Product Description

Set at the time of the Jacobite uprising, The Master of Ballantrae tells of a family divided. James Durie, Master of Ballantrae, abandons his ancestral home to support the Scottish rebellion - leaving his younger brother Henry, who is faithful to the English crown, to inherit the title of Lord Durrisdeer. But he is to return years later, embittered by battles and a savage life of piracy on the high seas, to demand his inheritance. Turning the people against the Lord, he begins a savage feud with his brother that will lead the pair from the Scottish Highlands to the American Wilderness. Satanic and seductive, the Master was regarded by Stevenson as ‘all I know of the devil’; his darkly manipulative schemes dominate this subtle and compelling tragedy. This edition takes as its text the Edinburgh Edition of the novel, the last approved by the author. The introduction considers the novel’s inspiration and its place as one of Stevenson’s greatest studies in cruelty.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #89112 in Books
• Published on: 2005-11-24
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

About the Author
Robert Louis Stevenson was born in Edinburgh in 1850. He is well known for his novels of historical adventure, including Treasure Island (1883), Kidnapped (1886) and Catriona (1893).

Customer Reviews

Wonderful
This novel by RL Stevenson is definitely his finest, and I would also suggest that it's one of the greatest novels in the English language. Athough of course deemed a classic, it doesn't quite seem to get the recognition it deserves, and even in terms of the author's own work, 'Treasure Island' and 'Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' usually get more attention. 'The Master of Ballantrae' though, is more complex and rewarding than either of those works, although it does share some of the latter's good and evil themes.

The basic story is one about two brothers - one seemingly a good, reasonable man, and the other, the elder brother who becomes disinherited after the Jacobite wars, a personification of evil. The story unfolds via a variety of narrators, and through a series of chapters and set-pieces, some of which are highly dramatic. There are duels, flights, plots, secrets, foreign adventures and family dramas all woven into a very gripping novel which defies classification as simply a thriller or drama or adventure story. It is all of these and more, and has a lot to say about loyalty, psychology, greed and personal motivation.

Although written in the late nineteenth century this novel remains easily readable and accessible and I believe that very few people would be disappointed by it. Having found it now, I fully intend to re-read it down the years and it's become a real favourite of mine. Don't hesitate to give it a go!

Quite simply the best book I have ever read
I have always liked everything written by Stevenson, but The Master of Ballantrae far outstrips everything else. It is a subtle insight into human nature, and a great adventure story as well. The episodes are majestic, and the story, though bleak, is very touching. I have read it many, many times and think more of it the more I read it (to paraphrase Mackellar on page 1).