I thought Robert Louis
Stevenson was a writer of children’s books, but having discovered that he has a
reputation as one of the first travel writers, I decided to have a look. I
enjoyed this book a lot. Yes, there is a lot of travel. The hero, David Balfour,
is kidnapped and put onto a boat to America in 1752. He is shipwrecked on the
west coast of Scotland and walks back through the mountains to Edinburgh,
getting accused of a political assassination along the way. There was still a
civil war going on in northern Scotland in those days. David is naturally a
supporter of King George but befriends one of the rebel fighters and they
become best friends. It is these characters who are the strength of the book.
Stevenson shows that it is possible to build bonds across a political divide.
The two challenge each other and change each other by being people rather than
caricatures.
