9 h 17 minAudiobook2 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 228 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 228 pagesAbout this book
David Balfour seeks a home with his uncle—and finds himself carried out to sea as a captive.
In Scotland in 1751, seventeen-year-old David Balfour loses his father and heads to the House of Shaws. He hopes his uncle Ebenezer will help him find his place in the world. Instead, a visit to the ship Covenant becomes a forced voyage, with the threat of servitude in America ahead.
Aboard ship, David meets Alan Breck Stewart, a proud Highland supporter of the exiled Stuart cause. Their journey leads into the rugged Highlands, where hunger, exhaustion, and government pursuit test their strength. David wants safety and his rightful inheritance. But beside Alan, he must also decide what friendship and loyalty demand.
What you’ll discover
- A family’s dangerous welcome Follow David into the House of Shaws, where hopes of belonging meet his uncle’s suspicious ways.
- Peril aboard the Covenant Face a voyage where David’s freedom is at stake and safety lies beyond his reach.
- An unlikely Highland friendship Watch cautious David and fiercely loyal Alan face danger despite their clashing loyalties.
- A landscape that tests Cross difficult Highland ground where hunger and exhaustion make every step toward safety matter.
- Courage beyond mere survival Explore how David learns to judge danger, honor friendship, and weigh his own responsibilities.
Who will love it
For readers who love sea peril, rugged journeys, and friendships tested by clashing loyalties, David and Alan’s adventure offers danger, moral choices, and divided political loyalties.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
Who’s who
- David BalfourA seventeen-year-old orphan seeks his inheritance and learns to judge danger, friendship, and his own responsibilities.
- Alan Breck StewartA proud Highland supporter of the Stuart cause becomes David’s companion and guide through dangerous country.
- Ebenezer BalfourDavid’s suspicious, miserly uncle stands between him and the truth about his family inheritance.
- Captain HoseasonThe captain of the Covenant helps turn David’s family visit into a forced voyage.
- The divided HighlandsClan loyalties and government pursuit shape the dangers David and Alan face after the Jacobite rebellion.
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- 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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Kidnapped
by Robert Louis Stevenson · 1886
David Balfour seeks his inheritance and is carried into captivity and flight across the Scottish Highlands.
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From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 5
In Scotland in 1751, seventeen-year-old David Balfour loses his father and sets out to seek help from his uncle Ebenezer at the House of Shaws. David expects to find family and a place in the world. Instead, he meets a miserly man who seems frightened by his arrival. The neglected house and his uncle’s evasions suggest that David’s family history holds more than he has been told.
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What is Kidnapped about?
Kidnapped follows David Balfour, a young orphan whose uncle has him carried away aboard a ship. His effort to return home takes him across the Scottish Highlands with Alan Breck Stewart, a wanted Jacobite whose friendship brings both protection and danger.
Is Kidnapped based on a true story?
David Balfour’s adventure is fictional, but Stevenson builds it around real Scottish history. The Appin murder of 1752 and the historical Alan Breck Stewart help shape the story. The novel, published in 1886, places its opening in 1751.
Who is Alan Breck Stewart in Kidnapped?
Alan is a Highland Jacobite, loyal to the exiled Stuart royal family rather than the reigning Hanoverian monarchy. He becomes David’s ally during the voyage. His courage and resourcefulness make him invaluable, while his vanity and quick temper strain their friendship.
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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