Classics Considered

The Master of Ballantrae by Robert Louis Stevenson Edition:   Dover, paperback My overall rating:   3.8 out of 5 stars Charming, conniving, cruel, yet loved by almost all who know him, James Durisdeer is the oldest son of a Scottish nobleman, and destined--as he believes--for a life of fame, success, and power.  Against others' wishes, he leaves his estate and sets out to become a soldier, only to find that his immoral and wasteful lifestyle leads him to ruin.  He takes out his anger on his younger brother, through whom James means to drain the Durisdeer estate of its wealth. But apart from James, this book is as much about Henry Durie, who is the younger brother and the more responsible of the two.  Like Guy Morville, Gregor Samsa, and Frodo Baggins, Henry is an upright young man with a strong sense of duty, a person whose consistent goodness is just as consistently persecuted by evil.  Unlike saintly Sir Guy and stoic Frodo, however, Henry is more of an a...

WARNING:  Contains Kidnapped spoilers!!! Catriona by Robert Louis Stevenson Edition: Polygon, paperback My overall rating:  4 out of 5 stars The last chapter of Kidnapped was very nearly a complete, happy ending: Alan Breck was soon to escape to freedom in France, and David Balfour outwitted his selfish uncle and finally came into his inheritance.  David's story is far from finished, however; with the Appin Murder trial impending, he feels it his duty to speak on James Stewart's behalf, and it's not an easy mission, especially when he can't even be sure that the most powerful man who could help him--the Lord Advocate--is trustworthy.  David's own position, as a witness of the murder, is also precarious.  Still only a teenager and overwhelmed by all of this, he strives to work his way through a scheming world, become a gentleman, and win the love of beautiful grey-eyed Catriona Drummond. My thoughts:  Stevenson considered this book to be one of his best, i...

Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson Edition:   Polygon, paperback.  HIGHLY recommended--very durable, elegant, and readable.  I think it will last much longer than most paperback books. My overall rating:   5 out of 5 stars Scotland, 1751. Sixteen-year-old David Balfour sets out to claim his inheritance from Ebenezer Balfour, a reclusive miser who lives in a dark mansion called "the House of Shaws". Through others' deceit and his own naivete, David gets kidnapped and soon finds himself landing in one misfortune after another, drawn away from his home in the familiar Lowlands country, and deeper into the Highlands, a place oppressed by English rule. He meets Alan Breck Stewart--a Highlander, rebel, and hunted man; and, after David himself unknowingly becomes an outlaw, David starts to view his country in a different light.  He also comes to understand that life is complex, and that you can't judge people by what they appear to be. My thoughts: Th...