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The Master of Ballantrae
In December 1887 Stevenson wrote that he had 'fallen head over heels into a new tale ... a most seizing tale; there are some fantastic elements; the most is a dead genuine human problem - human tragedy, I should say rather.'. "The Master of Ballantrae" opens in the old Scottish house of Durrisdeer, ancestral home of the Duries, a family divided by the Jacobite rising of 1745. Its adventure draws in sea voyages, piracy, buried treasure, magic and nightmare, and centres on the fatal rivalry between two brothers, James and Henry, and the wealthy and beautiful kinswoman who loves one brother but marries the other. 'The Master is all I know of the devil, ' Stevenson confessed, and the satanic, virile, seductive figure of James Durie dominates the novel. The family servant Mackellar narrates "The Master of Ballantrae," and his divided loyalties dramatize the question of 'mastery' which, in his introduction to this Penguin Classics edition, Adrian Poole identifies as a vital theme in Stevenson's tragic masterpiece.
262 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1889
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About the author
Robert Louis Stevenson
6,937 books6,981 followersRobert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, and travel writer, and a leading representative of English literature. He was greatly admired by many authors, including Jorge Luis Borges, Ernest Hemingway, Rudyard Kipling and Vladimir Nabokov.
Most modernist writers dismissed him, however, because he was popular and did not write within their narrow definition of literature. It is only recently that critics have begun to look beyond Stevenson's popularity and allow him a place in the Western canon.
Most modernist writers dismissed him, however, because he was popular and did not write within their narrow definition of literature. It is only recently that critics have begun to look beyond Stevenson's popularity and allow him a place in the Western canon.
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October 16, 2019
"Mai il mondo vide un piano più diabolico, così semplice nella sua perfidia da essere inattaccabile."
Mi aspettavo un romanzone-capolavoro da 5/5, e invece con un certo dispiacere devo ammettere di non potere andare oltre le 4 stelle e mezza: l'opera sembra risentire un tantino dell'età, non riesce a mantenere intatta tutta la freschezza come invece accade con un Tolstoj o un Dumas o un Flaubert. L'agilità e la semplicità con cui i personaggi si muovono da un continente all'altro mi sono suonate piuttosto ingenue; così pure come il sistema dei testimoni-narratori appare qui ancora agli albori. Dovrebbe essere una storia avvincente, e invece fino alla metà inoltrata del libro non sono riuscita a sentirmi pienamente avvinta, è come se avessi faticato a prendere lo stesso passo, la stessa andatura dell'autore. E riguardo a questo, più in particolare, ho faticato ad entrare in sintonia con una voce narrante che preannuncia ogni minuzia con un tono da squillo di trombe della marcia trionfale, ogni minimo evento viene presentato come quello decisivo, il perno su cui dovrebbe ruotare tutta la storia. Se si da' retta a questo modo di preannunciare lo svolgersi della trama, in pratica dovrebbe esserci un climax ogni pagina e mezza: inutile dire che per questa via le richieste di attenzione da parte della voce narrante finiscono per subire una svalutazione e ottenere l'opposto dell'effetto desiderato, il ritmo della lettura non solo ne risulta rallentato ma anche spezzettato. Infine, devo segnalare la presenza di parecchi refusi: di refuso non si muore e il refuso non rappresenta un effettivo impedimento all'atto della lettura, però che fastidio.
Con questa prima raffica ho sparato lì tutti i difetti dell'opera, ma innegabili sono anche i pregi: un bell'intreccio, una bella atmosfera cupa e gotica, belle le ambientazioni e specialmente quella in Scozia, e sopra ogni cosa c'è il modo in cui si sviscera il rapporto di odio tra i due fratelli protagonisti, il gusto per l'estrema perfidia e cattiveria nel maggiore dei due, il modo in cui la mitezza del minore si tramuta in inedia. In questo i personaggi sono davvero ben costruiti, sono plasmati a trecentosessanta gradi, con poche sapienti e precise parole l'autore sa arrivare direttamente al punto per descriverli nella loro psicologia. Arrivo a pensare che tutti i cattivi, tutti i personaggi negativi dei romanzi moderni e contemporanei (per non dire della pletora di cattivoni che troviamo nelle sceneggiature dei film) possano essere tutti discendenti, diretti o indiretti, di questo prototipo di cattivo ma con la differenza - non di poco conto - che mentre i "discendenti" sono tutti afflitti da una sorta di patologia, una cattiveria autogenerantesi e sempre fine a sé stessa, nel progenitore invece i lati negativi del personaggio negativo hanno un senso, un costrutto e uno sviluppo, hanno una forma completa che gli attribuisce non solo sostanza ma anche eleganza: cosa che non si potrà dire dei "discendenti" i quali tenderanno tutti più o meno ad un certo livello di piattezza e pacchianeria.
Laddove il narratore dice, parlando del fratello maggiore: "Mai il mondo vide un piano più diabolico, così semplice nella sua perfidia da essere inattaccabile", non occorre molto al lettore per capire che un complimento affine può essere rivolto all'autore: la perfidia del suo personaggio è tanto più precisa quanto più si dimostra semplice, priva di inutili orpelli.
Il tema centrale del maligno - o diabolico, o cattiveria intrinseca all'uomo - si sviluppa non soltanto con l'odio acceso tra i due fratelli, ma anche con una sorta di compenetrazione-attrazione tra i due: se all'inizio della vicenda essi sono separati sotto ogni punto di vista materiale e psicologico, con il procedere del racconto ci si renderà conto che c'è una forza, come una sorta di magnetismo che li attira l'uno verso l'altro e non soltanto in senso materiale e geografico, fino al finale che si può intuire tragico già dalle primissime righe ma i cui dettagli sono impossibili da indovinare (a tale proposito segnalo che la prefazione di Francesco Binni alla presente edizione è fortemente spoilerante, per chi non conosce i dettagli della trama è meglio leggerla post anziché pre).
Anche se l'attenzione va naturalmente concentrandosi su queste due figure che sono indubbiamente le protagoniste, devo annotare di aver apprezzato particolarmente anche il modo in cui è costruito il personaggio Mackellar, intendente della nobile casata cui appartengono i due fratelli nonché principale voce narrante cui si affida la struttura di Stevenson. A parte il difetto del tono di voce cui accennavo sopra, il personaggio è davvero apprezzabile: ha una pacatezza, una solidità e una concretezza, una sincerità nell'ammettere le proprie piccole pusillanimità, e una devozione così schietta da non farlo mai assomigliare neanche da lontano ad un adulatore o lecchino, tutto questo messo insieme ne fa una figura a cui è difficile non affezionarsi.
Concordo comunque con la prefazione nel sottolineare che il vero elemento di novità - e in questo il libro si mantiene alquanto attuale - è il fatto di raccontare la doppiezza della natura umana non con una banale separazione - il bene di qua e il male di là - ma con una vera compenetrazione e commistione, con forze che impongono cambiamenti, mescolanze, degenerazione, desiderio di liberazione. Rispetto l'idea del personaggio Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde c'è un ulteriore sviluppo: la doppiezza viene qui ulteriormente suddivisa in due. Per il mio primo Stevenson (a quarant'anni quasi suonati!) il bilancio è certamente positivo.
Mi aspettavo un romanzone-capolavoro da 5/5, e invece con un certo dispiacere devo ammettere di non potere andare oltre le 4 stelle e mezza: l'opera sembra risentire un tantino dell'età, non riesce a mantenere intatta tutta la freschezza come invece accade con un Tolstoj o un Dumas o un Flaubert. L'agilità e la semplicità con cui i personaggi si muovono da un continente all'altro mi sono suonate piuttosto ingenue; così pure come il sistema dei testimoni-narratori appare qui ancora agli albori. Dovrebbe essere una storia avvincente, e invece fino alla metà inoltrata del libro non sono riuscita a sentirmi pienamente avvinta, è come se avessi faticato a prendere lo stesso passo, la stessa andatura dell'autore. E riguardo a questo, più in particolare, ho faticato ad entrare in sintonia con una voce narrante che preannuncia ogni minuzia con un tono da squillo di trombe della marcia trionfale, ogni minimo evento viene presentato come quello decisivo, il perno su cui dovrebbe ruotare tutta la storia. Se si da' retta a questo modo di preannunciare lo svolgersi della trama, in pratica dovrebbe esserci un climax ogni pagina e mezza: inutile dire che per questa via le richieste di attenzione da parte della voce narrante finiscono per subire una svalutazione e ottenere l'opposto dell'effetto desiderato, il ritmo della lettura non solo ne risulta rallentato ma anche spezzettato. Infine, devo segnalare la presenza di parecchi refusi: di refuso non si muore e il refuso non rappresenta un effettivo impedimento all'atto della lettura, però che fastidio.
Con questa prima raffica ho sparato lì tutti i difetti dell'opera, ma innegabili sono anche i pregi: un bell'intreccio, una bella atmosfera cupa e gotica, belle le ambientazioni e specialmente quella in Scozia, e sopra ogni cosa c'è il modo in cui si sviscera il rapporto di odio tra i due fratelli protagonisti, il gusto per l'estrema perfidia e cattiveria nel maggiore dei due, il modo in cui la mitezza del minore si tramuta in inedia. In questo i personaggi sono davvero ben costruiti, sono plasmati a trecentosessanta gradi, con poche sapienti e precise parole l'autore sa arrivare direttamente al punto per descriverli nella loro psicologia. Arrivo a pensare che tutti i cattivi, tutti i personaggi negativi dei romanzi moderni e contemporanei (per non dire della pletora di cattivoni che troviamo nelle sceneggiature dei film) possano essere tutti discendenti, diretti o indiretti, di questo prototipo di cattivo ma con la differenza - non di poco conto - che mentre i "discendenti" sono tutti afflitti da una sorta di patologia, una cattiveria autogenerantesi e sempre fine a sé stessa, nel progenitore invece i lati negativi del personaggio negativo hanno un senso, un costrutto e uno sviluppo, hanno una forma completa che gli attribuisce non solo sostanza ma anche eleganza: cosa che non si potrà dire dei "discendenti" i quali tenderanno tutti più o meno ad un certo livello di piattezza e pacchianeria.
