Kidnapped

By: Robert Louis Stevenson

Narrated by: Frederick Davidson

Length: 7 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

In this spirited and romantic saga, a young heir named David Balfour meets his miserly uncle Ebenezer, who has illegally taken control of the Balfour estate. Ebenezer kidnaps David and plots to have him seized and sold into slavery on a ship to the Carolinas. A couple of days into the voyage, a shipwreck throws David together with David Break, a Scotsman returning from political exile in France, and the two of them journey together. They are witnesses to the murder of Colin Campbell, the "Rio Fox" of Glenure, and suspicion falls on them. What follows is a perilous journey across the Highlands. Kidnapped is a classic of high adventure.

(P)1989 Blackstone Audiobooks

An epic Scottish story read as it should be

The skillful Scottish accents done by Frederick Davidson make this classic epic adventure come alive. I was transported to 1750 Scotland each day on my walks despite being in Sunny California.

Kidnapped

Great story our kids were interested in the story the whole time but it was a bit hard to hear the language in parts.

Still a Classic

A must read adventure story that stands the test of time. As good today as it was when I first read it 49 years ago.
Narration brings this story to life.

Brilliant linear pose

The entertainment factor is present, but the time it is written remains a world apart from today, so hard to keep attention locked on.. try treasure island first if you want more excitement. The focus and the level of Stevenson’s writing remains infamous and of legend..

Great fun

I suppose Robert Louis Stevenson is the best Victorian YA author. His story is delightful from beginning to end. It casts a spell that I found irresistible but why resist? The performance is excellent with amusing, charming Scottish pronunciations of English. First rate in every way!

funny book

Book was good and funny. The narrator had a deep Scottish accent and took a while to get used to.

On Kidnapped

Such a fun adventure story. Definitely one of my favorites that I'll be listening to over and over again. David and Alan are wonderful.

One of my favorites...

I listened this some 5 years ago. I love the story, both in written form, audibly and two of the movies. Its timeless.

Such Immediacy

Frederick Davidson's narration of this extraordinary story is so rich. I began listening to the book on my way to Scotland for a 10-day trip, and finished it back home. I wouldn't wanted to have experienced the book without the authenticity of Davidson's voice pronouncing the various Scots words and providing the emphasis precisely. The novel itself captures so much of Scotland's defining stories, the aftermath of the Jacobite Rebellion, the dispersed clans, the passion all Scots had and have for their region, stories and country. RLS's characters are so well drawn, complex and compelling. Highly recommend.

An old adventure story, still highly enjoyable

I have to admit I started reading this book a few years ago, but lost interest before David even set foot on the Covenant. This time, listening to the audiobook while running, I finished the whole book and even ended up really liking it. Where the dialog was incomprehensible at worst and distractingly old fashioned at best (for me at least) in the book, the narrator really helped making the characters seem alive and interesting. English is not my native language, and I've never been to Scotland, so I can't really tell how good or bad the accents were. I personally thought the narrator did a good job with the characters' voices, even if I was surprised at how young he made David sound.

The story is an adventure story about the young David Balfour who finds himself first kidnapped, later in the company of a man named Alan Breck as the two travel through the Scottish highlands trying to hide from the British Army. The simple story of a kidnapping and then a flight from the army is made a lot more interesting by the two main characters personalities and their unlikely friendship. The history behind it all was unknown to me, and I spent a few hours searching the Internet to find out what a Jacobite was, what happened in "forty-five" and what Scotland was like in the middle of the eighteenth century. I enjoyed the book before learning the history behind it too, but would recommend other readers (especially if they know as little about the period as I did) to look things up while they read. A map of Scotland is also recommended, in order to follow this flight across the country.

Oh, and after listening to the book I tried to read it again, successful this time. It turns out there was nothing wrong with mr Stevenson's writing, but something must have been wrong with the young reader... Who is now encouraged to try other books written long ago!