The Master of Ballantrae

By: Robert Louis Stevenson

Narrated by: David Rintoul

Told by servant Ephraim Mackellar, The Master of Ballantrae is set at the time of the Jacobite rebellion of 1745 and portrays the Durie family. James abandons his ancestral home to support the Jacobites while his younger brother, Henry, loyal to the English king, remains. However, years later James, who had been supposed dead, returns to claim his inheritance, resulting in a feud between the brothers that shifts from the Scottish Highlands to the Wild West of America.

Download the accompanying reference guide.Public Domain (P)2020 Naxos AudioBooks

A Ripping Historical Yarn

A dramatic – sometimes melodramatic – story that also delivers thoughtful, insightful observations on human nature. Not a surprise, seeing as our narrator is a product of an 18th Century English (or Scottish?) university. A peaceful man, he finds himself caught up in a struggle between two brothers for the possession of the family estate. Highly recommended for those who like their swashbuckling stories to be rooted in our human reality. And, as always, David Rintoul renders it all to perfection.

One note: don’t be misled by the “About this listen” blurb on the sight. The “Wild West of America” referred to is colonial upstate New York, as this story is set in the latter half of the 18th, not the 19th Century.