Laddove il narratore dice, parlando del fratello maggiore: "Mai il mondo vide un piano più diabolico, così semplice nella sua perfidia da essere inattaccabile", non occorre molto al lettore per capire che un complimento affine può essere rivolto all'autore: la perfidia del suo personaggio è tanto più precisa quanto più si dimostra semplice, priva di inutili orpelli.
Il tema centrale del maligno - o diabolico, o cattiveria intrinseca all'uomo - si sviluppa non soltanto con l'odio acceso tra i due fratelli, ma anche con una sorta di compenetrazione-attrazione tra i due: se all'inizio della vicenda essi sono separati sotto ogni punto di vista materiale e psicologico, con il procedere del racconto ci si renderà conto che c'è una forza, come una sorta di magnetismo che li attira l'uno verso l'altro e non soltanto in senso materiale e geografico, fino al finale che si può intuire tragico già dalle primissime righe ma i cui dettagli sono impossibili da indovinare (a tale proposito segnalo che la prefazione di Francesco Binni alla presente edizione è fortemente spoilerante, per chi non conosce i dettagli della trama è meglio leggerla post anziché pre).
Anche se l'attenzione va naturalmente concentrandosi su queste due figure che sono indubbiamente le protagoniste, devo annotare di aver apprezzato particolarmente anche il modo in cui è costruito il personaggio Mackellar, intendente della nobile casata cui appartengono i due fratelli nonché principale voce narrante cui si affida la struttura di Stevenson. A parte il difetto del tono di voce cui accennavo sopra, il personaggio è davvero apprezzabile: ha una pacatezza, una solidità e una concretezza, una sincerità nell'ammettere le proprie piccole pusillanimità, e una devozione così schietta da non farlo mai assomigliare neanche da lontano ad un adulatore o lecchino, tutto questo messo insieme ne fa una figura a cui è difficile non affezionarsi.
Concordo comunque con la prefazione nel sottolineare che il vero elemento di novità - e in questo il libro si mantiene alquanto attuale - è il fatto di raccontare la doppiezza della natura umana non con una banale separazione - il bene di qua e il male di là - ma con una vera compenetrazione e commistione, con forze che impongono cambiamenti, mescolanze, degenerazione, desiderio di liberazione. Rispetto l'idea del personaggio Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde c'è un ulteriore sviluppo: la doppiezza viene qui ulteriormente suddivisa in due. Per il mio primo Stevenson (a quarant'anni quasi suonati!) il bilancio è certamente positivo.
February 24, 2024
This is the second time I read the Master of Ballantrae, and I remembered not loving it the first time around; however, as we mature, things change. I am not disappointed that I read this novel. In fact, I’m quite happy at rediscovering this gem that I hope to revisit sometime in the future, including it in my best books alongside Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde., and Treasure Island.
The story is about two brothers. James is restless and charismatic, whereas Henry is staid and sober. James goes off to war even though it is Henry’s responsibility (something due to birth order) to go. James is adventurous and feels that he will gain more honor if he goes to war; so he chooses to go to war. In the eyes of their father and all the town’s people, James is correct. His respect is increased while Henry has diminished in everyone’s eyes, except for the narrator, Ephraim Mackellar who is Henry’s steward.
The story is really a rivalry between brothers that turns evil and, in some places, horrific as James’ nature is increasingly revealed. As the narrative unfolds and the dichotomies are more completely identified Robert Louis Stevenson appears to be communicating more complicated themes of Scotland’s divided identity. However the story is read, there is adventure, romance, and darkness to be found here. I loved it.
The story is about two brothers. James is restless and charismatic, whereas Henry is staid and sober. James goes off to war even though it is Henry’s responsibility (something due to birth order) to go. James is adventurous and feels that he will gain more honor if he goes to war; so he chooses to go to war. In the eyes of their father and all the town’s people, James is correct. His respect is increased while Henry has diminished in everyone’s eyes, except for the narrator, Ephraim Mackellar who is Henry’s steward.
The story is really a rivalry between brothers that turns evil and, in some places, horrific as James’ nature is increasingly revealed. As the narrative unfolds and the dichotomies are more completely identified Robert Louis Stevenson appears to be communicating more complicated themes of Scotland’s divided identity. However the story is read, there is adventure, romance, and darkness to be found here. I loved it.
March 4, 2020
Cinque sono poche
A una trama avventurosa (antichi manieri, duelli al crepuscolo, intrighi, odio implacabile, onore, amore, destino, caso…) in questo romanzo fa da contrappunto una sottilissima e acuta analisi dell’animo umano. Il tema del doppio come pretesto per immergersi nel disagio esistenziale dell’io.
Male e bene: cosa c’è di più diverso? Eppure la linea di confine tra l’uno e l’altro non è mai stata così labile, così incerta, così impercettibile come quella tracciata da Stevenson nel Master.
A una trama avventurosa (antichi manieri, duelli al crepuscolo, intrighi, odio implacabile, onore, amore, destino, caso…) in questo romanzo fa da contrappunto una sottilissima e acuta analisi dell’animo umano. Il tema del doppio come pretesto per immergersi nel disagio esistenziale dell’io.
Male e bene: cosa c’è di più diverso? Eppure la linea di confine tra l’uno e l’altro non è mai stata così labile, così incerta, così impercettibile come quella tracciata da Stevenson nel Master.
April 15, 2017
I approached my rereading of The Master of Ballantrae with some trepidation. It was a book I adored when I was very young, and it’s always a risky business revisiting bookish old flames (like old flames of any kind.)
I’m pleased to report that the novel stood up to revisitation quite triumphantly. I have a better knowledge of the literary context now, and I enjoyed picking up on the echoes of James Hogg’s The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner (use of invented documents and memoirs as a narrative means; doomed pairing of contrasted brothers; theme of destiny vs free will; motifs of a night duel and an uncanny exhumation.) There are also echoes of Stevenson’s own Jekyll and Hyde, written three years earlier, to the extent that the two Durie brothers, the devilish, mercurial James and the stolid, brooding Henry can seem unhappily yoked parts of a single, conflicted whole (perhaps, in a Scott-like way, representative of Scotland’s divided identity: the novel is set in the aftermath of the ’45 uprising, in which James Durie fights and is initially thought lost.)
The plot of the novel is highly melodramatic and exotic, in the spirit of romance. In addition to Ballantrae, on the south-west coast of Scotland, its settings include a primitive, traders’ New York, and the wilderness of the Adirondacks, where the dramatic last chapters of the novel take place (and where Stevenson first conceived of the novel, in a stay in an experimental tuberculosis sanatorium in 1887.) The characters include a highly “orientalised” Hindu retainer, Secundra Dass, and the novel finds time for a small but perfectly formed Caribbean pirate narrative, told in an inset narrative by the rollicking Irish soldier of fortune Chevalier Francis Burke.
All this riot of color is kept expertly under control, throughout most of the novel, by the dry, methodical prose of the chief narrator, the steward Ephraim Mackellar, through whose unreliably partisan eyes we see most of the events of the novel. For long stretches, in between the action scenes, the novel is a kind of chamber piece, charting the changing relationships between a tight family knot of characters: the brothers, Henry and James (the Master of the title); their father, the old laird, unwitting cause of their rivalry through his favoritism; Allison Graeme, their cousin, who loves James and married Henry; and Mackellar himself.
Although our attention is directed principally towards the depicted characters, the romantic, doomed Durie family, Mackellar himself is pivotal to the effect of the novel. Despite the prissy, old maidish elements in his characterization, he is far from lacking in passion, as his fierce devotion to the put-upon Henry Durie shows. Nor is he quite secure from the Master’s demonic seductions, however clearly he sees through his Byronic performances. One of the most interesting and destabilizing passages in the novel, set significantly on a ship heading across the Atlantic, sees our trusty narrator half-beginning to fall prey, despite himself, to the Master’s charms.
After a long time of being consigned to the dusty dressing-up box of the “adventure novel,” I have a sense that Stevenson is now taken much more seriously by literary criticism, as a forerunner of modernism, or post-modernism. I think that’s right—although it doesn’t stop his novels from being immensely enjoyable on a straight, adventure-novel level, as my adolescent self can attest.
I’ve also always loved Stevenson as a stylist. I came to this novel after Elizabeth Gaskell’s Wives and Daughters, with its placid, leisurely prose, and I found his terseness quite thrilling by contrast. Stevenson has the meta-narrator figure in his preface—the man who publishes the found manuscript of Mackellar—refuse to embellish the style, on the grounds that “there is nothing so noble as baldness.” It’s typical of Stevenson’s sprezzatura to frame a stylistic manifesto in such a nobly bald way.
I’m pleased to report that the novel stood up to revisitation quite triumphantly. I have a better knowledge of the literary context now, and I enjoyed picking up on the echoes of James Hogg’s The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner (use of invented documents and memoirs as a narrative means; doomed pairing of contrasted brothers; theme of destiny vs free will; motifs of a night duel and an uncanny exhumation.) There are also echoes of Stevenson’s own Jekyll and Hyde, written three years earlier, to the extent that the two Durie brothers, the devilish, mercurial James and the stolid, brooding Henry can seem unhappily yoked parts of a single, conflicted whole (perhaps, in a Scott-like way, representative of Scotland’s divided identity: the novel is set in the aftermath of the ’45 uprising, in which James Durie fights and is initially thought lost.)
