EPISODE · Nov 3, 2025 · 17 MIN
Novel Approaches: ‘Kidnapped’ by Robert Louis Stevenson
from Close Readings · host London Review of Books
Robert Louis Stevenson’s Kidnapped began life serialised in a children’s magazine, but its sophistication and depth won the lifelong admiration of Henry James. Set in the aftermath of the 1745 Jacobite rising, Kidnapped follows young lowlander David Balfour’s flight across the Highlands with the rebel Alan Breck Stewart. In Stevenson’s hands, a straightforward adventure story becomes a vivid exploration of friendship, the body, and social and political division. In this episode of Novel Approaches, Clare Bucknell is joined by Stevenson fans Andrew O’Hagan and Tom Crewe. They explore Stevenson’s startlingly modern handling of perspective and pacing, his approach to the art of fiction, and the value of being ‘betwixt and between’. Non-subscribers will only hear an extract from this episode. To listen in full, and to all our other Close Readings series, sign up: Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://lrb.me/applecrna In other podcast apps: https://lrb.me/closereadingsna Further reading in the LRB: Andrew O’Hagan on Stevenson’s life:https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v27/n04/andrew-o-hagan/in-his-hot-head ...his circle:https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v42/n10/andrew-o-hagan/bournemouth ...and his home in Edinburgh:https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v46/n01/andrew-o-hagan/diary P.N. Furbank on R.L.S.’s letters:https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v16/n16/p.n.-furbank/what-sort-of-man Matthew Bevis on Treasure Island:https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v34/n20/matthew-bevis/kids-gone-rotten Next episode: The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy.
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Novel Approaches: ‘Kidnapped’ by Robert Louis Stevenson
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