Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson

A friend in need is a friend, indeed.

Scotland, 1751.  It is five years since the failure of Bonnie Prince Charlie's Jacobite rebellion.  The Hanoverians still hold the Kingdoms of Scotland and England, and their armed forces are in the process of pacifying the Scottish Highland clans.  The Highlanders are not permitted to bear arms or to wear their traditional kilts.  Of course, some Highlanders are still putting up a covert resistance in the name of the Jacobite cause.

Meanwhile, in the hinterland of Edinburgh young David Balfour has come into his majority.  Upon the death of his father, he seeks to claim his estate which is currently being held by his uncle Ebenezer.  Ebenezer has other ideas, and he arranges for David to be kidnapped and placed on a ship bound for the Carolina colonies where David will probably be sold into slavery.  However, the ship is wrecked on Scotland's west coast, and David teams up with a Jacobite warrior called Alan Breck Stewart.  The two start off on foot and head across the highlands, making for Edinburgh: David to reclaim his inheritance, Alan to sail for France.  But first they must negotiate the dangers on the road: robbers, traitors and the King's soldiers.

Stevenson tells a gripping story of two men, strangers to each other, who combine forces in order to beat the odds.  One is a fresh-faced youth who stands to gain by the new order being brought into Scotland; the other is a wily defender of the old order.  Although they do  not share the same political views, David is won over by the charm and talent of Alan Breck, while Alan comes to admire David's courage, candour and decency.

While David Balfour is a fictional character, Alan Breck is real figure, and Stevenson gets them both caught up in a real historical event: the roadside murder of Colin Campbell, the King's Factor in Alan's clan homeland of Appin.  Although David witnesses the murder, he only sees the murderer from afar and he can't be sure if it was Alan Breck or not.  His suspicions causes a rift between the two friends.  Will the two come to be friends and allies again?

Stevenson adroitly moves his characters across the Scottish countryside, enmeshing them in danger and intrigue.  Despite the tale being narrated in the first person by David Balfour, who comments a lot on his own psychological state, the action never bogs down in introspection.  Much of Alan Breck's character - and he is an extremely likeable fellow - we learn through dialogue rather than narration.  Stevenson manages to balance to perfection these two forms of storytelling, both of them providing the necessary exposition and character development.

Kidnapped is supposedly a children's classic, but as an adult I found it to be an enthralling read.  There is never a hint of condescension in the proceedings; and the language is both familiar and challenging, so there is plenty there for both kiddies and adults.  Thank you, R.L.S.