One City One Book: Kidnapped!
Edinburgh has been Kidnapped! this February
First published in 1886, Edinburgh-born Robert Louis Stevenson's Kidnapped has gone on to become a classic adventure tale. Kidnapped has been chosen for for the Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature's One City One Book Campaign, and they have sponsored three new editions of the novel. 25,000 copies will be given away in Schools and Libraries across Edinburgh - but all the editions are for sale from BooksfromScotland.com.
The Kidnapped Trail
Using the power of Google Maps, we have recreated the Kidnapped Trail, from Erraid Isle off the coast of Mull, through the Highlands, past the site of the Appin Murder, and on to Edinburgh. Each of the five editions listed below includes a beautiful hand-drawn map of the trail - the BooksfromScotland.com map is dynamic.
Five Editions
There are five editions promoted as part of the One City One Book campaign - the Canongate Classic, the new Graphic Novel, a retold edition for younger readers, the graphic novel in Scots, Kidnappit, and a modern text version of the graphic novel.
The Canongate Classic Edition is edited with an introduction by Barry Menikoff, author of Narrating Scotland, and carries a new preface by Louise Welsh. This edition contains the original illustrations from Young Folks Paper, in which Kidnapped was first published in serial form.
- Read an extract from Louise Welsh's new preface
- Read an extract from Kidnapped - Chapter 9: The Man With The Belt of Gold
- Buy Kidnapped from BooksfromScotland.com for only £5.39
Writer Alan Grant and illustrator Cam Kennedy are known throughout the world for their groundbreaking work in Graphic Novels, from 2000AD, Judge Dread, Star Wars: Dark Empire, Batman and many more. Both Grant and Kennedy are native Scots, and their collaboration on this new edition of Kidnapped is stunning. This new edition is available as a paperback and a hardback.
- Read an extract from the Kidnapped Graphic Novel - coming soon
- Buy the Kidnapped Graphic Novel in Hardback for £13.46 and get a a voucher for a discounted copy of the Retold edition
- Buy the Paperback for £8.06 edition
The simplified retold edition brings the adventure and excitement of Kidnapped to a younger audience. Written by John Kennett, with line illustrations and a full-colour map.
- Read an extract from R.L. Stevenson's Kidnapped: The Retold Edition - coming soon
- Buy the retold edition for £4.49
Matthew Fitt brings the Graphic Novel to readers of modern Scots, in his translation Kidnappit. Stevenson's original novel was highly regarded for its use of vernacular Scots, and Fitt brings it bang up to date in this new edition.
- Read an extract from Kidnappit - coming soon
- Buy Kidnappit for £8.09
Publisher's Barrington Stoke have taken the Grant and Kennedy graphic novel and retold it in a Modern Text edition, and is suitable for dyslexia and struggling or reluctant readers. The text is presented in a clear and easy-to-read font and is a simpler - but just as exciting - read.
- Read an extract from Kidnapped Graphic Novel: Modern Text edition - coming soon
- Buy the modern text graphic novel for £8.09
- Teaching Notes for Kidnapped are available from the Association for Scottish Literary Studies






