Kidnapped

Kidnapped (novel) Summary The central character and narrator is a young man named David Balfour (Balfour being Stevenson's mother's maiden name), young but resourceful, whose parents have recently died and who 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 ominous House of Shaws in Cramond, where David's uncle, Ebenezer Balfour, lives. On his journey, David inquires to many people where the House of Shaws is, and all of them speak of it darkly as a place of fear and evil. David arrives at the House of Shaws and is confronted by his paranoid Uncle Ebenezer, armed with a blunderbuss. His uncle is also miserly, living on "parritch" and ale, and indeed 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 himself 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 realizes that not only is the tower unfinished in some places, but that the steps simply end abruptly and fall into the abyss. David concludes that his Uncle intended for him to have an "accident" so as not to have to give over his 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 South Queensferry, where Hoseason awaits, and David makes the mistake of leaving his Uncle alone with the Captain while he visits the docks 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 and is then immediately struck senseless. David awakens bound hand and foot in the hull of the ship. He becomes weak and sick, and one of the Covenant's officers, Mr. Riach, convinces Hoseason to move David up to the forecastle. Mr. Shuan, a mate on the ship (and one of the few good sailors) finally takes his routine abuse of Ransome too far and murders the unfortunate youth. David is repulsed at the crew's behaviour, and learns that the Captain plans to sell him into servitude in the Carolinas. David replaces the slain cabin boy, and the ship encounters contrary winds which drive her back toward Scotland. Fog-bound near the Hebrides, they strike a small boat. All of its crew are killed except one man, Alan Breck {Stewart}, who is brought on board and offers Hoseason a large sum of money drop him off on the mainland. David later overhears the crew plotting to kill Breck and take all his money. The two barricade themselves in the round house where Alan kills the murderous Shuan, and David wounds Hoseason. Five of the crew are killed outright, and the rest refuse to continue fighting.

Alan is a Jacobite Catholic who supports the claim of the House of Stuart to the throne of Scotland. He is initially suspicious of the pro-Whig David, who is also friendly toward the Campbells. Still, the young man has giving a good account of himself in the fighting and impresses the old soldier. Hoseason has no choice but to give Alan and David passage back to the mainland. David tells his tale of woe to Alan, and Alan explains that the country of Appin where he is from is under the tyrannical administration of Colin Roy of Glenure, a Campbell and English agent. Alan vows that should he find the "Red Fox," he will kill him. The Covenant tries to negotiate a difficult channel without a proper chart or pilot, and is soon driven aground on a rocky reef. David and Alan are separated in the confusion, with David being washed ashore near the Isle of Mull, while Alan and the surviving crew row to safety on that same island. David spends a few days alone in the wild before getting his bearings. David learns that his new friend has survived, and has two encounters with beggarly guides, one whom attempts to stab him with a knife, and another who is blind but an excellent shot with a pistol. David soon reaches Torosay where he is ferried across the river and receives further instructions from Alan's friend Neil Roy McRob, and later meets a Catechist who takes the lad to the mainland. As David and Alan continue their flight, David becomes progressively more ill, and he nurses anger against Beck for several days over the loss of his money. The pair nearly come to blows, but eventually reach the house of Duncan Dhu, who is a brilliant piper. While staying there, Alan meets a foe of his, Robin Oig -- son of Rob Roy MacGregor, who is a murderer and renegade. Alan and Robin nearly fight a duel, but Duncan persuades them to leave the contest to bagpipes. Both play brilliantly, but Alan admits Robin is the better piper, so the quarrel is resolved and Alan and David prepare to leave the Highlands and return to David's country. David and the lawyer hide in bushes outside the Ebenezer's house while Breck speaks to him, claiming to be a man who found David nearly dead after the wreck of the Covenant and is representing folk holding him captive in the Hebrides. He asks David's uncle whether to kill him or keep him. The uncle flatly denies Alan's statement that David had been kidnapped, but eventually admits that he paid Hoseason "twenty pound" to take David to "Caroliny". David and Rankeillor then emerge from their hiding places and speak with Ebenezer in the kitchen, after which the story of David's patronage is revealed: Apparently, his Father and Uncle had once quarreled over a woman, and the older Balfour had married her; informally giving the estate to his Brother while living as an impoverished school-teacher with his wife. This agreement had lapsed with his death, and David was provided two-thirds of the estate's income for as long as his wicked Uncle survived.

