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    Kidnapped
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    Kidnapped
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    Kidnapped
    Audiobook (abridged)2 hours

    Kidnapped

    Written by Robert Louis Stevenson

    Narrated by Tom Conti

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    The classic adventure story of kidnap, shipwreck, murder and pursuit as young David Balfour tries to claim the inheritance he has been cheated out of.

    ‘I have seen wicked men and fools, a great many of both; and I believe they both get paid in the end; but the fools first.’

    Orphaned as a young teenager, Lowlander David Balfour’s only relative is his guardian and uncle, Ebenezer. Ill-thought of and disliked by many, it’s not long before Ebenezer betrays his nephew and David finds himself trapped aboard a ship.

    He soon strikes up a friendship with fugitive stranger and Scottish Highlander Alan Breck and becomes embroiled in the fierce Jacobite struggle against English rule. A tale of high-seas adventure, loyalty and fighting, the complex relationship between Alan and David stops Stevenson’s novel from becoming ‘just’ a boys adventure novel.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateJun 15, 2005
    ISBN9780007218417
    Author

    Robert Louis Stevenson

    Robert Louis Stevenson was born in Edinburgh in 1850, the only son of an engineer, Thomas Stevenson. Despite a lifetime of poor health, Stevenson was a keen traveller, and his first book An Inland Voyage (1878) recounted a canoe tour of France and Belgium. In 1880, he married an American divorcee, Fanny Osbourne, and there followed Stevenson's most productive period, in which he wrote, amongst other books, Treasure Island (1883), The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and Kidnapped (both 1886). In 1888, Stevenson left Britain in search of a more salubrious climate, settling in Samoa, where he died in 1894.

