. It leaves me with the desire to have a few beers with the author!

I had originally read Treasure Island, and thought that was fantastic. So then I notice Kidnapped on Amazon, and realized I hadn't read that one, so I got it and was blown away.Other reviews here explain the plot which is great, but the reading keeps you on the edge of your seat, the entire way through. It is just an amazing piece of suspense writing, and so realistic down to every detail.I highly recommend the Whispersync audio version which was narrated by a fantastic reader. I used this when I was in the kitchen making dinner or something when I couldn't hold my Kindle Fire. The book was so irresistible, I had to go through it from beginning to end and Whispersync audio worked perfectly.If you are a writer, I think that this book would have to go on your list of must read books to help you learn the craft of good description, simple story line, characterization and suspense. I plan to listen to it again on my next long car ride playing my Kindle through my car speakers.As a parent, I'd make sure my teens and pre-teens were exposed to this kind of exciting literature right away. I give it a highly recommend.

Review first published on jenasbookreviews.blogspot.comDavid Balfour had led a fairly sheltered life so it was surprising to him when his parents died that his uncle instead of taking him in as family should rightfully do instead sold him off to a ship bound for another land. When the ship takes on another passenger, Alan, and David hears of plans to kill that passenger for his money, he decides to take a stand with Alan and together they are able to defeat the leaders but then end up shipwrecked on the rocks in a part of Scotland that David is unfamiliar with and where Alan is a wanted man. David must follow the clues to find Alan and a way home through Scotland with his head still intact. Much easier said than done.Read this for a high school English class with my 16yr old as part of his Hero's Journey studies. The story was fairly simple but I will admit that a bit more knowledge of the revolution that was going on in Scotland and England at the time would have helped me understand more of the characters interactions better I think. Reading the Scottish brogue was not my son's favorite part and I'm thankful to have enough of an acquaintance with it that I didn't find it distracting from the story.

Interesting story, but you have to read into the language at times because the words are how they were pronounced in the old British Isles, and not particularly easy to interpret at times. Still I didn't find myself giving up on the book because following the death of David Balfour's father, and his uncle, whom he looked to for support, sold him into indentured servitude on a ship bound for the Carolinas, you just had to wonder how he was going to get out of this mess. Meeting up with highlander rebel Alan Breck Stewart becomes a blessing (sometimes a curse) in finding his way. I can only recommend if you like and easily read the old classics, you will like this one.

comment on the free Kindle version:As with any Kindle book, there are always a few typos - here there are very few, a pleasant surprise despite the frequent archaic words/Scots dialect. The formatting is occasionally off - with a paragraph break in the middle of the paragraph, infrequently, but enough to be annoying.Several 1-star comments seem to revolve primarily around the language. Written in 1886, and purporting to be about events in 1751 in Scotland, Stevenson obviously selected language that is both Scots-English and, to 21st-century eyes, extremely archaic language. I think the Scots dialect is likely a larger hurdle, since it is often not in modern dictionaries. Quite a bit of it is not in the Kindle-dictionary.It is the story of a young man David Balfour confronting the possibility that he is, in fact, heir to an estate of significant value. His uncle, not wishing to give up his ill-gotten gains, arranges for the young man to be kidnapped and shipped to the American colonies as slave labor. Saved by both a Scotsman and a shipwreck on the Scottish coast, 'Kidnapped' follows Balfour's adventures and trials of returning home to recover his estate. The Scot, being a Jacobite outlaw, seeks to return to France. He assists Balfour's efforts with his native knowledge and contacts; and a friendship develops. It is a nice picture of the trials and tribulations a friendship can survive through differences in politics and personal goals.And, as mentioned, much of the language is used with old-fashioned or even archaic meanings. e.g. 'nice' meant 'exact', rather than 'pleasant'. If this is offered to students or as a sample of Victorian literature, a list of commonly used words and their modern equivalents/meanings should be included, e.g. braw, nae, fine.

This is very confusing. The description seems to present this as an unedited and unabridged version; however, there is a chapter at the beginning of the book that is confusing. I could not determine if this was an unabridged version, mashup or the original. I had to order a different copy...

Kidnapped, as written by Stevenson, deserves to be given 5 stars in this review - it is a wonderful story in it's own right, and offers the reader a vivid picture of the Highland landscape and a fascinating glimpse into Scotland's social history. The use of Scottish colloquialisms gives the book an unequivocal Scottish accent. It is a story of friendship, honour and adventure and I would highly recommend it.So it is with regret that I am leaving a one star review. In this instance, the story has been grossly let down by the poor production quality of this particular edition. The book I received was printed in UK for Amazon, and I can only describe it as cheep and unprofessional. Some of the issues I found were:- a poorly formatted table of contents;- chapters that started at different points on the page. Some ran concurrently with the previous chapter, while others started at the top of a new page (as they should);- the first letter of the first word of each chapter was missing;- the text was poorly laid out on many of the pages;- the footnotes giving the meaning of some of the Scottish colloquialisms used, were placed randomly within the text itself rather than at the bottom of the page, and some were missing altogether;All-in-all, this was a very poor quality edition and while I do not think any of the story was missing, I had lost confidence in the rendering of it within three chapters. Thankfully, I had bought it for myself, rather than as a gift, because I would have been ashamed to give a book of such poor quality to anyone as a present.

I heard a lecture on Kidnapped recently and the speaker made the story of young orphan David Balfour, kidnapped and sent to sea after trying to claim his rightful inheritance from his wicked uncle, sound so thrilling and relevant to today's world that I reread it after a gap of 40 years and was not disappointed. I grew up believing it to be a "boys' book" but it's essentially a Scottish book dealing with the realities of growing up as the main character David Balfour takes us on a tour of Scotland in his quest for justice. The folk/fairytale aspect enhances the story and it becomes reminiscent of "Pilgrim's Progress" with all the characters David meets. The story also inspires the reader's interest in Scottish history and politics forcing us to think about the Jacobites and the significance of the Campbell's. The themes are relevant to teenage (male and female) readers - rites of passage; family and friends; loyalty with violent action - but equally relatable by adults. If, like me, you read it ages ago, I urge you to reread it as it will feel like meeting an old friend.If you are new to the novel, you'll enjoy the journey and you'll get to know Scotland a wee bit more too!

I 1at read this book whilst at primary school and, on a whim, decided to re-read it during the current lockdown. To my surprise I found that I really enjoyed the book. It is a cracking story though obviously the prose is a little dated. I can't recall how I managed with the innumerable old_Scots words as a child but they presented little trouble this time round.Not sure if I will read other books from my childhood: can you still find Biggles?

I love this book. I remember the story from the 1970's TV mini-series, which I loved in my youth. But I rediscovered it recently when I found it on the BBC Sounds Audio Books section where the reader Kenny Blyth was outstanding and brought the adventure alive through his love of the old-Scots language. But the book has even more to offer, as your own imagination creates the dramatic scenes, such as the cruel uncle, the sword fight, the shipwreck, the running for dear life, the lochs, the bonny becks and mountains, and all the interesting characters along the way. This rip roaring adventure is more than just a children's story, for the Scottish dialect and language in Robert Louis Stevenson's hands is beautiful. The bond of brotherhood in adversity between David Balfour and Alan Brek brings a tear to your eyes. Its a really good adventure, and, its based around true events in Scottish/English history, so you learn something too. Give it a ride. You won't be disappointed.

Just been writing one of these about John Buchan, another writer of very good adventure stories. The great thing about Stevenson is that he doesn't feel it necessary to give vent to casually offensive social attitudes. I don't feel I have to make excuses for appreciating his ability as an artist.