Other editions of book Kidnapped

The central character and narrator is 17-year-old David Balfour. (Balfour is Stevenson's mother's maiden name.) His parents have recently died, and he is out to make his way in the world. He is given a letter by the minister of Essendean, Mr. Campbell, to be delivered to the House of Shaws in Cramond, where David's uncle, Ebenezer Balfour, lives.David arrives at the ominous House of Shaws and is confronted by his paranoid Uncle Ebenezer, who is armed with a blunderbuss. His uncle is also miserly, living on "parritch" and small ale, and the House of Shaws itself is partially unfinished and somewhat ruinous. David is allowed to stay and soon discovers evidence that his father may have been older than his uncle, thus making David the rightful heir to the estate. Ebenezer asks David to get a chest from the top of a tower in the house but refuses to provide a lamp or candle. David is forced to scale the stairs in the dark and realises that not only is the tower unfinished in some places, but the steps simply end abruptly and fall into an abyss. David concludes that his uncle intended for him to have an "accident" so as not to have to give over his nephew's inheritance.David confronts his uncle, who promises to tell David the whole story of his father the next morning. A ship's cabin boy, Ransome, arrives the next day and tells Ebenezer that Captain Hoseason of the brig Covenant needs to meet him to discuss business. Ebenezer takes David to a pier on the Firth of Forth, where Hoseason awaits, and David makes the mistake of leaving his uncle alone with the captain while he visits the shore with Ransome. Hoseason later offers to take them on board the brig briefly, and David complies, only to see his uncle returning to shore alone in a skiff. David is then immediately struck senseless.David awakens, bound hand and foot, in the hold of the ship, and learns that the captain plans to sell him into slavery in the Carolinas. But the ship encounters contrary winds, which drive her back toward Scotland. Fog-bound near the Hebrides, they strike a small boat. All of the small boat's crew are killed except one man, Alan Breck Stewart, who is brought on board and offers Hoseason a large sum of money to drop him off on the mainland. David later overhears the crew plotting to kill Alan and take all his money. David and Alan barricade themselves in the round house, where Alan kills the murderous Shuan, and David wounds Hoseason. Five of the crew members are killed outright, and the rest refuse to continue fighting.

Tensions run deep, survival runs deeper.Set in the aftermath of the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745, Kidnapped (1886) is a gripping narrative told by David Balfour, a young Whig and Lowlander, who is tracked by his miserly uncle, survives attempted murder, kidnap and shipwreck and, in the company of Alan Breck, a Jacobite, escapes through the Highlands. Kidnapped is an adventure story in which the tensions run deep, not only between pursuer and pursued, but in ancient misunderstandings between the two heroes themselves: Whig and Jacobite, Lowland rationalist and romantic Highlander.This novel is part of Brilliance Audio's extensive Classic Collection, bringing you timeless masterpieces that you and your family are sure to love.

The central character and narrator is 17-year-old David Balfour. (Balfour is Stevenson's mother's maiden name.) His parents have recently died, and he is out to make his way in the world. He is given a letter by the minister of Essendean, Mr. Campbell, to be delivered to the House of Shaws in Cramond, where David's uncle, Ebenezer Balfour, lives.David arrives at the ominous House of Shaws and is confronted by his paranoid Uncle Ebenezer, who is armed with a blunderbuss. His uncle is also miserly, living on "parritch" and small ale, and the House of Shaws itself is partially unfinished and somewhat ruinous. David is allowed to stay and soon discovers evidence that his father may have been older than his uncle, thus making David the rightful heir to the estate. Ebenezer asks David to get a chest from the top of a tower in the house but refuses to provide a lamp or candle. David is forced to scale the stairs in the dark and realises that not only is the tower unfinished in some places, but the steps simply end abruptly and fall into an abyss. David concludes that his uncle intended for him to have an "accident" so as not to have to give over his nephew's inheritance.David confronts his uncle, who promises to tell David the whole story of his father the next morning. A ship's cabin boy, Ransome, arrives the next day and tells Ebenezer that Captain Hoseason of the brig Covenant needs to meet him to discuss business. Ebenezer takes David to a pier on the Firth of Forth, where Hoseason awaits, and David makes the mistake of leaving his uncle alone with the captain while he visits the shore with Ransome. Hoseason later offers to take them on board the brig briefly, and David complies, only to see his uncle returning to shore alone in a skiff. David is then immediately struck senseless.David awakens, bound hand and foot, in the hold of the ship, and learns that the captain plans to sell him into slavery in the Carolinas. But the ship encounters contrary winds, which drive her back toward Scotland. Fog-bound near the Hebrides, they strike a small boat. All of the small boat's crew are killed except one man, Alan Breck Stewart, who is brought on board and offers Hoseason a large sum of money to drop him off on the mainland. David later overhears the crew plotting to kill Alan and take all his money. David and Alan barricade themselves in the round house, where Alan kills the murderous Shuan, and David wounds Hoseason. Five of the crew members are killed outright, and the rest refuse to continue fighting.

