Kidnapped
contributor: Eric Lease Morgan (Infomotions, Inc.)
creator: Stevenson, Robert Louis
date: 0000-00-00
extent: 451113
format: text/plain
language: en
publisher: Wiretap Electronic Text Archive
rights: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/GPL/2.0/
source: kidnap.rls
subject: alan
subject: man
subject: time
subject: house
subject: public
subject: domain
subject: kidnapped
subject: memoirs
subject: adventures
subject: david
subject: balfour
subject: cast
subject: stevenson
subject: robert
subject: louis
subject: english
subject: literature
type: text
local mirror: stevenson-kidnapped-552.txt
concordance: http://infomotions.com/alex/cgi-bin/concordance.pl
plain html: stevenson-kidnapped-552.htm
sort title: Kidnapped
full text: KIDNAPPED, by ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON Digitized by Cardinalis Etext Press, C.E.K. Posted to Wiretap in July 1993, as kidnap.txt. This text is in the PUBLIC DOMAIN. KIDNAPPED BEING MEMOIRS OF THE ADVENTURES OF DAVID BALFOUR IN THE YEAR 1751 HOW HE WAS KIDNAPPED AND CAST AWAY; HIS SUFFERINGS IN A DESERT ISLE; HIS JOURNEY IN THE WILD HIGHLANDS; HIS ACQUAINTANCE WITH ALAN BRECK STEWART AND OTHER NOTORIOUS HIGHLAND JACOBITES; WITH ALL THAT HE SUFFERED AT THE HANDS OF HIS UNCLE, EBENEZER BALFOUR OF SHAWS, FALSELY SO CALLED WRITTEN BY HIMSELF AND NOW SET FORTH BY ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON WITH A PREFACE BY MRS. STEVENSON NEW YORK CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 1917 Copyright 1905 By CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS PREFACE TO THE BIOGRAPHICAL EDITION WHILE my husband and Mr. Henley were engaged in writing plays in Bournemouth they made a number of titles, hoping to use them in the future. Dramatic composition was not what my husband preferred, but the torrent of Mr. Henley's enthusiasm swept him off his feet. However, after several plays had been finished, and his health seriously impaired by his endeavours to keep up with Mr. Henley, play writing was abandoned forever, and my husband returned to his legitimate vocation. Having added one of the titles, The Hanging Judge, to the list of projected plays, now thrown aside, and emboldened by my husband's offer to give me any help needed, I concluded to try and write it myself. As I wanted a trial scene in the Old Bailey, I chose the period of 1700 for my purpose; but being shamefully ignorant of my subject, and my husband confessing to little more knowledge than I possessed, a London bookseller was commissioned to send us everything he could procure bearing on Old Bailey trials. A great package came in response to our order, and very soon we were both absorbed, not so much in the trials as in following the brilliant career of a Mr Garrow, who appeared as counsel in many of the cases. We sent for more books, and yet more, still intent on Mr. Garro…