|
I first read this book when I was about eleven or twelve; the main elements of the book have remained clear in my mind for over fifty years, which I suppose is a testament to how well it was written. To this day, when I read about a flight from danger, I always match it against Davie and Alan Breck Stewart’s flight through the heather.
I had forgotten about the frequent use of Scottish words. I wonder if Stevenson included that for market appeal. The book was written at the height of the tartan craze in the late 1800’s, and it was initially published serially in Young Folks magazine. Boys are often finicky about details of language for particular settings.
Rereading it, I am even more impressed by the book.
The book is a good deal deeper than a YA scribble; it is not in the least a plaid Hardy Boys story. Stevenson brought quite a lot of Scottish history in his book that was not necessary for a mere boy's story. These elements include the Highland clearances, references to Glencoe and the MacGregors (supposedly, Scott’s Rob Roy was a favourite of Stevenson’s), and the dignity and self-esteem of Highlanders (Davie’s encounter with Neil Roy - “there is a thing that ye should never do and that is to offer your dirty money to a Hieland shentleman”; also Alan Breck Stewart’s story about his father, as a gentleman private in the Black Watch, tipping a porter three guineas). Altogether, it is a better piece of historical fiction than most.
|