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=                          Catriona_(novel)                          =
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                            Introduction
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'Catriona' (also known as 'David Balfour') is an 1893 novel written by
Robert Louis Stevenson as a sequel to his earlier novel 'Kidnapped'
(1886). It was first published in the magazine 'Atalanta' from
December 1892 to September 1893. The novel continues the story of the
central character in 'Kidnapped', David Balfour.


                            Plot summary
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The book begins precisely as 'Kidnapped' ends, at 2 pm on 25 August
1751, outside the British Linen Company in Edinburgh.

The first part of the book recounts the attempts of the hero, David
Balfour, to gain justice for James Stewart (James of the Glens), who
has been arrested and charged in airts and pairts with the Appin
Murder. David makes a statement to a lawyer and goes on to meet
William Grant of Prestongrange, the Lord Advocate of Scotland, to
press the case for James' innocence. However, his attempts fail, as
after being reunited with Alan Breck he is once again kidnapped, and
held on the Bass Rock, an island prison in the Firth of Forth, until
the trial is over, and James is condemned to death. David also meets
and falls in love with Catriona MacGregor Drummond, the daughter of
James MacGregor Drummond, known as James More (who was Rob Roy's
eldest son), also held in prison, whose escape she engineers. David
also receives some education in the manners and morals of polite
society from Lady Barbara Grant, Prestongrange's daughter.

In the second part, David and Catriona travel to Holland, where David
studies law at the University of Leyden. David takes Catriona under
his protection (she having no money) until her father finds them.
James More eventually arrives and proves something of a
disappointment, drinking a great deal and showing no compunction
against living off David's largesse.  At this time, David learns of
the death of his uncle Ebenezer, and thus gains knowledge that he has
come into his full, substantial inheritance.  David and Catriona, fast
friends at this point, begin a series of misunderstandings that
eventually drive her and James More away, although David sends payment
to James in return for news of Catriona's welfare. James and Catriona
find their way to Dunkirk in northern France.  Meanwhile, Alan Breck
joins David in Leyden, where he berates David for not understanding
women.



Prodded thus, and at an invitation from James More, David and Alan
journey to Dunkirk to visit with James and Catriona. They all meet one
evening at a remote inn and discover the following day that James More
has betrayed Alan (who has faced trial in absentia and been wrongfully
convicted of the Appin Murder) into the hands of a Royal Navy warship
anchored near the shore. The British sailors attempt to capture Alan,
who flees with David and Catriona, now reconciled and shamed by James
More's ignominy. The three flee to Paris, where David and Catriona are
married. James More dies from an illness, and David and Catriona
return to Scotland to raise a family.


                             Characters
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The characters of Alan Breck Stewart, Lord William Grant
Prestongrange, James of the Glens, James MacGregor Drummond (Rob Roy's
eldest son), the 3rd duke of Argyll, Simon Fraser of Lovat, Prophet
Peden and Hugh Palliser were real people and the frigate HMS
'Seahorse' actually existed.

However, the heroine who gives her name to the novel is a fictional
character. The real James MacGregor had seven sons and six daughters,
none of them named Catriona.


                            Adaptations
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The 1971 film 'Kidnapped' was based on 'Kidnapped' and the first half
of 'Catriona'.


                           External links
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*
* [http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14133 David Balfour, Second Part]
at [http://www.gutenberg.org/ The Project Gutenberg]
* Digitised copy of
[http://digital.nls.uk/rlstevenson/browse/pageturner.cfm?id=78451348
'Catriona']  Cassell, London 1893
* Digitised copy of [http://digital.nls.uk/78790889 David Balfour
being memoirs of his adventures at home and abroad] from the Charles
Scribner's Sons edition (1893) from National Library of Scotland.
JPEG, PDF, XML versions.
*


License
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Original Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catriona_(novel)