The plot of the novel is highly melodramatic and exotic, in the spirit of romance. In addition to Ballantrae, on the south-west coast of Scotland, its settings include a primitive, traders’ New York, and the wilderness of the Adirondacks, where the dramatic last chapters of the novel take place (and where Stevenson first conceived of the novel, in a stay in an experimental tuberculosis sanatorium in 1887.) The characters include a highly “orientalised” Hindu retainer, Secundra Dass, and the novel finds time for a small but perfectly formed Caribbean pirate narrative, told in an inset narrative by the rollicking Irish soldier of fortune Chevalier Francis Burke.
All this riot of color is kept expertly under control, throughout most of the novel, by the dry, methodical prose of the chief narrator, the steward Ephraim Mackellar, through whose unreliably partisan eyes we see most of the events of the novel. For long stretches, in between the action scenes, the novel is a kind of chamber piece, charting the changing relationships between a tight family knot of characters: the brothers, Henry and James (the Master of the title); their father, the old laird, unwitting cause of their rivalry through his favoritism; Allison Graeme, their cousin, who loves James and married Henry; and Mackellar himself.
Although our attention is directed principally towards the depicted characters, the romantic, doomed Durie family, Mackellar himself is pivotal to the effect of the novel. Despite the prissy, old maidish elements in his characterization, he is far from lacking in passion, as his fierce devotion to the put-upon Henry Durie shows. Nor is he quite secure from the Master’s demonic seductions, however clearly he sees through his Byronic performances. One of the most interesting and destabilizing passages in the novel, set significantly on a ship heading across the Atlantic, sees our trusty narrator half-beginning to fall prey, despite himself, to the Master’s charms.
After a long time of being consigned to the dusty dressing-up box of the “adventure novel,” I have a sense that Stevenson is now taken much more seriously by literary criticism, as a forerunner of modernism, or post-modernism. I think that’s right—although it doesn’t stop his novels from being immensely enjoyable on a straight, adventure-novel level, as my adolescent self can attest.
I’ve also always loved Stevenson as a stylist. I came to this novel after Elizabeth Gaskell’s Wives and Daughters, with its placid, leisurely prose, and I found his terseness quite thrilling by contrast. Stevenson has the meta-narrator figure in his preface—the man who publishes the found manuscript of Mackellar—refuse to embellish the style, on the grounds that “there is nothing so noble as baldness.” It’s typical of Stevenson’s sprezzatura to frame a stylistic manifesto in such a nobly bald way.
December 14, 2014
Gosh, I love RLS. He was the man. Adventure, intrigue, travel, romance, gothic suspense...gosh I love RLS. He would have made a terrific screenwriter during cinema's golden age, all swash and buckle. This ripping yarn just doesn't let you leave. You may pretend you're working or gardening or conversing with others during your everyday boring life, but really, you're just thinking about the Brothers Durie. Which one is really good and which one is really evil?
This specific edition is from 1968 (perfect year for Sean Connery and Oliver Reed to play the siblings) and is large type for those who need extra help. If you don't need the extra help for the eyes, it's kinda weird, but perfect really because this baby will knock about your bag and car and bus and will wind up very well-thumbed. I'd like a leather-bound edition, just so I can watch it sitting on my shelf. RLS!
Two Duries in Durrisdeer
One to stay and one to ride,
An ill day for the groom
And a worse day for the bride.
Book Season = Winter (snow flurries and sword fights)
This specific edition is from 1968 (perfect year for Sean Connery and Oliver Reed to play the siblings) and is large type for those who need extra help. If you don't need the extra help for the eyes, it's kinda weird, but perfect really because this baby will knock about your bag and car and bus and will wind up very well-thumbed. I'd like a leather-bound edition, just so I can watch it sitting on my shelf. RLS!
Two Duries in Durrisdeer
One to stay and one to ride,
An ill day for the groom
And a worse day for the bride.
Book Season = Winter (snow flurries and sword fights)
October 30, 2017
"Un odio rivelato è un odio impotente"
Può l’odio diventare lo scopo di una vita?
Possono due esseri umani sacrificare la loro vita con il solo obiettivo di danneggiare qualcuno?
Evidentemente sì, almeno stando a quanto ci racconta Stevenson in questo romanzo.
Il rapporto terribile e spietato tra due fratelli, uno buono, leale e generoso e uno malvagio, spregiudicato e rancoroso è il fulcro del romanzo e quello che ne rende interessante la lettura. Due fratelli che per buona parte del racconto si odiano nell’ombra, fingendo un affetto reciproco che non provano.
La maldicenza delle persone, l’incomunicabilità tipica dell’ambiente aristocratico dell’ottocento, un padre che ha la consistenza caratteriale e la spina dorsale di un tremolante budino e una donna che ha la sensibilità di un coccodrillo fanno da corollario allo scontro tra i due. Il tema è quello noto del doppio, il buono e il cattivo, il gentile e il feroce, Giacobbe e Esaù, il bene e il male.
E’ innegabilmente bravo Stevenson a mostrarci in continuazione i due fratelli sotto una luce diversa, come se bene e male coesistessero in entrambi. E per tutto il romanzo sono rimasto nel dubbio su chi dei due fosse realmente degno di rispetto, come se i due fossero la stessa persona che esprima due facce diverse.
Ho letto il romanzo con interesse (318 pagine in un paio di giorni durante viaggi aerei) anche se l'ho trovato meno intrigante rispetto ad altri dello stesso Stevenson.
La struttura del libro, fatta di alternanza di racconti di persone diverse, contribuisce a movimentare un po’ la narrazione, anche se l’ho trovata ripresa da quella già utilizzata da Wilkie Collins una ventina di anni prima (ad esempio nella Pietra di Luna).
In definitiva un buon libro, interessante, scorrevole, piacevole. Ma per me manca qualcosina; forse l'ho trovato un po' scontato o forse semplicemente poco attuale.
Direi tre stelle e mezzo.
March 4, 2020
★★★½
James ed Henry sono due fratelli della casata dei Durie di Durrisdeer e Ballantrae, una potente famiglia della Scozia meridionale.
L’avvio della storia vera e propria si colloca nel 1745 quando Carlo Edoardo Stuart sbarca in Scozia e, con l’aiuto dei francesi, dà inizio alla ribellione giacobita.
Il lancio di una monetina segnerà il destino dei due fratelli:
il primogenito James (il Master), infatti, si unirà ai rivoltosi, Henry, invece, resterà nella tenuta come lealista.
La biforcazione dei destini farà lievitare un odio presente da sempre nei due fratelli.
Una storia con un crescendo di alta tensione presentata sotto forma di memorie di un diretto testimone della tragedia di questa famiglia: Efraim Mackellar, amministratore della tenuta dei Durrisdeer.
Una lotta tra il bene ed il male dove accanto all’atmosfera misteriosa e gotica si affianca il racconto di avventure picaresche ed esotiche.
Personalmente, però, non mi sono sentita pienamente coinvolta nella lettura, anzi, direi che dopo la prima metà del libro ho trovato il tutto abbastanza soffocante probabilmente per quel crescendo di perfidia che non trova spiragli per ossigenarsi.
James ed Henry sono due fratelli della casata dei Durie di Durrisdeer e Ballantrae, una potente famiglia della Scozia meridionale.
L’avvio della storia vera e propria si colloca nel 1745 quando Carlo Edoardo Stuart sbarca in Scozia e, con l’aiuto dei francesi, dà inizio alla ribellione giacobita.
Il lancio di una monetina segnerà il destino dei due fratelli:
il primogenito James (il Master), infatti, si unirà ai rivoltosi, Henry, invece, resterà nella tenuta come lealista.
La biforcazione dei destini farà lievitare un odio presente da sempre nei due fratelli.
Una storia con un crescendo di alta tensione presentata sotto forma di memorie di un diretto testimone della tragedia di questa famiglia: Efraim Mackellar, amministratore della tenuta dei Durrisdeer.
Una lotta tra il bene ed il male dove accanto all’atmosfera misteriosa e gotica si affianca il racconto di avventure picaresche ed esotiche.
Personalmente, però, non mi sono sentita pienamente coinvolta nella lettura, anzi, direi che dopo la prima metà del libro ho trovato il tutto abbastanza soffocante probabilmente per quel crescendo di perfidia che non trova spiragli per ossigenarsi.
July 19, 2022
Free download available at Project Gutenberg.
This book is being discussed by the 19th Century Literature Yahoo Group.
This is the story of two brothers set during & after the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745, often referred to as "the Forty-five", in Scotland, India & America.
An incident in the rebellion of 1746, by David Morier
The narrator of this book is done by Mackellar, the loyal steward to the Durie of Durisdeer family, which consists of an old lord and this two sons - James, the Master of Ballantrae, and Henry. Another relative, Miss Alison Graeme, also lives with the family.
The two brothers have opposite trends: James supports Bonnie Prince Charlie and goes and fights for the Jacobites while Henry stays at home to keep favor of King George II. In this way, whichever side wins, the family’s estate will be preserved.
Once the Rising fails, the Master is reported dead and Henry becomes the heir of the estate. Living without glory brings no happiness to the surviving brother.
The End of the 'Forty Five' Rebellion - William Brasse Hole's original etching, "The End of the 'Forty Five' Rebellion" depicts the final chapter of the 1745 Highland Rebellion led by Prince Charles Edward and the retreat of his defeated troops. Fatigue, hunger and despair accompany the wounded troops.
However, a turmoil in the story will happen once Coronel Francis Burke arrives bringing letters from the Master.
In order to avoid spoilers, I will stop my review here.
A movie was made based on this book: The Master of Ballantrae (1953), with Errol Flynn, Roger Livesey, Anthony Steel as well as three TV series: The Master of Ballantrae (1962– ); The Master of Ballantrae (1975– ); and The Master of Ballantrae (1984).
