Kidnapped (1886) is an adventure novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. In 1751, the orphan David Balfour is kidnapped at the order of his miserly uncle, survives a shipwreck and flees across the Scottish Highlands with the Jacobite Alan Breck Stewart.
The story
David goes to the House of Shaws to claim his inheritance from his uncle Ebenezer, who tries to kill him and then has him kidnapped on a ship bound for the Carolinas.
After a battle on board, David and Alan Breck are shipwrecked. Accused of the murder of a government agent, they flee through the Highlands before David returns to claim his rights.
History
The novel is set after the Jacobite rising of 1745, when the Highlands were occupied by government troops. The Appin murder of Colin Campbell, in 1752, is a real crime that remained unsolved.
Alan Breck Stewart was a real man, suspected of the murder; another man, James Stewart, was hanged for it after an unjust trial.
A friendship
The heart of the book is the friendship between the cautious Lowland Presbyterian David and the vain, brave Highlander Alan.
Stevenson continued their story in Catriona (1893). Kidnapped was first serialised in the boys' magazine Young Folks in 1886.
Anecdotes
A walk in their footsteps
The route of David and Alan's flight across the Highlands can still be followed; a long-distance walking route has been traced from Mull to Edinburgh.
An unsolved crime
The real Appin murder has never been solved; according to a Stewart family tradition, the name of the true killer has been passed down secretly for generations.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Alan Breck Stewart?
A Jacobite Highlander and David's companion, based on a real man.
When is Kidnapped set?
In 1751, after the Jacobite rising of 1745.
Is there a sequel?
Yes, Catriona (1893), called David Balfour in America.