Story summary
Samenvatting van Catriona
- 8 min. leestijd
- 10 parts
- Binnenkort te beluisteren
A young laird with a sword he cannot use takes on the Lord Advocate and loses his heart to a Macgregor.
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Catriona in het kort
Samenvatting: 8 min leestijd
- Leestijd
- Ongeveer 6 h 30 min5 h 10 min fast, 7 h 45 min slow
- Lengte
- 93.300 woorden
- Bibliotheekniveau
- Gemiddeld longer sentences, everyday words
- Voor het eerst verschenen
- 1893by Robert Louis Stevenson
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). Hoelang het duurt om de klassiekers te lezen · Bijgewerkt
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Catriona in short
Catriona follows David Balfour after Kidnapped. He arrives in Edinburgh with a secret that could save an innocent man. The Lord Advocate and Simon Fraser want him silent, and they use flattery, threats, a duel and a prison rock to make sure of it.
What Catriona is about
What does a young man do when the whole government wants him quiet? David Balfour leaves an Edinburgh bank with a porter carrying his gold, and sets out to keep a promise to speak for two men accused of the Appin murder. Everyone he meets tells him the road ends at the gallows.
Catriona is the sequel to Kidnapped, written by Robert Louis Stevenson in Samoa while he longed for Scotland. It begins in August 1751 and rests on a real event, the trial of James Stewart. You get politics, danger, comedy and a love story in one book.
Voor wie is het?. Readers who enjoy historical adventure with a wry voice, courtroom and Highland intrigue, strained loyalties, and a romance between two proud young people.
The story in 10 parts
Key idea 1 · free to read
A rich young laird meets a Highland girl
The story opens on August 25, 1751, in Edinburgh. David Balfour steps out of the bank with a porter carrying his gold, only days after he was a ragged fugitive. He has won back his estate of Shaws, so he buys plain clothes and a sword he cannot use.
Rain drives him under an archway, and he watches soldiers march a tall prisoner into a house. Outside wait a girl in a Drummond plaid and two ragged Highland lads, with half a farthing between them to buy the prisoner snuff. David stares at her like a fool, then steps up to explain himself.
She gives her name as Catriona Drummond, because her true name, Macgregor, has been forbidden for over a hundred years. The prisoner is her father, James More. David gives her servant Neil sixpence for the snuff. In this one street scene the book ties its main knot, a young man of honest purpose drawn toward the daughter of a man his duty will oppose. A small kindness to a stranger can bind you to people whose quarrel you never chose.
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The Advocate wants his silence, not his word
Stewart the Writer sits at the top of fifteen flights of stairs.
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Three pressures try to bend his conscience
On Sunday David meets James More himself, tall, restless and full of grand talk.
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Alan sails and David is taken on the sands
The Advocate suddenly says David's testimony will be accepted.
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A prisoner on the Bass hears a warlock's tale
David's captors take him by night to the Bass Rock, a huge crag in the sea where gannets scream along the cliffs.
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Too late for the trial, but not for the truth
On the twenty-first, the day of the trial, David lies on a hillside in misery.
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Edinburgh society, a prison escape and a ship
For roughly three months David grows increasingly familiar with the Advocate and his household.
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Honour is tested against power and prudence
Duty is the book's first great theme, and it is never simple.
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Love is slowed by pride and clumsy speech
The second theme is love, and it moves like a sailing boat against the wind.
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A boy's own voice, comic and sharp-eyed
The whole book is told by David, looking back as an older man.
Read all 10 key ideas now
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Characters, plot and themes
Main characters
- David Balfour A young Lowland laird, honest and stubborn, who wants to give true evidence in a political trial and falls in love along the way.
- Catriona Drummond A proud Highland girl, daughter of James More Macgregor, loyal to her father and fierce in her friendships.
- James More Macgregor A boastful Highland outlaw and Catriona's father, who plays every side in order to save himself and keep his comforts.
- Alan Breck Stewart David's friend, a Jacobite soldier and fugitive, who is vain, brave and generous, and wants to get safely back to France.
- Lord Advocate Prestongrange The kind, clever and politic Lord Advocate of Scotland, who seeks to silence David without hurting him.
- Barbara Grant The Advocate's eldest daughter, a witty and warm-hearted girl who plays matchmaker and teases David without mercy.
- Simon Fraser A cruel and ambitious Highland lawyer, once Master of Lovat, who hunts for David's silence with threats and traps.
- Charles Stewart An Edinburgh lawyer for the Appin Stewarts, who is nervous, clannish and loyal, and sees a conspiracy behind the trial.
How it ends (spoiler)
David and Alan ride to Dunkirk, where James More lures Alan toward an English warship with a secret letter. On the dunes, David and Catriona finally speak plainly and agree to marry. Alan exposes James More, drives him away and brings the young couple safely out. In Paris they marry with the help of the chief Bohaldie. James More dies there, still forgiving everyone. David and Catriona sail home to Scotland.
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Vragen over Catriona
What is Catriona about?
It follows David Balfour in 1751 as he tries to give honest evidence in the Appin murder case, faces powerful officials who want him silent, and falls in love with Catriona Drummond, the daughter of a Highland outlaw.
Do I need to read Kidnapped first?
It helps but is not essential. The book recalls the main events of Kidnapped as it goes, including how David met Alan Breck, so a new reader can follow the story from the first chapter.
Is Catriona based on a true story?
Yes, partly. The Appin murder and the trial of James Stewart are real events of 1752. Stevenson built a fictional story around them, and characters like the Lord Advocate are drawn from history.
Who is Catriona?
She is Catriona Drummond, also called Macgregor, a brave young Highland woman whose outlaw father is in prison. She is loyal, proud and honest, and she can be fierce and playful, as well as tender toward David.
What is the main message of Catriona?
The book shows that honesty and loyalty matter even when they do not win. It also shows how pride and shyness can keep two people apart until they learn to speak plainly to each other.
Verwijs naar deze uitgave
Stevenson, Robert Louis. Catriona. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/catriona.
Stevenson, R. L. (2026). Catriona. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/catriona (Original work published 1893)
Stevenson, Robert Louis. Catriona. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/catriona.
@book{stevenson2026catriona,
author = {Stevenson, Robert Louis},
title = {Catriona},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/catriona},
note = {First published 1893}
}
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