Robert Louis Stevenson

Kidnapped Robert Louis Stevenson

Kidnapped tells the story of David Balfour, a young man of the Lowlands, the southern part of Scotland. David (Davie) Balfour is a recently orphaned seventeen-year-old. His father has just died, so it is up to him to seek his own fortune. A good friend of his, the Protestant Minister of Essendean, hands Davie a letter from his deceased father telling him to head to the house of Shaws. Davie doesn't know how his father is related to the house of Shaws, but he is excited at the idea of meeting a laird (a kind of Scottish nobleman, like a "lord"). He thinks maybe he'll be able to get a job in the Shaws household. So he walks to the seat of the house of Shaws, near Edinburgh, to ask for help.

When Davie arrives at the house, however, he is much disappointed. The owner is actually Davie's uncle, Ebenezer Balfour. Ebenezer is a miser and kind of a jerk. He even attempts to kill Davie on one occasion. Why is he so threatened by Davie? We're not going to find out for sure until around Chapter 29 of 30. Still, Davie is fairly sure that Ebenezer hates him because he is the rightful heir to the house of Shaws. At any rate, Davie manages to get the upper hand over Ebenezer, who promises to bring Davie to see his lawyer, Mr. Rankeillor, to get a full explanation of Ebenezer's relationship to Davie's father.