The novel ends with David and Alan parting ways, Alan going to France, and David going to a bank to settle his money. At one point in the book, a reference is made to David's eventually studying at the University of Leyden, a fairly common practice for young Scottish gentry seeking a law career in the eighteenth century.

[edit] Characters David Balfour: Honest 17-year-old who heads out on his own after his father dies. His mother had died earlier. David is unaware that he is heir to an estate, the House of Shaws. Although David is a Lowland Scot, he could be any boy anywhere embarking on a journey from youth to manhood. Ebenezer Balfour: Devious uncle of David. Ebenezer cheated David's father out of the House of Shaws. He first tries to murder David. When that scheme fails, he arranges to have him kidnapped and sold into slavery. Elias Hoseason: Captain of a ship, the Covenant. He "buys" David from Ebenezer in hopes of selling him into slavery at a profit. Alan Breck Stewart: Daring, happy-go-lucky Highland Scotsman in rebellion against the English crown. He becomes friends with David and helps him survive when English chase him and Alan through the wilderness. Stewart is based on a real-life Jacobite rebel of the same name. Mr. Shuan: First officer under Captain Hoseason. When he drinks, he is extremely cruel. Mr. Riach: Second officer under Captain Hoseason. Ransome: Abused cabin boy whom Hoseason uses to help ensnare David in the kidnap scheme. Mr. Campbell: Kind minister who helps David at the beginning of his journey. Mr. Rankeillor: Lawyer who helps David settle legal matters with his uncle. Colin Roy Campbell: Also known as the "Red Fox." Scotsman loyal to the English crown. He acts as the king's agent in two Highland counties, Appin and Mamore. His job is to collect taxes and claim Scottish lands for the crown. He is shot dead while talking with David. Alan is accused as the murderer and David as his accomplice. Colin is based on a real-life Scotsman of the same name who was shot dead near Ballachuilish. His case became known as the "Appin Murder." James of the Glens (James Stewart): Highland chieftain who lost his lands to the English crown. He is the head of the Stewart clan, to which Alan belongs. James is based on a real-life Scotsman of the same name who was falsely accused of the murder of Colin

Campbell. He was tried at Inverarray, found guilty, and hanged near Ballachuilish in November 1752. Mrs. Stewart: Wife of James Stewart. She treats David kindly and says she will always remember him. Cluny Macpherson: Another chieftain who lost his lands. As a Jacobite rebel, he fights against the English and lives in a hideout near a mountain. Old Man and His Wife: Poor but generous residents of the Island of Mull who give David food, drink, and valuable information, then allow him to rest in their hut. Guide: Island of Mull resident who lodges David for five shillings and agrees to guide him to Torosay. Hector Maclean: Island of Mull resident who changes a guinea into shillings so that David can pay the guide. Duncan Mackiegh: Blind Man who guides David through part of the Island of Mull. In spite of his blindness, he knows every rock and bush on the island. He is a dangerous man who carries a pistol and can shoot "by ear." However, David pretends to have a pistol, too, and thereby avoids trouble with him. Island of Mull Innkeeper: Man who befriends David and lodges him at Torosay. Neil Roy Macrob: Friend of Alan and skipper of a ferry that takes David from Torosay to mainland Scotland. He is a friend of. Macrob gives David directions on how to assemble with Stewart. Henderland: Evangelist who becomes friends with David in the Highlands and provides him valuable information about the region. He is moderate and reasonable in carrying out his mission. Alexander Balfour: David's dead father. Queensferry Innkeeper: Man who provides some information about Ebenezer Balfour's background. Jennet Clouston: Woman forced out of her home by Ebenezer Balfour. Robin Oig: Son of Rob Roy Macgregor, a famous Highland outlaw.