For those interested in reading a biography about the author, there are at least two interesting books on this subject: Fanny Stevenson: A Romance of Destiny (1993) by Alexandra Lapierre and Under the Wide and Starry Sky (2013) by Nancy Horan, see my review here.
However, it should be noticed that both books are fictionalized biographies. For a complete list of RLS's biographies, please visit the author's website.
The Battle of Culloden in fiction:
Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon.
The Jacobite Trilogy by D.K. Broster.
Waverley by Walter Scott.
The Scottish Thistle by Cindy Vallar.
Culloden by John Prebble.
This book is being discussed by the 19th Century Literature Yahoo Group.
This is the story of two brothers set during & after the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745, often referred to as "the Forty-five", in Scotland, India & America.
An incident in the rebellion of 1746, by David Morier
The narrator of this book is done by Mackellar, the loyal steward to the Durie of Durisdeer family, which consists of an old lord and this two sons - James, the Master of Ballantrae, and Henry. Another relative, Miss Alison Graeme, also lives with the family.
The two brothers have opposite trends: James supports Bonnie Prince Charlie and goes and fights for the Jacobites while Henry stays at home to keep favor of King George II. In this way, whichever side wins, the family’s estate will be preserved.
Once the Rising fails, the Master is reported dead and Henry becomes the heir of the estate. Living without glory brings no happiness to the surviving brother.
The End of the 'Forty Five' Rebellion - William Brasse Hole's original etching, "The End of the 'Forty Five' Rebellion" depicts the final chapter of the 1745 Highland Rebellion led by Prince Charles Edward and the retreat of his defeated troops. Fatigue, hunger and despair accompany the wounded troops.
However, a turmoil in the story will happen once Coronel Francis Burke arrives bringing letters from the Master.
In order to avoid spoilers, I will stop my review here.
A movie was made based on this book: The Master of Ballantrae (1953), with Errol Flynn, Roger Livesey, Anthony Steel as well as three TV series: The Master of Ballantrae (1962– ); The Master of Ballantrae (1975– ); and The Master of Ballantrae (1984).
For those interested in reading a biography about the author, there are at least two interesting books on this subject: Fanny Stevenson: A Romance of Destiny (1993) by Alexandra Lapierre and Under the Wide and Starry Sky (2013) by Nancy Horan, see my review here.
However, it should be noticed that both books are fictionalized biographies. For a complete list of RLS's biographies, please visit the author's website.
The Battle of Culloden in fiction:
Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon.
The Jacobite Trilogy by D.K. Broster.
Waverley by Walter Scott.
The Scottish Thistle by Cindy Vallar.
Culloden by John Prebble.
December 22, 2018
“ È questo il principio fondamentale della vendetta: un odio rivelato è un odio impotente” .
Due fratelli, una moneta, un destino di odio che si trascinerà fino alla morte.
Stevenson gioca con i due fratelli Durrisdeer: Henry il buono, il riflessivo, l’accondiscendente; e James, il master di Ballantrae, lo scavezzacollo della famiglia, l’impetuoso spendaccione che manda in malora la famiglia.
Solo che non sempre le cose vanno come si vuole. Il buono diventa cattivo in questo caso, impazzisce per quella che è una vita di sopportazione e angherie subite.
Un tema caro allo scrittore, capire come l’ambiente in cui vivi possa influire sul tuo comportamento, sulla tua indole e modificarla. E’ possibile cambiare così tanto? Fino a che abissi si può spingere la cattiveria umana, desiderando la morte di chi fa parte del tuo sangue?
Una scrittura piacevolissima, descrizioni di paesaggi soprattutto nell’ultima parte che rendono ancora di più l’anima desolata dalla malvagità.
Due fratelli, una moneta, un destino di odio che si trascinerà fino alla morte.
Stevenson gioca con i due fratelli Durrisdeer: Henry il buono, il riflessivo, l’accondiscendente; e James, il master di Ballantrae, lo scavezzacollo della famiglia, l’impetuoso spendaccione che manda in malora la famiglia.
Solo che non sempre le cose vanno come si vuole. Il buono diventa cattivo in questo caso, impazzisce per quella che è una vita di sopportazione e angherie subite.
Un tema caro allo scrittore, capire come l’ambiente in cui vivi possa influire sul tuo comportamento, sulla tua indole e modificarla. E’ possibile cambiare così tanto? Fino a che abissi si può spingere la cattiveria umana, desiderando la morte di chi fa parte del tuo sangue?
Una scrittura piacevolissima, descrizioni di paesaggi soprattutto nell’ultima parte che rendono ancora di più l’anima desolata dalla malvagità.
on-the-shelf
June 5, 2015I just watched the wonderful 50s adaptation of this, starring a debonair but slightly long in the tooth Errol Flynn. awesome action! awesome Technicolor! if the book is half as fun, I need to read it soon. so fast-paced and full of surprises. plus a new favorite character: the French pirate, an effete dandy and killer, with a badass scar on his face to provide a nice contrast to his stylish outfits... so dreamy. and now I'm wondering if Black Sails was renewed for a second season. I sure hope so.
November 26, 2017
La metterei così: il lancio di una moneta stabilisce le sorti.
Il Male penetra il Bene, ne diviene coscienza fino a farlo impazzire.
P.S. Basterebbe accettare d'esser plurimi per rimanere savi?
Il Male penetra il Bene, ne diviene coscienza fino a farlo impazzire.
P.S. Basterebbe accettare d'esser plurimi per rimanere savi?
December 11, 2018
La storia di una feroce battaglia tra due fratelli, che dura tutta una vita.
Stevenson era davvero uno scrittore eccezionale: la lettura di questo romanzo è coinvolgente dall'inizio alla fine, sia nelle parti avventurose che in quelle relativamente più "calme" (in realtà, anche tra le mura domestiche la tensione è sempre alta).
Tra personaggi memorabili, un efficace uso del narratore (anzi, dei narratori), un po' di umorismo pur in una storia decisamente cupa, Il Master di Ballantrae è uno splendido romanzo.
Il tema principale è quello del "doppio", a mio parere affrontato qui in maniera molto più affascinante rispetto al caso di Jekyll e Hyde; la contrapposizione tra i due fratelli/nemici è più complessa, ed intrigante, e cambia nel corso della storia. E può essere interpretata in più modi.
Il Master citato nel titolo è comunque senza dubbio un personaggio "negativo", ed è decisamente un gran bel "cattivo", che in parte ricorda Long John Silver.
Avrei dato 5 stelle al romanzo, ma il finale mi sembra un po' stupido, poteva forse pensarlo un po' meglio. Però è un romanzo che straccia quasi qualunque altro libro d'avventura.
(questa edizione Garzanti è molto bella, con un apparato introduttivo ricco ed interessante)
Stevenson era davvero uno scrittore eccezionale: la lettura di questo romanzo è coinvolgente dall'inizio alla fine, sia nelle parti avventurose che in quelle relativamente più "calme" (in realtà, anche tra le mura domestiche la tensione è sempre alta).
Tra personaggi memorabili, un efficace uso del narratore (anzi, dei narratori), un po' di umorismo pur in una storia decisamente cupa, Il Master di Ballantrae è uno splendido romanzo.
Il tema principale è quello del "doppio", a mio parere affrontato qui in maniera molto più affascinante rispetto al caso di Jekyll e Hyde; la contrapposizione tra i due fratelli/nemici è più complessa, ed intrigante, e cambia nel corso della storia. E può essere interpretata in più modi.
Il Master citato nel titolo è comunque senza dubbio un personaggio "negativo", ed è decisamente un gran bel "cattivo", che in parte ricorda Long John Silver.
Avrei dato 5 stelle al romanzo, ma il finale mi sembra un po' stupido, poteva forse pensarlo un po' meglio. Però è un romanzo che straccia quasi qualunque altro libro d'avventura.
(questa edizione Garzanti è molto bella, con un apparato introduttivo ricco ed interessante)
June 3, 2025
3.8 stars. Every time I read this book, I think “hmmm, that could have been better”…but then I think, “man, I really did like it, though; and maybe I missed something; I want to read it again. Should I go ahead and start again right now? I really do like it. Ah, but I don’t want to wear it out. When can I start again?”
It’s strange. In a sense, I feel as if I spent the entire book waiting, waiting, waiting for something that never happened. It’s hard to follow early on, the pacing is awkward, and the supporting characters and situations (sense of place) are actually pretty poorly and vaguely laid out. There aren’t too many places you can point to and say “Whoa, I loved that part.” But in spite of a multitude of flaws…it still made me FEEL the mystery. It kept me desperately wondering how it would end, and feel that tingle of wonder, of worry, of awe. And I want more, not less.
It’s strange. In a sense, I feel as if I spent the entire book waiting, waiting, waiting for something that never happened. It’s hard to follow early on, the pacing is awkward, and the supporting characters and situations (sense of place) are actually pretty poorly and vaguely laid out. There aren’t too many places you can point to and say “Whoa, I loved that part.” But in spite of a multitude of flaws…it still made me FEEL the mystery. It kept me desperately wondering how it would end, and feel that tingle of wonder, of worry, of awe. And I want more, not less.
January 17, 2026
Una lunga e angosciante guerra fratricida per vedere chi ce l'ha più grosso... ovviamente, l'ego?
Sicuramente l'orgoglio è una delle caratteristiche del genere umano che move il sole e l'altre stelle? Ah no quello era l'Amor, ma, c'è un ma. L'Ego sta scalzando l'Amore, anzi lo hai già superato e di molto, perchè se per l'Amore una persona deve fare almeno un passo verso di esso, per l'Ego è tutto il resto che viene attirato, come un magnete dei più potenti, a sè. Se da una parte io penso che l'Io debba essere coltivato per poter far sì che cresca e si autodefinisca in quanto tale, dall'altra penso che annaffiarlo troppo faccia fuoriuscire il marcio e il marcio dell'Ego smisurato, ucciderà (ha già ucciso?) le relazioni umane, appiattendo il tutto ad una serie di individui senza più Amore, ma solo un abisso infinito di crudeltà!
