Catriona

by Robert Louis Stevenson Book 2 in the David Balfour series.

First published 1893

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3.9(105)

Edinburgh, 1752. David Balfour tries to clear Allan Breck Stewart and save James Stewart of the Glen from conviction for the Appin Murder. He approaches Lord Advocate William Grant, later Lord Prestongrange, offering evidence that undermines the prosecution. Government officials and clan interests instead delay and intimidate him, and David is kidnapped and held on the Bass Rock until the trial is effectively decided.

David’s campaign for justice is intertwined with his growing attachment to Catriona Drummond, the fictional daughter of the historical Jacobite James Mor MacGregor. Their relationship carries the story from Edinburgh to the Netherlands and France, where Allan’s exile network and James Mor’s betrayals create further danger. The sequel shifts from physical escape to legal and political coercion, using the documented Appin trial to examine compromised institutions, personal honour and the difficulty of acting justly after rebellion.