Kidnapped

This is a historical fiction adventure novel by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. Written as a "boys' novel".

David Balfour starts relating the story of his adventures from 1751, when he was a youth of sixteen. Shortly after the death of his father, he decides to leave his birthplace in search of fortune. Mr. Campbell, the clergyman of Essendean, gives him a letter from his father, which asks him to go to Edinburgh to meet his uncle.

Mr. Ebenezer Balfour nephew allows him to stay with him all the same. He’s afraid of losing his property, he plots to kill David by sending him to the tower of the house on a dark night.

After the initial seasickness, David adjusts to the life on the ship and makes friends with its crew. When the ship heads towards the southwest of Scotland, it hits another boat, whose sole survivor, a Jacobite rebel, boards the ship. The captain and his mates plot to kill Alan Breck, but David reveals their evil plan to him beforehand. Together David and Alan defeat the crew. Shortly afterwards, David falls overboard into the sea and is separated from Alan.

He reaches the Isle of Mull and meets people who direct him to Appin. However, on the way he meets Colin Campbell and becomes a witness to his murder. The followers of Colin Campbell (the Red Fox) suspect David of being an accomplice in the murder and pursue him. David finds Alan, they make their escape into the wilds of the Highlands. After a long journey, they finally reach the Lowlands.

David hires a lawyer, and they devise a plan to make his uncle confess his crime. When Mr. Ebenezer realizes he has been discovered, he agrees to pay two-thirds of the income from the estate to his nephew. As a result, David succeeds in recovering his money and establishing his identity in the world.