Robert Louis Stevenson’s Kidnapped began life serialised in a children’s magazine, but its sophistication and depth won the lifelong admiration of Henry James. Set in the aftermath of the 1745 Jacobite rising, Kidnapped follows young lowlander David Balfour’s flight across the Highlands with the rebel Alan Breck Stewart. In Stevenson’s hands, a straightforward adventure story becomes a vivid exploration of friendship, the body, and social and political division.
In this episode of Novel Approaches, Clare Bucknell is joined by Stevenson fans Andrew O’Hagan and Tom Crewe. They explore Stevenson’s startlingly modern handling of perspective and pacing, his approach to the art of fiction, and the value of being ‘betwixt and between’.
This is an extract from the episode. To listen in full, and to all our other Close Readings series, sign up:
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Further reading in the LRB:
Andrew O’Hagan on Stevenson’s life:
https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v27/n04/andrew-o-hagan/in-his-hot-head
...his circle:
https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v42/n10/andrew-o-hagan/bournemouth
...and his home in Edinburgh:
https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v46/n01/andrew-o-hagan/diary
P.N. Furbank on R.L.S.’s letters:
https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v16/n16/p.n.-furbank/what-sort-of-man
Matthew Bevis on Treasure Island:
https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v34/n20/matthew-bevis/kids-gone-rotten
Listen to Andrew O’Hagan discuss Stevenson on the LRB Podcast with Thomas Jones:
https://www.lrb.co.uk/podcasts-and-videos/podcasts/the-lrb-podcast/semi-recumbent-in-bournemouth