La scrittura è magnifica, neanche a dirlo, parliamo di Stevenson e soprattutto che riesce a catalizzare tutte le emozioni in pagine dense di apprensione e tra le più angoscianti che abbia mai letto.
Sicuramente l'orgoglio è una delle caratteristiche del genere umano che move il sole e l'altre stelle? Ah no quello era l'Amor, ma, c'è un ma. L'Ego sta scalzando l'Amore, anzi lo hai già superato e di molto, perchè se per l'Amore una persona deve fare almeno un passo verso di esso, per l'Ego è tutto il resto che viene attirato, come un magnete dei più potenti, a sè. Se da una parte io penso che l'Io debba essere coltivato per poter far sì che cresca e si autodefinisca in quanto tale, dall'altra penso che annaffiarlo troppo faccia fuoriuscire il marcio e il marcio dell'Ego smisurato, ucciderà (ha già ucciso?) le relazioni umane, appiattendo il tutto ad una serie di individui senza più Amore, ma solo un abisso infinito di crudeltà!
La scrittura è magnifica, neanche a dirlo, parliamo di Stevenson e soprattutto che riesce a catalizzare tutte le emozioni in pagine dense di apprensione e tra le più angoscianti che abbia mai letto.
December 14, 2014
Christmas came early this year! A whole set of uncut Robert Louis Stevenson books. RLS! This is better than coffee ice cream, meat pies, and pecan rolls. Shazam!
I have already reviewed the story itself here, so I will use this review for the actual physical book. As we increasingly turn to e-books in the current century, it is always a pleasure to hold a book which was made when printing presses were considered to be state-of-the-art and most folks couldn't even afford a book, let alone a set.
Those Scribner sons did a mighty fine job with this volume. Red cloth with gold lettering and the type of paper one doesn't see anymore. This is a well-brought-up book, the kind you can introduce to others with pride. Gorgeous. The previous owner(s) took good care of this baby, and I hope to continue the tradition.
Book Season = Winter (it's a winter's tale)
I have already reviewed the story itself here, so I will use this review for the actual physical book. As we increasingly turn to e-books in the current century, it is always a pleasure to hold a book which was made when printing presses were considered to be state-of-the-art and most folks couldn't even afford a book, let alone a set.
Those Scribner sons did a mighty fine job with this volume. Red cloth with gold lettering and the type of paper one doesn't see anymore. This is a well-brought-up book, the kind you can introduce to others with pride. Gorgeous. The previous owner(s) took good care of this baby, and I hope to continue the tradition.
Book Season = Winter (it's a winter's tale)
May 28, 2021
"So if you meet me,
Have some courtesy
Have some sympathy, and some taste
Use all your well-learned politesse
Or I'll lay your soul to waste.
Pleased to meet you,
Hope you guessed my name
But what's puzzling you
is the nature of my game..." - The Rolling Stones, "Sympathy For The Devil"
Robert Louis Stevenson called "The Master Of Ballantrae" as containing everything he knew of the Devil. And that is a completely justified way to describe this novel, even as Stevenson already was no stranger to the constant and, on occasion, even omnipresent presence of the Devil or the Enemy within the soul of a man. It is the Devil who cohabits Dr. Jeykill's soul and who then rallies and rebels against not only his own more innocent and considerate alter-ego but also against law and order to devastating results. But while that brilliant novella, hitherto, in my opinion, the finest and most sustained of Stevenson's accomplishments as an incredibly gifted storyteller, will endure on its own, it is in "The Master Of Ballantrae" that we see Stevenson at his most operatic and epic, working at the very peak of his powers, blending the same metaphysical portrait of good and evil trying to reconcile to each other despite being impossible bedfellows with a tale of the same stirring adventure and intrigue that made his "Treasure Island" and "Kidnapped" so unforgettable in their swashbuckling style. And with the consequence, that in blending both moral suspense and high-stakes peril and excitement, he even surpasses his own level of brilliance by a wide margin; "The Master Of Ballantrae" is undeniably a brilliant, bleak, barnstorming masterpiece.
Even as "Ballantrae" is neither a straightforward thriller or even a straightforward adventure, it is incredible to realise, as one starts reading it, just how masterfully the writer straddles both these genres while also serving us a rich novel of weighty drama and a very compellingly complex relationship at its very core. This inexorable relationship - of mutual hatred and bitter resentment - is between two promising but ultimately flawed or vulnerable Scottish noblemen back in the tumultuous days of the Jacobite Rebellion and other turbulent events - Henry Durie, the younger, more dignified and well-intentioned heir apparent to the Lord of Durrisdeer and James, his reckless, cunning and even openly Machiavellian elder brother, and the titular "Master" and the battle of wits, personalities and evil designs that lasts and intensifies for almost decades and across seas and countries, thus forming the main meat of the story.
It is a rivalry less in the fashion of those usual swashbuckling potboilers and more of an insidious, seething and simmering conflict of two men who would never compromise or agree to reconcile with each other. What inspires each man's stubborn pride is, however, his sense of failure and loss. If Henry has lost the blind love of his father and even the whole-hearted affections of his wife to the absent Master and is thus filled with resentment at being denied the same, the Master, on the other hand, has lost all his reckless and even ambitious chances to earn glory for his brethren in his exploits across the map of an ever-changing world. Stevenson portrays the defeat of both these men with a subtly sardonic resonance and an elegantly dry sense irony, not least because of the fact that a major part of this story is narrated by Mackellar, the aging stewart of the family whose own perspective, prejudices and opinions also shape the story in strange ways; torn as he is between his loyalty to Henry and his sinful admiration for the Master in equal measure, he swings like a moral pendulum, thus making us think and rethink our own attitudes and opinions at the same time.
And yet, if all this skillfully wrought intricacy of narrative and perception means that "Ballantrae" is a mouthful to read, rest assured that it is far from a heavy, cumbersome book. My edition was of only 192 pages, just shy of the 200 page mark and yet in those 192 pages, there is a robust, fulfilling story of betrayal, malice, unrequited love and unshakable devotion, envy, greed, war, piracy, naval adventure, colonialism, political intrigue and more and Stevenson keeps on thickening the stew with every subsequent chapter and every new development in the plot, especially in the latter chapters wherein the darkness and the brooding dilemma of morality and reason only intensifies splendidly. Yet, so light and quick-paced is his prose, so enlivened it is with an eye for both precise observation and visual idiom and so thrilling is his orchestration of suspense even in the spare, superbly judged battle of words that he lends his characters that you will never feel like keeping it aside even for once. There is literally not a word wasted here, not a trope that is overused and even as many would guess just where it leads to, the writer keeps on surprising, startling and even shocking us audaciously, as evidenced in that sobering climax in the wilds of Albany where poetic justice, fitting of a frontier, is served on a blood-splattered scale.
And finally, I come to the novel's portrait of dualism as an inherent vice of human nature, of the coexistence of Good and Evil, of God and Devil, in the very depths of the human soul. Even as we instinctively root for Henry's nobility and are repulsed by the Master's ignoble deeds, in the end, we are never quite sure as to where our sympathies and concerns lie. Brilliantly, subversively, Stevenson keeps on pulling off the rug beneath our feet, twisting and teasing out our innermost fears and prejudices and then further digging deep to reveal our own sinful admiration for evil of a most charismatic manner. And at the same time, he gives us a rattling, almost breathless tale of this take-no-prisoners battle between Good and Evil, from Scotland to seas red with blood shed by carousing pirates, from the wild, uncharted frontiers of America to a soon-to-be usurped princely state of Hindustan. Buckle up for this is an enthralling and extraordinary ride into the very heart of darkness long before Conrad wrote about it.
Have some courtesy
Have some sympathy, and some taste
Use all your well-learned politesse
Or I'll lay your soul to waste.
Pleased to meet you,
Hope you guessed my name
But what's puzzling you
is the nature of my game..." - The Rolling Stones, "Sympathy For The Devil"
Robert Louis Stevenson called "The Master Of Ballantrae" as containing everything he knew of the Devil. And that is a completely justified way to describe this novel, even as Stevenson already was no stranger to the constant and, on occasion, even omnipresent presence of the Devil or the Enemy within the soul of a man. It is the Devil who cohabits Dr. Jeykill's soul and who then rallies and rebels against not only his own more innocent and considerate alter-ego but also against law and order to devastating results. But while that brilliant novella, hitherto, in my opinion, the finest and most sustained of Stevenson's accomplishments as an incredibly gifted storyteller, will endure on its own, it is in "The Master Of Ballantrae" that we see Stevenson at his most operatic and epic, working at the very peak of his powers, blending the same metaphysical portrait of good and evil trying to reconcile to each other despite being impossible bedfellows with a tale of the same stirring adventure and intrigue that made his "Treasure Island" and "Kidnapped" so unforgettable in their swashbuckling style. And with the consequence, that in blending both moral suspense and high-stakes peril and excitement, he even surpasses his own level of brilliance by a wide margin; "The Master Of Ballantrae" is undeniably a brilliant, bleak, barnstorming masterpiece.
Even as "Ballantrae" is neither a straightforward thriller or even a straightforward adventure, it is incredible to realise, as one starts reading it, just how masterfully the writer straddles both these genres while also serving us a rich novel of weighty drama and a very compellingly complex relationship at its very core. This inexorable relationship - of mutual hatred and bitter resentment - is between two promising but ultimately flawed or vulnerable Scottish noblemen back in the tumultuous days of the Jacobite Rebellion and other turbulent events - Henry Durie, the younger, more dignified and well-intentioned heir apparent to the Lord of Durrisdeer and James, his reckless, cunning and even openly Machiavellian elder brother, and the titular "Master" and the battle of wits, personalities and evil designs that lasts and intensifies for almost decades and across seas and countries, thus forming the main meat of the story.
