9 h 47 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A coin toss divides two brothers, but no ocean can put their hatred out of reach.
At Durrisdeer, a noble house in southern Scotland, a small decision sets two sons on different paths. James, the Master of Ballantrae, is charming, daring and ruthless. Henry Durie is dutiful, proud and slow to anger. Against the unrest of the Jacobite cause, Robert Louis Stevenson turns their rivalry into a dark adventure where family loyalty offers little shelter.
Ephraim Mackellar, the loyal family steward, tells most of the story through his own memories and loyalties. His account brings you close to a household under strain, while Chevalier Burke, an Irish soldier of fortune, opens a window onto the Master's adventures abroad. Pirates, exile and a relentless grudge widen the tale beyond Scotland, with the family's peace at stake.
What you’ll discover
- Two brothers at odds Watch charm and ruthlessness press against duty as resentment takes hold within one family.
- A steward's divided account Read Mackellar's memories with an eye for the loyalties that shape what he tells.
- Adventure with a dark heart Follow a tale that reaches from a Scottish country house into the world of pirates.
- Loyalties under strain Meet Alison Graeme, promised to the Master, as changing family fortunes divide her loyalties.
- The cost of hatred Discover how a grudge can consume a life and threaten everyone drawn into it.
Who will love it
For readers who love adventure with a dark heart, stories of family rivalry, and Scottish history seen through character. It also suits anyone curious about Stevenson beyond Treasure Island.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A coin toss splits the Durrisdeer family
- The Master rides out and the family waits
- Henry inherits a house and a marriage
- The Master returns and takes what he wants
- Mackellar watches a household under siege
- Pirates, exile and the tale of Chevalier Burke
- Hatred finds a battlefield and crosses an ocean
- What it means when brothers become enemies
- How Stevenson tells it through unreliable witnesses
Who’s who
- James, the Master of BallantraeThe elder son and heir of Durrisdeer, a charming, daring and ruthless man who rides out for the Jacobite cause and never stops taking what he wants.
- Henry DurieThe younger son, dutiful and proud, who stays at home to run the estate and finds his patience tested by his brother.
- Ephraim MackellarThe family steward, sober and loyal, who writes most of the story and cannot hide his dislike of the Master.
- Alison GraemeA young woman promised to the Master, whose loyalties are divided as the family's fortunes change around her.
- Lord DurrisdeerThe old head of the house, who loves his elder son beyond reason and hopes to protect his family whichever side wins.
- Chevalier BurkeAn Irish soldier of fortune, vain and talkative, who shared the Master's years abroad and tells his own memoir.
- Secundra DassA devoted servant from India who attaches himself to the Master and brings his own quiet skills into the story.
Formats and delivery
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 9 h 47 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Der Herr von Ballantrae
by Robert Louis Stevenson · 1889
A coin toss divides two Scottish brothers, setting a family's future at the mercy of pride and revenge.
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In short
The Master of Ballantrae is a novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, published in 1889 after a run in magazines. It follows two brothers of a Scottish noble family in the years after the Jacobite rising of 1745.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A coin toss splits the Durrisdeer family
The story opens at Durrisdeer, the seat of Lord Durrisdeer in the south of Scotland. The old lord has two sons. James, the elder, is known as the Master of Ballantrae, the title given to the heir. Henry, the younger, is quieter, harder working and far less admired by the neighbours.
The Master is the kind of young man everyone forgives. He is handsome, quick, brave and sharp-tongued, and he has a long record of wild behaviour. His father adores him, and so does the local world. Henry, by contrast, takes up the dull labour of the estate and gets little thanks for it.
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What is The Master of Ballantrae about?
It tells of two brothers in a Scottish noble family after the 1745 Jacobite rising. One is charming and ruthless, the other dutiful and proud, and their rivalry grows into a long feud that crosses the sea to America.
Who tells the story in The Master of Ballantrae?
Most of it is told by Ephraim Mackellar, the family steward, who writes as a witness with strong opinions. A section is also given to the memoirs of the Irish soldier Chevalier Burke.
Is The Master of Ballantrae based on a true story?
No, the characters and family are invented. The setting is real, built around the Jacobite rising of 1745, and Stevenson published the novel in 1889 after it ran in magazines.
The author
Robert Louis Stevenson
1850–1894 · Scottish novelist and poet
Robert Louis Stevenson was a Scottish novelist and poet, born in Edinburgh in 1850. He wrote Treasure Island (1883), A Child’s Garden of Verses (1885), and Kidnapped and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886). He settled in Samoa in 1890 and died there in 1894.
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