October 2021
Kidnapped
by Robert Louis Stevenson
Moderator:
Helen Houston of Scottish Blethers
Host:
Trish Feaster of The Travelphile
Book available from:
Biblio, BookShop, Amazon, Open Library, Alibris, and Audible
Back to Guide Collective Book Club
BOOK CLUB EVENTS
• INTRODUCTION: Monday, October 4, 2021 | 11am PT | 2pm ET | 8pm GMT +1
Scottish Blue Badge guide Helen Houston begins this month’s GCBC with an introduction to Scottish novelist Robert Louis Stevenson and his novel Kidnapped with a live presentation on the Guide Collective Facebook Page. Be a part of the event: tune in and participate in the chat feed during the show.
Robert Louis Stevenson was born on November 13, 1850, in Edinburgh, Scotland, the son of a noted lighthouse builder and harbour engineer. He was set to follow in the family footsteps however by the age of 16 he had fallen under the spell of language, not science, and was already writing. In this presentation, Helen will go into the family background of Robert Louis Stevenson and look at the influences in his life.
A recording of this event will be accessible on our GCFB page immediately following the live presentation and will be available here, one week after its scheduled date, at the bottom of this page.
• BONUS EVENT: A Look at the Historical Context of Kidnapped
Monday, October 11, 2021 | 11am PT | 2pm ET | 8pm GMT +1
Robert Louis Stevenson’s Kidnapped is set in mid-1700s Scotland, a time of great political unrest and conflict. Although the author was writing some 100 years after the setting of his novel, people in Edinburgh and Scotland were still very aware of their fragile identity. In this live presentation on the Guide Collective Facebook Page, Helen will take you through some of the events happening in Scotland which give context to the story.
The Battle of Culloden
Image | David Morier, 1746 | Royal Collection Trust, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons
• BONUS EVENT: Setting the Scene—Where It All Takes Place
Monday, October 18, 2021 | 11am PT | 2pm ET | 8pm GMT +1
In this member-exclusive Zoom Presentation, Helen will take you around the route of the adventure and introduce you to the places featured in the book. Gain insight into the historical facts and sites that are expertly woven into this fictional adventure.
Members will receive the Zoom link by 9pm PT on Sunday, October 17.
Hawes Inn, South Queensferry near Edinburgh, Scotland
Image | S. Rae, Wikimedia Commons
• GROUP DISCUSSION: Monday, October 25, 2021 | 11am PT | 2pm ET | 8pm GMT +1
GC Book Club Members will connect live with Helen via a member-exclusive Zoom session. Members will be able to share their own insights from the reading, engage with one another, and ask about questions related to the book as well as to Scottish history and culture. Bring your book and feel free to enjoy your favorite snacks or drinks!
Members will receive a link to the recording of this event within one week of the discussion, so if you cannot attend, you can watch it at your leisure. The link will be available for two weeks and will then be deactivated.
To become a new GCBC member and receive the Group Discussion Zoom link, please email GC at theguidecollective@gmail.com. Link will be sent via email by 9pm PT on Sunday, October 24, 2021.
Note: Existing members who are already on the GCBC mailing list will automatically receive an email with the link.
• Throughout the month, share your reading progress with GCBC in the comments below on our social channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Kidnapped is set in Scotland in the mid 1700s. It is written in the first person, narrated by the main character, Davie Balfour.
The recently orphaned Davie leaves rural Essendean to seek his fortune with his relatives, the Balfours of the House of Shaws. Things don’t go according to plan and young Davie finds himself on a great and dangerous adventure which includes kidnapping, shipwreck, political murder, and flight through the Scottish Highlands. The author cleverly weaves fact and fiction into this classic adventure story.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Robert Louis Stevenson was born in Edinburgh on 13 November 1850, into a family of lighthouse engineers. Despite an attempt at studying engineering, and then studying and qualifying as a lawyer, by the time he was in his early twenties it was apparent to Stevenson himself, and eventually to his parents, that he was destined to be a writer. The ill-health that had dogged him from his earliest childhood had provided him with the space and time in which his imagination could flourish; it also gave him the constant companionship of his nurse, Alison Cunningham, who fed him a diet of Bible stories and Covenanting history, as well as tuning his young ear to a rich variety of the Scots language.
Although his travels in search of a climate conducive to better health kept him away from Scotland, much of the fiction he was developing in the 1880s reflected his deep interest in his native land. In 1886, Kidnapped was published combining the conflicting currents of Scotland’s history, and the relationship between the two very different heroes of the book.
Robert Louis Stevenson
Image | Harry Walter Barnett, State Library of New South Wales, Wikimedia Commons
