Throwback Thursdays” at ClimbingSky feature posts I wrote over a 15 year period for various blogs. This was first posted on January 27th, 2018.

As mentioned in an earlier post here, I have been reading some of the classic Adventure novels that I did not read as a boy or young man. These are books that I may have read in condensed form in some way (Classics Illustrated Comics, a school reader, etc.). But they are, as far as I can remember, works that I have never read the original. 

Awhile back I researched classic Adventure stories and made a reading list for myself. As a reader, I am always making such lists for myself as I am reading book reviews, blogs, other books. I suppose most readers do.

A few years ago I read Treasure Island. It was probably reading Treasure Island that got me started thinking about reading other Adventure novels I had missed over the years. I put a couple of Stevenson books on my lis including Kidnapped and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

While I knew the plot of Treasure Island (and have a memory of having read a version of it in school at some point), I only had a vague idea about the plot of Kidnapped.

The story follows young David Balfour, orphaned and penniless, as he seeks out his last living relative, the stingy and reclusive Uncle Ebenezer. But Ebenezer is hardly welcoming, and David barely escapes an attempt on his life before he’s kidnapped and imprisoned on a ship headed for the Carolinas. After the ship is wrecked, David teams up with the passionate rebel Alan Breck. Together, they embark on a dangerous journey across the rugged Highland landscape, determined to find justice.

Through the striking contrast between its two main characters—the romantic Alan Breck and the logical Whig David—Stevenson vividly portrays the deep-seated conflict within Scottish culture following the Jacobite rebellion, all while crafting an unforgettable tale of adventure.

I enjoyed Kidnapped and would recommend it. The frequent use of Scottish vernacular does make me wonder if it may be a difficult book to read in the original for some students and adults alike. 

A number of years ago I read Hugh MacDiarmid’s book-length poem A Drunk Man Considers a Thistle. Reading the Scottish vernacular of Kidnapped at times reminded me of MacDiarmid’s great poem both in language but also in spirit. Stevenson’s love of his native Scotland is apparent in the same way as it is in A Drunk Man and other of MacDiarmid’s work.

Next Classic Adventure Review: She by H. Rider Haggard.