After Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde, Kidnapped is probably Robert Louis Stevenson's best-known novel. I greatly enjoyed Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde, so I was rather looking forward to this book.

As a historical novel set in Scotland in the 1750's, however, I found it rather difficult to read. There is a great deal of context and socio-political background I am completely unaware of, and that I suspect is needed to fully appreciate this work.

This is further complicated by the considerable use of Scots English in the dialogue - while not unintelligible, it does require somewhat more effort of the reader than the average novel.

I wouldn't recommend this for a light or easy read, and suspect its fans will be limited to history buffs.