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    Reviews for Kidnapped

    4/5

    1,306 ratings54 reviews

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    • 3/5
      I read this for the first time in 2017, as a retired old lady. I had a pretty good time with it, but it was clearly not written with me in mind. The copy of the book I read from was a very nice edition, with color plates of illustrations by N. C. Wyeth. I should have been very familiar with the story, as my daughter loved it when she was a kid and watched the movie multiple times. But all I could have told you before picking this up was that David Balfour was done wrong by some relative to keep him from inheriting an estate in Scotland. The details were all new to me. It was fun to see him triumph over treachery, greed, shipwreck, hunger and a bit of temptation. Some of the scenes are just priceless, but there are many holes in the story that I'm sure young readers of even a century ago would not have minded or noticed. Suspension of disbelief came a little hard for me, and I wasn't quite enamored enough of the characters to set that aside and revel in the story. Still, I wasn't tempted to quit, and I'm glad to have this one in my mental database now.
    • 4/5
      I liked it but not as much as I thought I would. Honestly, the main problem for me was how long Alan and David were on the run. Chapter after chapter after chapter after chapter of running through bogs and over mountains and through rocky terrain in extreme weather. Instead of being suspenseful, I just found it tedious. I really enjoyed the rest of it, particularly the character of Alan.
    • 4/5
      Kidnapped - the classic adventure story. What is there left to say about this beloved tale? The story flows easily, but it is the characters that really stick in the mind. Alan Breck, hotheaded and proud; our naive narrator who must learn the ways of the world; and a collection of other side characters who each comes across well and lingers in the memory long after the story has concluded.
    • 4/5
      adventure fiction (at sea in the 19th century). Ralph Cosham's narration was impressive (scottish accent seemed excellent, irish accent maybe slightly less so, but I'm definitely not an expert on either). I keep falling asleep after 10 minutes or so of listening, but that's kind of the point.
    • 4/5
      I loved it
    • 4/5
      Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson is a classic adventure story about David Balfour who is tricked by his miserly uncle in order to steal his inheritance. David finds himself spirited away upon a sailing ship bound for America. The plan is to sell David into slavery, but fugitive Jacobite, Alan Stewart is brought on board and comes to David’s rescue when the ship runs aground just off the east coast of Scotland. It is 1751 and Scotland is still feeling the effects of the bloody revolt against England that was doomed to failure. David is a Whig and supports England, and Alan, a Jacobite, is considered a traitor, yet these two form an alliance and journey across the Scottish highlands, escaping from Alan’s political enemies with the goal of outwitting David’s uncle and claiming his inheritance. They face many hardships together that tests their friendship but they remain loyal to each other. While Kidnapped isn’t quite as gripping as Treasure Island, it is still an excellent and stirring adventure story that has appealed to young readers for generations. As it was originally considered a boy’s story, the plot has been kept quite simple which left me rather detached from the story. However, it’s themes of loyalty and justice are as fresh today as they were when the book was first published.
    • 4/5
      It may be a sacrilege to say this, but this book actually felt like a crossover between Dickens and Outlander!While I followed young David Balfour from the Lowlands to the Hebrides and across the Scottish glens and mountains, meeting Highlanders, wandering the moors, nearly starving, hiding from British soldiers and trying to win his rightful inheritance, I loved this character more and more - and of course also his companion. I enjoyed the descriptions of 18th century Scotland and I found myself googling and researching names and places after every sitting, delighted to find so much historical substance where I had not expected it.I think there are some chapters that are a little too lengthy, but apart from that it was so much fun to read this and I am glad that I finally did.
    • 4/5
      After reading my boyhood favorite, Treasure Island, last month, I decided to extend the 'enjoyment factor' and return to another RL Stevenson classic, Kidnapped. It was time well spent! This is, pure and simple, a boy's adventure story set in the Scotland of 1751. It has shipwrecks, evil uncles, kidnappings, pursuits, sword fights, soldiers, treachery, grifters, and even a 'bonnie lass.' (I would have liked a Dinosaur on its pages, or at least an Ichthyosaur like Nessie from Loch Ness, but one cannot have everything, or as they would say in Scotland, the story's locale, ye cannae have ither thin.') Some years ago, I drove the carefree and beautiful roadway from Glasgow over the Highlands, through Fort William, to the Isle of Skye. Little did I realize then that my route was somewhat the reverse of our hero, David Balfour's, the very one he 'fought' his way home, back to safety in the south, with the dashing Highlander, Alan Breck Stewart. There was a time when critics dubbed Kidnapped a work of 'romance,' but as many of its characters were historical figures, I see this book as another historical novel, and a rousing one at that!
    • 3/5
      I think Robert Louis Stevenson's novel "Kidnapped" suffers in comparison to "Treasure Island," which is much superior. Overall, it's an OK adventure type story, but I really didn't like it.The unfortunate David Balfour loses both his parents and is cheated by his uncle out of his fortune -- and kidnapped by sailors to boot. I really enjoyed the opening of the story and everything up to the shipwreck -- the running about the country parts got a bit too same old, same old by the end. Overall, this was a mediocre read for me... I didn't hate it, but had a sort of "meh" reaction to it.
    • 2/5
      Disappointing and dated.
