Kidnapped (Puffin Classics Relaunch)
Page 24
What other books did he write?
Robert wrote over fifty books and short stories, including his other famous adventure story, Treasure Island, and the beautiful A Child’s Garden of Verses. He also wrote famous grown-ups’ stories, such as The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
WHO’S WHO IN KIDNAPPED
David Balfour – an honest sixteen-year-old who heads out on his own after his father dies. David learns that he is heir to an estate and great fortune, but on meeting his devious Uncle Ebenezer he soon finds himself in grave danger.
Ebenezer Balfour – David’s greedy and crotchety uncle. He wants to keep the entire family fortune and will get rid of David, and his claim to the House of Shaws, by any means.
Mr Campbell – a kindly preacher who cares for David after his father’s death.
Captain Elias Hoseason – the captain of the Covenant. He makes a deal with Ebenezer to kidnap David and plans to sell him as a slave when the ship reaches America.
Alan Breck Stewart – the dashing, daring Highlander, who supports the Jacobites and the King of France. He befriends David and they both escape from the crew of the Covenant, whereupon they begin their adventures in the Highlands.
Ransome – the young cabin boy of the Covenant. He is younger than David, but his years at sea have made him tough and strong.
Mr Shuan – a monstrous drunkard, Mr Shuan is the first officer of the Covenant. He kills Ransome in a drunken rage, and is later killed himself at the hands of Alan Breck Stewart.
Riach – the second officer of the Covenant. He is kind to David, helping him escape from the ship after it is wrecked on the Torran Rocks.
Colin Roy Campbell – a Scotsman loyal to England, he is also known as the Red Fox. His job is to collect taxes and claim Scottish lands for the Crown. He is plotting to evict all the Jacobite Stewarts from their homes before his murder.
Robin Oig – the son of the famous Scottish nationalist Rob Roy. As a descendant of the Campbell clan, Robin is also an enemy of Alan and the Stewarts.
James of the Glens (James Stewart) – the head of the Stewart clan, to which Alan Breck Stewart belongs. Like many of the Highland chieftains, James has been stripped of his lands and powers by the English government, and when Campbell is murdered James is assumed to have been involved.
Cluny Macpherson – like James Stewart, Cluny has also been stripped of his lands. After leading Jacobite troops against the English army in an uprising, Cluny lives as a marked man in the Scottish mountains.
Mr Rankeillor – a lawyer who helps David with legal matters against Uncle Ebenezer.
SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT…
David is sixteen at the beginning of Kidnapped. How do you think he changes and matures over the course of the novel?
Kidnapped is often compared to Robert Louis Stevenson’s other famous ‘boys’ novel’, Treasure Island. Can you see any similarities between the two? Think of five things David Balfour and Jim Hawkins have in common, or five things they differ in.
When Kidnapped was first published, the setting of the novel and its political context would have been well known to most readers. Do you think that you need to know about the history of Scotland to enjoy the book, or does it work as a stand-alone adventure?
What is your opinion of Alan Breck Stewart? Do you think he is a romantic figure or a dangerous influence on David?
SOME THINGS TO DO…
Imagine you are David Balfour at the beginning of the novel. Can you think of any ways you could have outwitted Uncle Ebenezer and prevented your kidnapping?
Draw a map of the Highlands and plot the path that David and Alan follow on their journey. Start at the Torran Rocks and work your way down to Mr Rankeillor’s house. Try to include all the places David visits along the way.
Imagine that a Hollywood studio has asked you to direct a film of Kidnapped…
What would your costumes and sets look like?
How would you go about turning the novel into a film script?
Which parts would you focus on, and which parts would you cut?
Who would you cast as the main characters?
JACOBITE SCOTLAND
Jacobites believed that a Stuart king should rule Scotland. When King James VII of Scotland (who was also known as James II of England and Ireland) died in 1701, his supporters campaigned for a Stuart to be given the crown. James’s son James Francis Edward Stuart proclaimed himself King of Scotland; however, the English government refused to recognize his title and he was accused of treason.
During his reign, James VII had been especially kind and sympathetic to the Scottish clans. Almost all of the clans were Jacobites, supporters of the king – but some, including the Campbells, supported the English government, and many bloody battles took place between the warring clans from 1688 to 1746.
The Jacobite risings finally ended in 1746, when Bonnie Prince Charlie (son of James Frances Edward Stuart) was defeated at the Battle of Culloden. However, many of the clans still supported the Jacobite cause, which figures such as Alan Breck Stewart tried to reignite.
Kidnapped takes place in the year 1751, a few years after the violent battles between the Jacobites and the English government ceased. The feeling of the time was one of bitterness – the Jacobites were angry that they had failed to reinstate James, or one of his descendants, to the throne.
A SCOTTISH GLOSSARY
Here’s a wee glossary o’ some o’ th’ Scots words in Kidnapped. Try tae speak some o’ thaim aloud tae git a sense o’ howfur thay sound!
auld – old
awa’ – away
bairn – child
baw – ball
ben – mountain
birstle – roast
boddle – copper coin
bonny – beautiful
braw – fine
breeks – trousers
Ca’ cannie – take care, be careful
callant – young boy
chield – young man
deid – dead
dinnae – do not
dominie – teacher
eejit – idiot
eldritch – weird, elven
faither – father
fash – trouble or bother
feart – afraid
forby – besides
gars – grass
kenned – known
kirk – church
kyte – belly or stomach
laird – lord
limmer – a rascal or scoundrel
meenistry – ministry
mither – mother
mooth – mouth
muckle – big or large
nae – no or none
naething – nothing
parritch – porridge
plaidneuk – piece of plaid cloth
pyats – magpies
pyke – pick
redd up – cleared up
respeckit – respected
risp – knock on a door
sack – sweet wine
siller – silver
sogers – soldiers
soople – cunning
thole – suffer or endure
unco – unknown or uncommon
wame – belly
whilk – which
* Moistens.
* Dark as the pit.
* Sold up.
* Agent.
* Unwilling.
* Look.
† Rope.
‡ Report.
* Fox.
* Stroke.
* Blow.
* Befool.
* Whig or Whigamore was the cant name for those who were loyal to King George.
* Reaching.
* Bungled.
* Coble: a small boat used in fishing.
* Careful.
* Duck.
* Part.
* Bag.
* Blame.
* Mad.
* Blame.
* The rallying-word of the Campbells.
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* Brisk.
* A bouman is a tenant who takes stock from the landlord and shares with him the increase.
* Village fair.
* Condiment.
* A second sermon.
* Commercial traveller.
* Hollow.
* Newly rough-cast.
* Dealings.
* Troublesome.
* The Duke of Argyle.