Kidnapped

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Kidnapped

Kidnapped: Being Memoirs of the Adventures of David Balfour in the Year 1751 was written by Robert Louis Stevenson. Stevenson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1850. As a child growing up Stevenson was extremely sick and suffered from severe respiratory ailments which continually interrupted his schooling. As he grew up his relationship with his parents became more and more difficult. His father expected Robert to follow the family profession and become an engineer. Stevenson agreed to study law but rarely attended classes and studied literature instead.

Motivated by his love for adventure and need for a climate that suited his health needs Stevenson was continually traveling. In the 1870’s he traveled to France making money off of essays and travel books. There he met Fanny Osbourne, a married American he soon fell in love with. Stevenson followed Fanny to California to arrange for her divorce and soon after the newly married couple moved back to Europe

During the 1880’s Stevenson wrote the novels that would make him famous. Treasure Island was the first book to set him off on his literary career in 1883. This book although written for a boys magazine is said to be more for an adult audience; that’s how most of Stevenson’s books are, filled with romantic adventure and a grim reality. In 1886, Stevenson wrote two novels, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, one of his most famous works, and Kidnapped. Although received highly by the critics Kidnapped was overshadowed by Jekyll and Hyde in the public’s eye.

Kidnapped is a story with fictional characters woven around true incidents. David Balfour is orphaned at nineteen and sent to his uncle to gain his inheritance. As he travels across the country to get to his uncle’s estate he learns that the people curse his name. When he gets to his uncle’s house instead of being greeted with a warm family welcome, his Uncle Ebenezer shuns him away. David refuses to leave and demands his inheritance and his uncle finally decides to take him in.

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