Related Titles and Adaptations
David Balfour tells the story of Alan’s escape, an attempt to save Alan’s cousin from execution as the murderer of Colin Campbell, and the love affair between David and Catriona Drummond. Kidnapped has...
View ArticleIdeas and Topics for Papers
VII TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION 1. Readers have noticed Stevenson’s fascination with duplicity. In what ways do various forms of duplicity play a large part in the novel? 2. David and Alan have been judged...
View ArticleSocial Sensitivity
No social issues presented in this novel seem likely to prove controversial. The issue of rebellion, however, could be viewed as a sensitive subject. One might wish to consider the problem of how much...
View ArticleLiterary Qualities
While Treasure Island benefits from being told mostly in the voice of the bright and observant young Jim Hawkins, it suffers from the fact that parts of the story-matters that could not be known to...
View ArticleThemes and Characters
In Kidnapped, more than in most romances, the characters personify the themes. The hero, David Balfour, illuminates the theme of a young man’s coming of age. David begins his adventures as a boy of...
View ArticleSetting
The story takes place in Scotland and the waters around it in the summer of 1751. David’s travels take him over much of the Scottish countryside, especially the Highlands. Most editions of the novel...
View ArticleOverview
Unlike most Victorians, Stevenson considered the romance a valid literary form. He claimed that the form provided mental relief from the pressures of everyday life and felt that romances needed to be...
View ArticleAbout the Author
Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was born on November 13, 1850, in Edinburgh, Scotland, the only child of Margaret Balfour Stevenson and Thomas Stevenson, a lighthouse engineer. The formative years of...
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