Kidnapped & Catriona

by Robert Louis Stevenson

Book Overview

Robert Louis Stevenson was a Scottish novelist and poet who ranked as one of the greatest authors of the 19th century. Stevenson was a prolific writer and he influenced many of the great authors that... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1840227621
• ISBN13: 9781840227628
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Wordsworth Editions
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.0" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

Captavating Story

This starts rather slow, but quickly develops into a really exciting story. I had always associated the author with the Pacific not realizing he originated from Scotland. It was real interesting to read of the clans and the strong division between the highlanders and lowlanders. Having seen pictures of Loch Ness over the years, I could imagine the scenic country the author was describing. This is a story were you can easily pick out the good and bad. If anything the two main characters are a little too strong, but exciting. There is a small element of historical context that confused me, but that is something only more reading will clear up. This is not a long book in fact I almost finished it in one sitting. It's definably a swashbuckling, surviving coming of age story.

Two enthralling adventures from Stevenson

Both of these books are part of Stevenson's historical adventures that are often considered to be great as children's books but can be just as easily read by adults. In Kidnapped, the orphaned narrator finds himself deprived of his inheritance by his bastardly uncle, who after having failed to kill him arranges his kidnapping. However, on the boat, his character begins to show as he leads a mutiny and escape with Alan, a man he befriends on the ship. They find themselves in the political and military turmoil of the Jacobite conflict Scotland, and in their wanderings encounter much danger, intrigue and hardship. Catriona is the sequel, where the narrator falls in love with a lady whose father is less than honourable, adding a sustained romance to the melting pot of events. Stevenson's narration and style may not be as classically topical and atmospheric like Scott's historical novels, however these two are a good read with fast-paced adventure and intrigue with the troubles of Scotland and greater Europe in the background.

An exciting adventure

The book Kidnapped was a very good book filled with excitement and adventure. As I read this book, I could actually imagine what was happening. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading books about exciting adventures. It was fun to read about how a young Scottish boy, David Balfour, finds himself in a horrible situation after being betrayed by his uncle. David is only seventeen years old and is robbed of his inheritance by his own uncle. David must try and find a way to prove himself not guilty after being accused of murder and he must try to stay safe while doing it. Read this book and find out what David does to protect himself on his incredible journey.

High adventure and edge of your seat suspense...

I find that Mr. Stevenson is a very talented writer because his story was described excellently and the suspense seemed very real.Kidnapped is the story of a young man's adventures. This particular young man was named David Balfour. After his parents passed away David set off in search of his rich uncle, to find himself a new home. Little did he know that on his arrival that his uncle would try to chase him away with a gun, and would be the most miserly person David had ever met. For fear of having to feed David, the uncle had him kidnapped aboard a ship that would take him to America to work on the plantations. Due to an unexpected change in the weather, however, the ship was wrecked on the coast of Scotland, and there the adventure began.On the back of the novel it says that this book has been enjoyed by generations and shall be enjoyed for generations to come. When I chose to read this novel I wasn't sure if that statement would be true. I was pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed the story, I found it to be well written and exciting. I looked forward to the end because I was curious to see what would happen. I'd say any book that is good enough to be deemed a classic has an importance all it's own. I have not read many classics but I find this book important because it holds a lot of information pertaining to the history and culture of Scotland and it's people. In other words, this is a great story, read it!

Practically Unknown Sequel to Kidnapped is Terrific

This combination of Kidnapped and it's sequel by World Books was fantastic. I never thought of Kidnapped having a sequel until I found this book. I realized how quickly and abruptly the ending was to Kidnapped and all of a sudden it fit. World Books made the stories easy to read. They had quotes, explanations, a mini encyclopedia, and a dictionary of Scottish words in the back for the use of the reader, and this being the second time that I read Kidnapped, I got a lot more out of it this time. I recommend that everyone to read these books. Catriona is a love story that really draws you in, and won't let you go