It is a rivalry less in the fashion of those usual swashbuckling potboilers and more of an insidious, seething and simmering conflict of two men who would never compromise or agree to reconcile with each other. What inspires each man's stubborn pride is, however, his sense of failure and loss. If Henry has lost the blind love of his father and even the whole-hearted affections of his wife to the absent Master and is thus filled with resentment at being denied the same, the Master, on the other hand, has lost all his reckless and even ambitious chances to earn glory for his brethren in his exploits across the map of an ever-changing world. Stevenson portrays the defeat of both these men with a subtly sardonic resonance and an elegantly dry sense irony, not least because of the fact that a major part of this story is narrated by Mackellar, the aging stewart of the family whose own perspective, prejudices and opinions also shape the story in strange ways; torn as he is between his loyalty to Henry and his sinful admiration for the Master in equal measure, he swings like a moral pendulum, thus making us think and rethink our own attitudes and opinions at the same time.
And yet, if all this skillfully wrought intricacy of narrative and perception means that "Ballantrae" is a mouthful to read, rest assured that it is far from a heavy, cumbersome book. My edition was of only 192 pages, just shy of the 200 page mark and yet in those 192 pages, there is a robust, fulfilling story of betrayal, malice, unrequited love and unshakable devotion, envy, greed, war, piracy, naval adventure, colonialism, political intrigue and more and Stevenson keeps on thickening the stew with every subsequent chapter and every new development in the plot, especially in the latter chapters wherein the darkness and the brooding dilemma of morality and reason only intensifies splendidly. Yet, so light and quick-paced is his prose, so enlivened it is with an eye for both precise observation and visual idiom and so thrilling is his orchestration of suspense even in the spare, superbly judged battle of words that he lends his characters that you will never feel like keeping it aside even for once. There is literally not a word wasted here, not a trope that is overused and even as many would guess just where it leads to, the writer keeps on surprising, startling and even shocking us audaciously, as evidenced in that sobering climax in the wilds of Albany where poetic justice, fitting of a frontier, is served on a blood-splattered scale.
And finally, I come to the novel's portrait of dualism as an inherent vice of human nature, of the coexistence of Good and Evil, of God and Devil, in the very depths of the human soul. Even as we instinctively root for Henry's nobility and are repulsed by the Master's ignoble deeds, in the end, we are never quite sure as to where our sympathies and concerns lie. Brilliantly, subversively, Stevenson keeps on pulling off the rug beneath our feet, twisting and teasing out our innermost fears and prejudices and then further digging deep to reveal our own sinful admiration for evil of a most charismatic manner. And at the same time, he gives us a rattling, almost breathless tale of this take-no-prisoners battle between Good and Evil, from Scotland to seas red with blood shed by carousing pirates, from the wild, uncharted frontiers of America to a soon-to-be usurped princely state of Hindustan. Buckle up for this is an enthralling and extraordinary ride into the very heart of darkness long before Conrad wrote about it.
June 3, 2020
This story of two brothers and an enmity that destroys their family is a great tale. Somewhat gothic, a little swashbuckling, and definitely tragic this is my favourite tale by RLS so far. The plot is more or less straightforward, but Stevenson spices it up a bit by mixing in a few points of view, thus introducing varying levels of unreliability in the narrators. Our main tale teller is the somewhat school-marmish Ephraim Mackellar, the major domo and factotum of Henry Durie, younger (and less favoured) son of the Lord of Durrisdeer in Scotland. The elder son, the charismatic and dissolute adventurer James (the titular ‘Master of Ballantrae’, or Mr. Bally as he is often later called) decides to spurn his father, brother, and fiancée in order to go off and fight for Bonnie Prince Charlie in the 1745 rebellion, leaving his younger brother to be the ‘loyalist’ son who manages the estate. As the rebellion crumbles and the elder son is presumed dead, the staid younger brother is left to inherit the title, and his elder brother’s fiancée, living forever in the shadow of his ‘heroic’ elder brother, and more or less spurned by his family and tenants with only the loyal Mackellar to act as ally and friend.
Of course it turns out that tales of the elder Durie’s death were somewhat exaggerated and years later he walks into the midst of an already strained family like a ticking timebomb of resentment, scorn, and trouble. All seem to favour the dissipated elder son who plays the affable friend and hard done by hero in the presence of his father and former fiancée (now his sister-in-law), but acts as a merciless scourge to his brother when they are alone. Only Mackellar witnesses this double nature of the Master and it leaves the long-suffering, and somewhat dull-witted Henry at his wit’s end (not a great distance for him really).
We learn about the Master’s somewhat dubious adventures with pirates through the writings of Colonel Francis Burke, a former compatriot of his during both the rebellion and their subsequent exile, which he sends to Mackellar long after the events of the book proper have ended and which become a part of the narrative he pieces together to commemorate the feud that defined his life and the fall of the family he served . The picture painted of the Master by the pens of both Mackellar and Burke is not exactly complimentary, but one cannot deny that the man has style, cunning, and a certain rash appeal for all of his many failings. Things come to a head for the brothers in a spectacular, and somewhat unexpected, event that leads to the Master once again disappearing and Henry somewhat regaining his place in the eyes of his family. The story continues with more twists and turns as the Master’s adventures off-stage are again given a shadowy outline by Burke’s pen and on his next return to the family estate he is subject to an unexpected maneuver by his brother and his family that leads them to the final stages of their fraternal enmity which are played out to their tragic end in the New World under the eyes of Mackellar.
The plot was definitely entertaining, and well-told, but I think the characters are what made the book. Mackellar and the Master get center stage with the former, for all his dweebishness and watery puritan sensibilities, being an affable narrator probably most admirable not only for his loyalty to his master Henry, but for his surprising ability to appreciate the allure of the rakish Master of Ballantrae. Or perhaps he is just showing his own human weakness for the intriguing Byronic villain who seems equal parts Milton’s Satan and 18th century dandy. Admittedly the younger brother Henry doesn’t quite come up to these two characters, seeming little more than a foil to first his brother and then his own rash pride and self-satisfaction, but he plays his part of the story well. It may not have giants, or true love, but the story has almost everything else: fencing, fighting, (psychological) torture, revenge, monsters (of self-love), chases, escapes, and (apparent) miracles! Definitely a recommended read!
Of course it turns out that tales of the elder Durie’s death were somewhat exaggerated and years later he walks into the midst of an already strained family like a ticking timebomb of resentment, scorn, and trouble. All seem to favour the dissipated elder son who plays the affable friend and hard done by hero in the presence of his father and former fiancée (now his sister-in-law), but acts as a merciless scourge to his brother when they are alone. Only Mackellar witnesses this double nature of the Master and it leaves the long-suffering, and somewhat dull-witted Henry at his wit’s end (not a great distance for him really).
We learn about the Master’s somewhat dubious adventures with pirates through the writings of Colonel Francis Burke, a former compatriot of his during both the rebellion and their subsequent exile, which he sends to Mackellar long after the events of the book proper have ended and which become a part of the narrative he pieces together to commemorate the feud that defined his life and the fall of the family he served . The picture painted of the Master by the pens of both Mackellar and Burke is not exactly complimentary, but one cannot deny that the man has style, cunning, and a certain rash appeal for all of his many failings. Things come to a head for the brothers in a spectacular, and somewhat unexpected, event that leads to the Master once again disappearing and Henry somewhat regaining his place in the eyes of his family. The story continues with more twists and turns as the Master’s adventures off-stage are again given a shadowy outline by Burke’s pen and on his next return to the family estate he is subject to an unexpected maneuver by his brother and his family that leads them to the final stages of their fraternal enmity which are played out to their tragic end in the New World under the eyes of Mackellar.
The plot was definitely entertaining, and well-told, but I think the characters are what made the book. Mackellar and the Master get center stage with the former, for all his dweebishness and watery puritan sensibilities, being an affable narrator probably most admirable not only for his loyalty to his master Henry, but for his surprising ability to appreciate the allure of the rakish Master of Ballantrae. Or perhaps he is just showing his own human weakness for the intriguing Byronic villain who seems equal parts Milton’s Satan and 18th century dandy. Admittedly the younger brother Henry doesn’t quite come up to these two characters, seeming little more than a foil to first his brother and then his own rash pride and self-satisfaction, but he plays his part of the story well. It may not have giants, or true love, but the story has almost everything else: fencing, fighting, (psychological) torture, revenge, monsters (of self-love), chases, escapes, and (apparent) miracles! Definitely a recommended read!
March 25, 2020
Una excelente novela llena de aventuras, contada con la magnifica prosa de R.L. Stevenson.
La historia comienza en Escocia con la rebelión jacobita de 1745, allí, dentro de una familia de la nobleza, serán ciertas circunstancias de la guerra las que van a terminar de romper la fragil relación entre los hermanos Durrisdeer, y este conflicto será el eje principal de la narración en tanto Stevenson no va a dejar de tensar nunca en toda la novela las fuertes oposiciones entre ambos hermanos, entre la deshonestidad de uno y la integridad del otro. Por un lado está James, el hermano mayor, quien es inmoral, egoísta y dispuesto a todo con tal de conseguir sus objetivos, pero a su vez es seductor, carismático, valiente y de carácter firme; y su hermano Henry, por el contrario, es recto, sincero, desinteresado, pero tan insulso y aburrido que no consigue siquiera el favor de su padre y siempre queda relegado por el hermano.
