- Hardcover: 160 pages
- Publisher: Everyman Ltd (1 Oct 1977)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0460017624
- ISBN-13: 978-0460017626
- Product Dimensions: 50.8 x 50.8 x 50.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
Kidnapped (Dover Children's Evergreen Classics)
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Authors
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Review
These inaugurate a new series of uniform classics, simplified so that little more than their bare essentials remain. Where there may be an excuse for a revision for young moderns of, say, the stilted quality of Defoe's Crusoe or a shortening of Kidnapped's lengthy descriptions - these are matters of individual taste. But it does seem that readers should be willing to take what the authors wrote originally. That case is strengthened by the bone-dryness of these revisions, all of which have been cut so extensively that little atmosphere remains, and the purpose-to introduce young readers to the classics-defeats itself. Attractive size and format and plentiful supplies of colored pictures make up for textual imperfections. Plastic covers. (Kirkus Reviews)
--This text refers to an alternate
Hardcover
edition.
Product Description
Set mainly in the Scottish Highlands in the years following the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745, this story follows the fortunes of the young David Balfour as he endeavours to claim the inheritance of which he has been cheated by his scheming Uncle Ebenezer.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
35 of 37 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I'm as great a fan of the present item, Stevenson's *Kidnapped*, as of his better known *Treasure Island*. Yet if really forced to recommend one over the other, I might choose *Kidnapped*.
At first sight, the two works are disquietingly similar: around the middle of the 18th Century (not Stevenson's own 19th Century), an impoverished, inexperienced, but self-respecting teenage hero is set to sea by circumstance. Here he faces a crew of thugs whom, supported by strong role-models, he valiantly defeats. Then follows a long voyage of wandering & discovery until at last he comes to spiritual & material independence under the wise & watchful eye of his mentors, portrayed as very pillars of a romanticized British Empire.
But there the similarity does stop. *Kidnapped* is exclusively about Scotland & its entirely unforgettable inhabitants. Its sea voyage is a circumnavigation of Scotland, no more, no less. The perilous return to the home town takes place across hills & heather. Finally & most important, every character in the novel is as Scottish as its teenage hero - or as RL Stevenson was himself.
You might say that *Kidnapped* offers all the assets of *Treasure Island*, plus one: the tense but warm atmosphere of an independence-loving nation during the waning years of its armed rebellion against the English. Stevenson, in loving mastery of his subject yet never as uncritical as he seems, ignores neither politics, intrigues, & clan quarrels, nor the (predictable) homage to bagpipe & tartans. The book is therefore flavoursome in a manner that even *Treasure Island*, for all its power, never attains. The historical & cultural depth in *Kidnapped* is simply greater - & the book just as entertaining.
I believe this now classic work will go as well with teens as it did 100 years ago. But it certainly is a book for adults too.
At first sight, the two works are disquietingly similar: around the middle of the 18th Century (not Stevenson's own 19th Century), an impoverished, inexperienced, but self-respecting teenage hero is set to sea by circumstance. Here he faces a crew of thugs whom, supported by strong role-models, he valiantly defeats. Then follows a long voyage of wandering & discovery until at last he comes to spiritual & material independence under the wise & watchful eye of his mentors, portrayed as very pillars of a romanticized British Empire.
But there the similarity does stop. *Kidnapped* is exclusively about Scotland & its entirely unforgettable inhabitants. Its sea voyage is a circumnavigation of Scotland, no more, no less. The perilous return to the home town takes place across hills & heather. Finally & most important, every character in the novel is as Scottish as its teenage hero - or as RL Stevenson was himself.
You might say that *Kidnapped* offers all the assets of *Treasure Island*, plus one: the tense but warm atmosphere of an independence-loving nation during the waning years of its armed rebellion against the English. Stevenson, in loving mastery of his subject yet never as uncritical as he seems, ignores neither politics, intrigues, & clan quarrels, nor the (predictable) homage to bagpipe & tartans. The book is therefore flavoursome in a manner that even *Treasure Island*, for all its power, never attains. The historical & cultural depth in *Kidnapped* is simply greater - & the book just as entertaining.
I believe this now classic work will go as well with teens as it did 100 years ago. But it certainly is a book for adults too.
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The troubled Stevenson, creator of Jekyll and Hyde and 'Treasure Island', turned to his love of Scottish history for 'Kidnapped', the tale of Davie Balfour, a lowland Whig sold into slavery by a miscreant uncle and then, after a shipwreck, a companion of Jacobite highlander Alen Breck in a desperate escape through the mountains of Scotland with English troops in pursuit. An essentially simple tale told with wit and style, and a highly accessible classic.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
It's been years since I first read this book (in Dutch at the time, I guess I must have been 13 or 14) but I still held fond memories about David Balfour's adventures in the Scottish highlands, so when I saw it published as one of Penguin's Popular Classics I bought it immediately, anxious to find out if it would prove as captivating after all these years and in English. I needn't have worried! From the very first sentence I was once again drawn into the story of David Balfour, his miserly uncle Ebenezer, and the highland 'gentleman' Alan Breck. Reading this late into the night, I felt 13 again, and as ready as then to sympathize with 'Davie' and always eager to find out what happened next (and having finished it plunged straight into 'Treasure Island' for good measure). It proved - as well it might - even better in English with the delightful Scottish words and phrases Stevenson uses in the dialogues.
One of the first but surely still one of the very best adventures stories, splendid entertainment whatever your age. I'll say nae maer!
One of the first but surely still one of the very best adventures stories, splendid entertainment whatever your age. I'll say nae maer!
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
disappointed
Loved re-reading this book and just as good as I remembered. Unfortunately this kindle edition has the end missing!! Read more
Published 29 days ago by yw
Kidnapped
I first read this story when I was at school, well over 55 years ago, and have just read it again. A wonderful story, and was just as good to read now as it was all those years... Read more
Published 1 month ago by David
Don't understand the appeal
I've always been led to believe that Kidnapped is one of THE original adventure stories, with action on the high seas and plenty of swash and buckle along the way. Read more
Published 10 months ago by madaboutbooks
Interesting
Beautifully written. I'm always impressed by the books that were written centuries ago but still retain all the meaning in our time.
Published 10 months ago by Jaroslav
Another Historic novel
Again another novel by RL Stephenson which I have been meaning to read for years I am looking forward to reading it as it is quite a dramatic story of green and cruelty to other... Read more
Published 12 months ago by M. Francis
Wears well!
I was amazed by the fact that this story still reads well today. It gives a classic insight into the history and geography of the Highlands of Scotland, whilst carrying the reader... Read more
Published 19 months ago by puddleglum
A good edition, with an introduction for younger readers.
Puffin: B002RI94SC
A good version. Slightly different (poorer) text than the Penguin edition, but also from the 1893 edition. Read more
A good version. Slightly different (poorer) text than the Penguin edition, but also from the 1893 edition. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Paul Durrant
Kindle Edition Choice is crucial!
There are a lot of Kindle versions of `Kidnapped' available on Amazon. Lots of them are terrible. A few are good. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Paul Durrant
great classic story
i bought this for my 9 year old son's birthday. We have not read it yet, but i remember that this was a cracking read from when I was younger.
Published 23 months ago by Bill Crawford
Tusitala -teller of tales and Kidnapped!
I was a very sickly child. Lots of days spent wearing a red felt vest with prest studs to ward off the spectre of possible TB. Read more
Published on 3 May 2010 by J. S. Lewison
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