Kidnapped (1886) - written three years after Stevenson’s blockbuster hit Treasure Island - tells the story of David Balfour, a young Scot kidnapped by brigands during the Jacobite Rebellion who teams with master swordsman Alan Breck Stewart to cross battle-torn Scotland and claim his rightful inheritance. Kidnapped was well received and sold well during Stevenson’s lifetime. There have been about 21 movie and TV versions of the book made, most notably by Disney in 1960. “A masterpiece.” — Henry James. “One of the classic coming-of-age stories for children and young adults today.” — School Library Journal. “This tale of high adventure, told simply but colorfully, is woven around a true incident; Stevenson's characters, from all classes, noble and ignoble, are skillfully drawn and develop convincingly as they pass through kidnappings, battles at sea, murders, and other adventures . . . David and Alan have contradictory points of view and antithetical sociopolitical commitments; yet they work together and form a lasting bond on the basis of friendship and loyalty that transcend their differences. Here is Stevenson the novelist at his best -- forsaking dogma and eschewing ideology in favor of humanistic values. Stevenson was a master storyteller.” — Masterpieces of World Literature.

Classics Illustrated was a series of LITERATURE CLASSICS put into form of a comic book, in order to introduce children to the classics in a fun form of reading. They are highly collectible. Amazon offers a book that tells of all the comics in this series that were offered. This particular comic introduces KIDNAPPED to you in a vivid, colorful and fun-for-adults-even reading.

Timeless Classics--designed for the struggling reader and adapted to retain the integrity of the original classic. These classic novels will grab a student's attention from the first page. Audiobook for each title is paced for students to follow the text word-for-word and include two audio CDs--more help for struggling readers. Books sold separately. On the run from his kidnapper, an orphaned boy acquires an unexpected traveling companion. Is Alan Breck the notorious outlaw that people say he is? Or is he really a patriotic hero?

Published in 1886, the same year as Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Kidnapped is one of Stevenson's most enduringly popular novels. At its center is a historical event: the murder of Colin Campbell, the 'Red Fox' of Glenure in Scotland. David Balfour, whose father dies leaving him with nothing to live on, goes to live with a cruel and miserly uncle. The uncle attempts to have the boy killed and then has him kidnapped and taken to sea. The ship is wrecked and the novel follows David and and his friend Alan as they journey across the Highlands through numerous dangers including witnessing and becoming suspects in the murder of the Red Fox. Robert Louis Stevenson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on November 13, 1850. Although he was expected to pursue his father's career as an engineer, he became a lawyer. He attended Edinburgh University where he also declared himself agnostic. Robert suffered from tuberculosis and during his trip to France he wrote An Inland Voyage (1879). Luis met Fanny Osbourne, an American, and married her in 1880 in California. During his extensive travels to find favorable climate, he wrote numerous essays, poems and romances. He overcame his illness in the Marquesas Islands in 1888. He died on the island of Samoa on Dec 3, 1894, where he had settled in 1890.

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