    • 4/5
      After his father's death in 1751, young David Balfour learns about an uncle he'd never heard of before. David is surprised to learn that he is the heir to an estate, but before he can get used to the idea, his uncle has him kidnapped on a ship headed for the American colonies. En route, he befriends Jacobite Alan Breck Stewart. Although the highland Catholic Alan and the lowland Protestant David make an unlikely pair, they share adventures including shipwreck and pursuit through the highlands. It's an entertaining tail of adventure, and it's worth reading just to get acquainted with David Balfour. I listened to the audio version and I found it difficult to understand the reader's accent and the somewhat archaic Scots dialect.
    • 3/5
      I must say that, for once, I found a book a bit difficult to follow. He has written the book very well. No doubt about this. There is lots of local flavour when it comes to the language. However, I did not follow the plot as well as I usually do, and was a bit happy when the book finally ended!
    • 4/5
      St. Barts 2017 #7 - Famous Stevenson tale that i have heard about my entire life, and is usually the case, i cannot believe i have not ever read. So off on my vacation it came, and i read it at the same time as a friend. I certainly enjoyed the adventure, but the Scottish dialect language, even with the Stevenson-installed footnotes, and the very confusing political climate at the time of this story left me spinning more than i wanted. Scottish clan battles and English Kings obviously dominated daily lives at the time of this story, and having absolutely zero knowledge of the players and the motives, it was just a lot of distracting clutter to me. Our hero David Balfour does struggle mightily with many things not going his way, and tells this story with a certain charm and self-deprecating style that saves this for me. Lots of swashbuckling sea-faring excitement, some time spent on an island, & a healthy dose of eclectic characters challenge David as he struggles to survive his ordeal. I always thought of this as a children's book, but i think i was either wrong, or I am just way in over my head. Very glad that it is now on the pile of books i have read!
    • 3/5
      This book is pretty much non-stop adventure. He's sent to live with his uncle who tries to cause him to have a fatal accident to keep him from his inheritance. When that doesn't work he tricks him on ship to be sold in slavery. His ship wrecks. He's marooned. He's continuously at the wrong place at the wrong time, getting caught up in a murder and other craziness. I'm interested enough that I'll read book 2 at some point.
    • 3/5
      I found it simplistic and believe it's description as a boy's adventure novel fitting. It gives some good lessons for "coming of age" young people. I liked the Scottish dialogue, learning a bit of history and the description of the countryside to be an enjoyable part of the book.
    • 4/5
      A young man is dispossessed by his 'evil' uncle and has many challenges on his way back to reclaiming his inheritance. Despite the unrealistic story line the hardships of young David Balfour are portrayed realistically.
    • 5/5
      I enjoyed Michael Page's narration very much & his Scottish burr seemed spot on to these American ears. Betrayal, friendship and adventure in 1751 Scotland with some Jacobite politics in the background... What fun!
    • 4/5
      It's been such a long time since I've read this. A ripping good yarn!
    • 3/5
      Written for teens. Has much more character development than Treasure Island and covers quite a bit of Jacobite history. Good stuff.Read in Samoa June 2004
    • 3/5
      Swashbuckling adventure set in Scotland, the author of Treasure Island revels in this wild story. It didn't really come alive for me until the shipwreck. Even then, it's not one that sucked me in with every page. An entertaining adventure story. I can see loving this one if I read it when I was young, but as an adult it didn't hold my attention as much.It fell into the same category as The Swiss Family Robinson, Treasure Island, A Journey to the Center of the Earth, all excellent stories. But I think I would've loved them more if I had read them when I was younger."To be feared of a thing and yet do it is what makes the prettiest kind of a man."
    • 5/5
      An awesome adventure and nothing trivial or cliche about it. It is really the first part of a two volume story; it ends abruptly in Edinburgh with only some things resolved and its sequel, Catriona, picks up the story of David Balfour about an hour later. It inspired some thrilling illustrations by N.C. Wyeth and has some very funny bits. David's internal musings are moving and amusing and Allan Breck is a right handful. There is no extreme of weather that poor David does not endure.
    • 4/5
      Coming late to this adventure, I enjoyed reading it, even with the use of the Scots language (the free Kindle version has frequent footnotes translating the more unguessable words). The story is set in the year 1751, five years after the battle of Culloden which finally ended the Jacobite uprisings. Scotland is a divided nation and the old clan system is under threat. Highlanders are forbidden to carry arms and wearing the tartan is proscribed. The divisions between the clans are deep, particularly between those that have accepted Hanoverian rule and the Jacobite sympathisers.The book's hero, David Balfour, is a Lowland Scot. His parents both dead, he sets out to find his extended family. The book starts and ends with his search for his rightful inheritance but the bulk of the book is the story of an epic journey, first in an ill-fated brig around Scotland and then across the country on foot as a fugitive with a colourful Jacobite companion, Alan Breck Stewart. Stevenson takes a true event, the Appin murder, as the start of this. Colin Roy Campbell, the King's factor in the Western Highlands was shot and killed by an unknown sniper. Alan Stewart (an historical character) was blamed by many, probably wrongly, but never apprehended. In a major miscarriage of justice, James Stewart, a clan chief, was hanged as an aider and abetter. Kidnapped has David Balfour joining up with a fictionalised Alan Stewart and sharing his flight to safety.The first part of the book with the kidnap and the time at sea is exciting although, to be honest, the flight across the heather in the second part is fairly uneventful, focussing more on the variable relationship between David and Alan than any derring-do. The descriptions of the changing Highland weather and landscape are worth reading for the sense of atmosphere.This was regarded, like Treasure Island, as the equivalent of a YA book in my youth and it is interesting to read in Stevenson's dedication that he doesn't necessarily expect the dedicatee to enjoy it but he thinks his son might. I am glad I caught up with it.
