Catriona (novel)
Encyclopedia
- For other meanings see CatrionaCatrionaCatriona is a feminine given name in the English language. It is an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic Caitrìona, and the Irish Caitríona. Both Caitríona and Caitríona are Gaelic forms of the English Katherine...
.
Catriona (also known as David Balfour) is a novel written in 1893 by Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
as a sequel to his earlier novel Kidnapped
Kidnapped (novel)
Kidnapped is a historical fiction adventure novel by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. Written as a "boys' novel" and first published in the magazine Young Folks from May to July 1886, the novel has attracted the praise and admiration of writers as diverse as Henry James, Jorge Luis...
. It tells the further story of the central character David Balfour
David Balfour
David Balfour may refer to:* David Balfour , Scottish-Danish shipbuilder, director of Bremerholm*David Balfour, the main character and narrator in the books Kidnapped and Catriona*An alternative title to Catriona...
.
Plot summary
The book begins precisely where Kidnapped ends, at 2 PM on 25 August 1751 outside the British Linen CompanyBritish Linen Bank
The British Linen Bank was a commercial bank based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was acquired by the Bank of Scotland in 1969 and served as the Bank's merchant bank arm from 1977 until 1999.-Foundation:...
in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland.
The first part of the book recounts the attempts of the hero, David Balfour, to gain justice for James Stewart (James of the Glens), who has been arrested and charged with complicity in the Appin Murder
Appin Murder
The Appin Murder occurred on May 14, 1752 near Appin in the north-west of Scotland, and it resulted in what is often held to be a notorious miscarriage of justice...
. David makes a statement to a lawyer and goes on to meet Lord Prestongrange
William Grant, Lord Prestongrange
William Grant , Lord Prestongrange, was a Scottish politician and judge.The second son of Sir Francis Grant, Lord Cullen, he was admitted as an advocate in 1722, was procurator for the Church of Scotland and Clerk to the General Assembly in 1731. He campaigned against patronage in the Church...
, the Lord Advocate
Lord Advocate
Her Majesty's Advocate , known as the Lord Advocate , is the chief legal officer of the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for both civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolved powers of the Scottish Parliament...
, to press the case for James' innocence. However, his attempts fail as he is once again kidnapped and confined on the Bass Rock
Bass Rock
The Bass Rock, or simply The Bass, , is an island in the outer part of the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland. It is approximately offshore, and north-east of North Berwick. It is a steep-sided volcanic rock, at its highest point, and is home to a large colony of gannets...
, an island in the Firth of Forth
Firth of Forth
The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south...
, until the trial is over, and James condemned to death. David also meets and falls in love with Catriona MacGregor Drummond, the daughter of James MacGregor Drummond, known as James More, also held in prison, whose escape she engineers. He also receives some education in the manners and morals of polite society from Barbara Grant, the daughter of Prestongrange.
In the second part, David and Catriona travel to Holland
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, where David studies law at the University of Leyden
Leiden University
Leiden University , located in the city of Leiden, is the oldest university in the Netherlands. The university was founded in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, leader of the Dutch Revolt in the Eighty Years' War. The royal Dutch House of Orange-Nassau and Leiden University still have a close...
. David takes Catriona under his protection (she having no money) until her father finds them. James More eventually arrives and proves something of a disappointment, drinking a great deal and showing no compunction against living off of David's largesse. At this time, David learns of the death of his uncle Ebenezer, and thus gains knowledge that he has come into his full, substantial inheritance. David and Catriona, fast friends at this point, begin a series of misunderstandings that eventually drive her and James More away, though with David sending payment to James in return for news of Catriona's welfare. James and Catriona find their way to Dunkirk in northern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Meanwhile, Alan Breck joins David in Leyden, and he berates David for not understanding women.
It’s this way about a man and a woman, ye see, Davie: The weemenfolk have got no kind of reason to them. Either they like the man, and then a’ goes fine; or else they just detest him, and ye may spare your breath - ye can do naething. There’s just the two sets of them - them that would sell their coats for ye, and them that never look the road ye’re on. That’s a’ that there is to women; and you seem to be such a gomeral that ye cannae tell the tane frae the tither.
Prodded thus, and at an invitation from James More, David and Alan journey to Dunkirk to visit with James and Catriona. They all meet one evening at a remote inn, and discover the following day that James has betrayed Alan (falsely convicted of the Appin murder) into the hands of a British warship anchored near the shore. The British attempt to capture Alan, who flees with David and Catriona, now reconciled and shamed by James More's ignominy. The three flee to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
where David and Catriona are married before eventually returning to Scotland to raise a family.