Con un ritmo y una fluidez notables que no decaen en ningún momento, la obra nos pasea por distintos países y transcurre a lo largo de muchos años contando historias de lo mas diversas.
Excelente novela, y un lujo la mano de Stevenson para ir dosificando la intriga desde el comienzo hasta el final.
Muy recomendable
La historia comienza en Escocia con la rebelión jacobita de 1745, allí, dentro de una familia de la nobleza, serán ciertas circunstancias de la guerra las que van a terminar de romper la fragil relación entre los hermanos Durrisdeer, y este conflicto será el eje principal de la narración en tanto Stevenson no va a dejar de tensar nunca en toda la novela las fuertes oposiciones entre ambos hermanos, entre la deshonestidad de uno y la integridad del otro. Por un lado está James, el hermano mayor, quien es inmoral, egoísta y dispuesto a todo con tal de conseguir sus objetivos, pero a su vez es seductor, carismático, valiente y de carácter firme; y su hermano Henry, por el contrario, es recto, sincero, desinteresado, pero tan insulso y aburrido que no consigue siquiera el favor de su padre y siempre queda relegado por el hermano.
Con un ritmo y una fluidez notables que no decaen en ningún momento, la obra nos pasea por distintos países y transcurre a lo largo de muchos años contando historias de lo mas diversas.
Excelente novela, y un lujo la mano de Stevenson para ir dosificando la intriga desde el comienzo hasta el final.
Muy recomendable
April 19, 2023
What a fabulous writer. I suppose it's the focus on adventure type stories that means he's taken less seriously than other writers of his era, the late 1800s, but what passion, what psychological insights, what plot momentum!
Stevenson reminds me a lot of Dumas, the author of The Three Musketeers, another first class talent who wrote melodramatic stories that can set your head on fire.
With this Master novel which is set in the late 1700s, the prose has aged with time and it can take a little while to get used to that but it's definitely worth the effort.
A classic Cane and Able tale, it's not as well known as his earlier novels but a great book in its own right.
P.S. My copy also included the Weir of Hermiston which was unfinished. I knew this but promptly forgot while absorbed in the reading. No exaggeration, I felt slightly sick with disappointment when reaching the end. The descriptions and human insights were a wonder to me especially with regard to the romance. What a loss that he died before finishing this fine half novel. It would have been his best.
September 1, 2015
Michele Mari, ne I demoni e la pasta sfoglia, dice che all’origine di ogni creazione artistica c’è un’ossessione che possiede lo scrittore tanto prepotentemente da trasformare lui stesso in un ossesso, esattamente come un indemoniato viene posseduto dal demonio. Robert Louis Stevenson ha la “sua” ossessione, quella del doppio che è in ciascuno di noi. Volendo semplificare, il tema del romanzo è l’eterna lotta tra il Male e il Bene, impersonati da due fratelli (nulla di più simile, di più unito dal sangue e dalla nascita) che sono, all’inizio della storia, uno l’opposto dell’altro: l’uno James, il primogenito, il Master, è malvagio, spietato, falso, senza scrupoli, mentre Henry è buono, onesto, sincero, attaccato alla famiglia.
L’ossessione di Stevenson non sta tanto nella contrapposizione tra il bene e il male -che pure è il tema del romanzo, che racconta, attraverso le parole del narratore Mackellar, l’amministratore delle proprietà al servizio del Mylord di Durrisdeer, la estenuante e feroce guerra che i due fratelli iniziano in seguito della decisione (lasciata al lancio di una moneta, ma secondo me non così casuale) del Master di partire per la guerra tra i seguaci del re Giacomo di Scozia e si svolge attraverso avventurose spedizioni di terra, duelli notturni, viaggi esotici nelle Indie e nelle Americhe- quanto invece nella compenetrazione dell’uno nell’altro in modo inscindibile. Dentro ogni Henry c’è la belva della malvagità e della perfidia, perchè James ed Henry coesistono in ognuno di noi, l’uno o l’altro prevale in seguito ad una guerra senza tregua, segreta come l’odio che li spinge e li lega strettamente, in modo indissolubile come due fratelli siamesi, in un groviglio destinato a non sciogliersi in questa vita ma che sembra quasi perpetuarsi in eterno. Questa è l’ossessione di Stevenson, e la sua eccezionale abilità di narratore consiste proprio nel farcela vivere attraverso le pagine, con semplicità, senza orpelli né retorica, tenendoci avvinti fino all’ultima pagina.
L’ossessione di Stevenson non sta tanto nella contrapposizione tra il bene e il male -che pure è il tema del romanzo, che racconta, attraverso le parole del narratore Mackellar, l’amministratore delle proprietà al servizio del Mylord di Durrisdeer, la estenuante e feroce guerra che i due fratelli iniziano in seguito della decisione (lasciata al lancio di una moneta, ma secondo me non così casuale) del Master di partire per la guerra tra i seguaci del re Giacomo di Scozia e si svolge attraverso avventurose spedizioni di terra, duelli notturni, viaggi esotici nelle Indie e nelle Americhe- quanto invece nella compenetrazione dell’uno nell’altro in modo inscindibile. Dentro ogni Henry c’è la belva della malvagità e della perfidia, perchè James ed Henry coesistono in ognuno di noi, l’uno o l’altro prevale in seguito ad una guerra senza tregua, segreta come l’odio che li spinge e li lega strettamente, in modo indissolubile come due fratelli siamesi, in un groviglio destinato a non sciogliersi in questa vita ma che sembra quasi perpetuarsi in eterno. Questa è l’ossessione di Stevenson, e la sua eccezionale abilità di narratore consiste proprio nel farcela vivere attraverso le pagine, con semplicità, senza orpelli né retorica, tenendoci avvinti fino all’ultima pagina.
September 22, 2024
This novel has one excellent chapter, but for the most part it seemed implausible and overblown. I think of Treasure Island as a great story masterfully written, but this did not measure up for me.
It’s set in eighteenth-century Scotland and centers on a family of minor nobility, the Duries. The laird has two sons; when Bonnie Prince Charlie is making a return to Scotland the laird decides to hedge his bets between the Scottish prince and the English king. One of his sons will stay home and remain loyal to the king, and the other will go to war on the prince’s side. They flip a coin, and the elder son—the Master of Ballantrae—is selected to go after the prince. Nobody is really sad about his undertaking such a risky venture because he has already proved himself a problematic character, wenching and wasting the family fortunes. The younger son is more suited to the steady role, staying home and tending to the estates. But the choice leads to ill-will between the brothers, and that ill-will escalates into full-on vendetta.
The story roves about from Scotland to the Americas to the high seas, but instead of making the tale a riveting adventure, these wanderings simply make it feel diffuse and disorganized. I didn’t really believe in the drama of the brothers’ mutual hatred and came not to care about what happened to any of the characters. It was more depressing than tragic.
A note for those readers who have heard about Robert Louis Stevenson as a great writer of adventure stories for boys: every one of his books that I have read is full of gratuitous violence. I think the world has moved on from this style of fiction for young people.
It’s set in eighteenth-century Scotland and centers on a family of minor nobility, the Duries. The laird has two sons; when Bonnie Prince Charlie is making a return to Scotland the laird decides to hedge his bets between the Scottish prince and the English king. One of his sons will stay home and remain loyal to the king, and the other will go to war on the prince’s side. They flip a coin, and the elder son—the Master of Ballantrae—is selected to go after the prince. Nobody is really sad about his undertaking such a risky venture because he has already proved himself a problematic character, wenching and wasting the family fortunes. The younger son is more suited to the steady role, staying home and tending to the estates. But the choice leads to ill-will between the brothers, and that ill-will escalates into full-on vendetta.
The story roves about from Scotland to the Americas to the high seas, but instead of making the tale a riveting adventure, these wanderings simply make it feel diffuse and disorganized. I didn’t really believe in the drama of the brothers’ mutual hatred and came not to care about what happened to any of the characters. It was more depressing than tragic.
A note for those readers who have heard about Robert Louis Stevenson as a great writer of adventure stories for boys: every one of his books that I have read is full of gratuitous violence. I think the world has moved on from this style of fiction for young people.
October 20, 2012
Come nel precedente Jekyll e Hyde, anche in questo romanzo Stevenson si cimenta, pur se in modo assai più subdolo, con il tema del doppio.
Protagonisti sono i due fratelli Durrisdeer, l'uno buono, morigerato ma incapace di suscitare alcuna attrazione o affezione, l'altro maligno e dissoluto anche se a suo modo affascinante.
Il conflitto tra i due, impegnati a rincorrersi l’un l’altro per tutto il romanzo, costituisce il motore dell'opera e assume via via proporzioni smisurate e significati quasi biblici, fino all'ineluttabile finale.
La statura dei protagonisti mi ha ricordato non poco alcuni dei più memorabili caratteri dostoevskijani.
Protagonisti sono i due fratelli Durrisdeer, l'uno buono, morigerato ma incapace di suscitare alcuna attrazione o affezione, l'altro maligno e dissoluto anche se a suo modo affascinante.
Il conflitto tra i due, impegnati a rincorrersi l’un l’altro per tutto il romanzo, costituisce il motore dell'opera e assume via via proporzioni smisurate e significati quasi biblici, fino all'ineluttabile finale.
La statura dei protagonisti mi ha ricordato non poco alcuni dei più memorabili caratteri dostoevskijani.
August 9, 2018
Romanzo molto avvincente: parte piano (i primi due capitoli sono un po' faticosi), ma poi la storia prende quota e il desiderio di scoprire quali e quanti intrighi metterà in atto il master è tanto.
Ho apprezzato il modo in cui Stevenson tratta i due protagonisti che non sono tutto male e tutto bene, ma sono un mix che riesce a sorprendere.
Forse un po' sotto tono il finale, ma sicuramente un'ottima lettura
Ho apprezzato il modo in cui Stevenson tratta i due protagonisti che non sono tutto male e tutto bene, ma sono un mix che riesce a sorprendere.
