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A review by manwithanagenda
Catriona: (Robert Louis Stevenson Classics Collection) by Robert Louis Stevenson
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I can understand why readers might be put off by 'Catriona' ('David Balfour' if you're a stickler), and leave it unfinished, but it really should be given a chance. I enjoyed it a lot more than 'Kidnapped' in fact.
David proves himself to be a grown man and worthy of the rewards of his inheritance in his defense of Alan Breck - no matter the personal cost. In the course of the book he also falls in love with the titular Catriona and navigates the political waters of 18th century Scotland which is still in the shaky grip of a government under Jacobite threat. There may not be the action or breathless views of wild country, but the glimpse into urban life and customs are a fair exchange.
Favorite Quote:
"You deal with me very frankly, and I thank you for it,' said I. 'I will try on my side to be no less honest. I believe these deep duties may lie upon your lordship; I believe you may have laid them on your conscience when you took the oaths of the high office which you hold. But for me, who am just a plain man--or scarce a man yet--the plain duties must suffice. I can think but of two things, of a poor soul in the immediate and unjust danger of a shameful death, and of the cries and tears of his wife that still tingle in my head. I cannot see beyond, my lord. It's the way I am made. If the country has to fall, it has to fall. And I pray God, if this is wilful blindness, that He may enlighten me before too late.”
-David, in defense of Alan Breck
David Balfour
Previous: 'Kidnapped'
David proves himself to be a grown man and worthy of the rewards of his inheritance in his defense of Alan Breck - no matter the personal cost. In the course of the book he also falls in love with the titular Catriona and navigates the political waters of 18th century Scotland which is still in the shaky grip of a government under Jacobite threat. There may not be the action or breathless views of wild country, but the glimpse into urban life and customs are a fair exchange.
Favorite Quote:
"You deal with me very frankly, and I thank you for it,' said I. 'I will try on my side to be no less honest. I believe these deep duties may lie upon your lordship; I believe you may have laid them on your conscience when you took the oaths of the high office which you hold. But for me, who am just a plain man--or scarce a man yet--the plain duties must suffice. I can think but of two things, of a poor soul in the immediate and unjust danger of a shameful death, and of the cries and tears of his wife that still tingle in my head. I cannot see beyond, my lord. It's the way I am made. If the country has to fall, it has to fall. And I pray God, if this is wilful blindness, that He may enlighten me before too late.”
-David, in defense of Alan Breck
David Balfour
Previous: 'Kidnapped'