    • 4/5
      It's always fun to revisit childhood favorites. Robert Louis Stevenson's classic adventure story Kidnapped held two distinct memories for me—David's terrible climb in the dark up the stairs (which somehow seemed much longer and more tortuous to my younger self), and the hideout on the top of the rock, right above the heads of a whole troop of soldiers (so clever!). To get a start in life, recently orphaned David Balfour must make his way to his uncle Ebenezer, but miserly Ebenezer Balfour has a secret to guard. He arranges for David to be kidnapped aboard the Covenant, where the young man has little hope of rescue until a rich stranger is picked up from a shipwreck. Overhearing the captain's plans to ambush and rob Alan Breck, David assists the little Highlander in defending the ship's cabin and winning free. Then follows a wild adventure through the heather, as David must flee or be caught up in a Highland feud. And behind it all is the mystery of why Uncle Ebenezer would go to such lengths to rid himself of an unwelcome nephew.Stevenson's gift for writing believable characters never shows to better advantage than in his depiction of Alan Breck. Despite his diminutive stature, Alan towers large in both vanity and open-hearted friendship. Generous and brave but possessing a quick temper and a weakness for gambling, Alan becomes David's constant companion and guide through the physically and politically treacherous Highlands. I appreciated the realism of their friendship, quarrels and all. It was fascinating to read this directly after finishing Rob Roy, which was apparently Stevenson's favorite of Sir Walter Scott's historical novels. I can see the influence. Stevenson dials the Scots back a bit (thank heavens) but still manages to give his dialogue a little Highland flavor. It was also interesting to note the passing mention of the estate Rest-and-Be-Thankful, which is the setting of Elizabeth Marie Pope's novel The Sherwood Ring. Actually, reading Kidnapped and Rob Roy so close together gave me several insights on Pope's story, which takes elements of both novels (notably the villainous uncle and the Robin Hood-like outlaw characters) and reworks them into a fully satisfying tale in its own right. Young readers can't do much better than to read Stevenson, and I look forward to reading his novels to my son when he's old enough. Recommended!
    • 3/5
      Well, even though this is supposed to be a kids' book, it was pretty engaging even for this Mom. I loved the fact that in my 1948 edition anyway, that even though the author sometimes writes in dialect, he takes the time to do footnotes of unfamiliar Scottish words that he uses in his writing. Most of it is fairly easy to figure out, but I appreciated it.The story itself is of a young man of 17 who's father passes away & leaves him an orphan, since the mother passed years before. David gets instructions from Mr. Campbell, his father's laird, to go seek his uncle Ebenezer, since he is the last of the Balfour family. Uncle Ebenezer, like the other famous character by that name, is not a nice guy. He arranges to have his nephew shanghai'd by a boat crew, to be sold as a white slave in the Carolinas. Well, all manner of mishaps occur, & the boat never makes it because it's wrecked off the coast. David makes his way across Scotland with Alan, who's a bit of a bad guy himself, but, he takes care of David, & that's how that odd friendship develops. Eventually, David makes his way back...I won't give away the ending, you'll just have to read it for yourself
    • 3/5
      Forty plus years after reading "Treasure Island", I have finally completed my second book by Robert Louis Stevenson, "Kidnapped".Protagonist David Balfour is the heir to his uncle's estate, but his uncle doesn't want to share, so he arranges for his nephew to be taken to the Carolinas as a slave. Sometimes plans just don't follow through as we'd like, and David finds himself on the run, trying to survive long enough to get home and enact revenge.Good story, should be interesting and/or readable for youth and up.Note: I gave this book three stars: the story moved along nicely, although the Scottish words used throughout the text had me skipping to the glossary in the back of the book, a lot.
    • 4/5
      Two hundred page buildup for a four page payoff. Reminds me of a much shorter "Count of Monte Cristo". All setup for revenge. But with both writers, what a sweet payoff as we see Balfour's uncle get his due. Fantastic. I can read it fairly easily, but the dialect is beyond children now.
    • 4/5
      A great story with a good narrative drive involving the betrayal and kidnapping of the central character, David Balfour, his flight across the Scottish landscape and his eventual rescue and restoration to his fortune. There are a number of other colourful and intriguing characters especially David's uncle Ebenezer (similar to his Dickensian namesake) and Alan Breck Stewart. Good stuff, though there are an awful lot of Scots words not recognised in the OED and only a few of which are explained in footnotes in the Delphi Collected Works edition.
    • 2/5
      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.
    • 5/5
      This story grabs the reader's attention through an action packed adventure around Scotland. We follow David Balfour through his travels to find who he is and claim his true inheritance. This story would be suitable for readers in grades 6 and up.
    • 5/5
      This book is appropriate for the upper elementary school grade levels. It is an exciting book of a boy who is kidnapped onto a pirate ship. It is a classic that children will enjoy reading for years to come.