Forse un po' sotto tono il finale, ma sicuramente un'ottima lettura
January 27, 2023
3,5 Sterne
Bislang das beste Buch von Stevenson, das ich bisher gelesen habe. Inhaltlich, sprachlich und dramaturgisch sehr fesselnd.
Bislang das beste Buch von Stevenson, das ich bisher gelesen habe. Inhaltlich, sprachlich und dramaturgisch sehr fesselnd.
November 22, 2017
Brotherly love?
When Bonnie Prince Charlie arrives in Scotland in 1745 to reclaim the lost Stuart crown, the Durie family of Durrisdeer must decide where their loyalties lie. If they make the wrong choice, they could lose everything, but pick the winning side and their future is secure. The old Laird has two sons. Jamie, the eldest, known as the Master of Ballantrae, is attractive and popular but evil, while Henry, the younger, is dull but good. The family decides one son should join Charlie's rebellion while the other should declare loyalty to the Hanoverian King George II, a kind of hedging of bets in which many noble families would indulge (so says Stevenson, and I have no reason to doubt him). By rights, as the younger, Henry should have joined the rising, but the Master thinks this is the more exciting option so claims it for himself. When the rising fails, word reaches Durrisdeer that Jamie died in battle. Henry gains the estate but is vilified by the townspeople for, as rumour has it, betraying his more popular brother, while his father and Alison, the woman he is to marry, make no secret that they loved Jamie best and mourn his loss extravagantly. So things are bad for Henry... but they're going to get worse when news arrives that Jamie didn't die after all...
I freely admit I thought this was going to be a story about the Jacobite rebellion, but it isn't. The enmity between the brothers had begun before long before the rising, and although it is used to set up the conditions for further strife between them, in fact it's a minor strand in the book. This is actually a story of two opposing characters and their lifelong struggle against each other. It's told by Ephraim Mackellar, steward to the estate of Durrisdeer and loyal supporter of Henry, who was present for many of the main events and has gathered the rest of the story from witnesses and participants. It will involve duels, smugglers and plots, love and hate, loyalty and betrayal; it will take us aboard a pirate ship and all the way across the Atlantic to the little town of New York in the far away American colonies. And it will end with a terrifying journey through the wilds of (Native American) Indian country on a quest for treasure!
It would be possible to read this, perhaps, as some kind of allegory for the Scotland of the time, divided in loyalty between the deposed Stuarts and the reigning Hanoverians, but I don't think that can be taken too far since neither brother seems actively to care who wins, nor to be loyal to anything or anybody very much, so long as they come out of it with their lands and position intact. The things that divide them are personal, not political. There's also a kind of variant on the Jekyll and Hyde theme going on – the two brothers opposite in everything, one tediously decent, the other excitingly bad.
However as we get to know the brothers over the long years covered by the story, we see that the contrasts between them are not as glaring as they first appear. The same flaws and weaknesses run through all members of this doomed family (not a spoiler – we're told they're doomed from the very beginning) – they just show themselves in different ways. Poor Mackellar – while his loyalty to Henry never fails him, as time goes on he becomes a solitary and unregarded voice of reason in the middle of their feud, and grows to see that, to coin a phrase, there are faults on both sides.
Stevenson always writes adventure brilliantly and there are some great action scenes in the book, many of them with more than an edge of creepiness and horror. But there's much more to this one than simply that. The characterisation is the important thing, of the brothers certainly as the central figures in this drama, but equally of the other players – the old Laird, Alison and not least, Mackellar himself. Stevenson does an excellent job of showing how the various experiences they undergo change each of them – some becoming stronger, better people, others giving way to weakness and cruelty. I admit none of them are particularly likeable, (though despite myself I developed a soft spot for poor, pompous, self-righteous Mackellar – he had a lot to contend with, poor man), but they're so well drawn that I was fully invested in their fates anyway.
Each of the settings is done brilliantly, from the life of a middle-ranking Laird of this period to the growing settlements in the New World. The pirate episode is especially good, as is the later voyage to America – Stevenson always seems to excel once he gets his characters out on the ocean wave. There are dark deeds a-plenty and not a little gore, but there's also occasional humour to give a bit of light amidst the bleakness. There's a lot of foreshadowing of doom, and a couple of times Mackellar tells us in advance what's going to happen, but nevertheless the story held my interest throughout and the ending still managed to surprise and shock me. Though the adventure side means it could easily be enjoyed by older children, it seems to me this has rather more adult themes than Treasure Island or Kidnapped, in the sense that the good and evil debate is muddier and more complex, and rooted in the development of the characters rather than in the events – again, the comparison to Jekyll and Hyde would be closer. Oh, and there's very little Scottish dialect in it, so perfectly accessible to non-Scots readers. Another excellent one from Stevenson's hugely talented pen, fully deserving of its status as a classic, and highly recommended!
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
When Bonnie Prince Charlie arrives in Scotland in 1745 to reclaim the lost Stuart crown, the Durie family of Durrisdeer must decide where their loyalties lie. If they make the wrong choice, they could lose everything, but pick the winning side and their future is secure. The old Laird has two sons. Jamie, the eldest, known as the Master of Ballantrae, is attractive and popular but evil, while Henry, the younger, is dull but good. The family decides one son should join Charlie's rebellion while the other should declare loyalty to the Hanoverian King George II, a kind of hedging of bets in which many noble families would indulge (so says Stevenson, and I have no reason to doubt him). By rights, as the younger, Henry should have joined the rising, but the Master thinks this is the more exciting option so claims it for himself. When the rising fails, word reaches Durrisdeer that Jamie died in battle. Henry gains the estate but is vilified by the townspeople for, as rumour has it, betraying his more popular brother, while his father and Alison, the woman he is to marry, make no secret that they loved Jamie best and mourn his loss extravagantly. So things are bad for Henry... but they're going to get worse when news arrives that Jamie didn't die after all...
I freely admit I thought this was going to be a story about the Jacobite rebellion, but it isn't. The enmity between the brothers had begun before long before the rising, and although it is used to set up the conditions for further strife between them, in fact it's a minor strand in the book. This is actually a story of two opposing characters and their lifelong struggle against each other. It's told by Ephraim Mackellar, steward to the estate of Durrisdeer and loyal supporter of Henry, who was present for many of the main events and has gathered the rest of the story from witnesses and participants. It will involve duels, smugglers and plots, love and hate, loyalty and betrayal; it will take us aboard a pirate ship and all the way across the Atlantic to the little town of New York in the far away American colonies. And it will end with a terrifying journey through the wilds of (Native American) Indian country on a quest for treasure!
It would be possible to read this, perhaps, as some kind of allegory for the Scotland of the time, divided in loyalty between the deposed Stuarts and the reigning Hanoverians, but I don't think that can be taken too far since neither brother seems actively to care who wins, nor to be loyal to anything or anybody very much, so long as they come out of it with their lands and position intact. The things that divide them are personal, not political. There's also a kind of variant on the Jekyll and Hyde theme going on – the two brothers opposite in everything, one tediously decent, the other excitingly bad.
However as we get to know the brothers over the long years covered by the story, we see that the contrasts between them are not as glaring as they first appear. The same flaws and weaknesses run through all members of this doomed family (not a spoiler – we're told they're doomed from the very beginning) – they just show themselves in different ways. Poor Mackellar – while his loyalty to Henry never fails him, as time goes on he becomes a solitary and unregarded voice of reason in the middle of their feud, and grows to see that, to coin a phrase, there are faults on both sides.
Stevenson always writes adventure brilliantly and there are some great action scenes in the book, many of them with more than an edge of creepiness and horror. But there's much more to this one than simply that. The characterisation is the important thing, of the brothers certainly as the central figures in this drama, but equally of the other players – the old Laird, Alison and not least, Mackellar himself. Stevenson does an excellent job of showing how the various experiences they undergo change each of them – some becoming stronger, better people, others giving way to weakness and cruelty. I admit none of them are particularly likeable, (though despite myself I developed a soft spot for poor, pompous, self-righteous Mackellar – he had a lot to contend with, poor man), but they're so well drawn that I was fully invested in their fates anyway.
Each of the settings is done brilliantly, from the life of a middle-ranking Laird of this period to the growing settlements in the New World. The pirate episode is especially good, as is the later voyage to America – Stevenson always seems to excel once he gets his characters out on the ocean wave. There are dark deeds a-plenty and not a little gore, but there's also occasional humour to give a bit of light amidst the bleakness. There's a lot of foreshadowing of doom, and a couple of times Mackellar tells us in advance what's going to happen, but nevertheless the story held my interest throughout and the ending still managed to surprise and shock me. Though the adventure side means it could easily be enjoyed by older children, it seems to me this has rather more adult themes than Treasure Island or Kidnapped, in the sense that the good and evil debate is muddier and more complex, and rooted in the development of the characters rather than in the events – again, the comparison to Jekyll and Hyde would be closer. Oh, and there's very little Scottish dialect in it, so perfectly accessible to non-Scots readers. Another excellent one from Stevenson's hugely talented pen, fully deserving of its status as a classic, and highly recommended!
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
June 8, 2023
Als Kritiker hat Henry James seinen Freund Robert Louis Stevenson als ganz hervorragenden Kenner und Gestalter der Psyche von heranwachsenden jungen Männern beschrieben. Dieses Lob beinhaltet aber auch die Einreihung unter die Kleinmeister. Ganz so unrecht hat James aber nicht einmal, wenn man über das Identifikationsalter mit Jim Hawkins oder David Balfour hinaus ist. Bei aller Teilnahme an den Fährnissen der jungen Helden, stellt sich als Leser jenseits der 50 doch ein fader Nachgeschmack ein. Man ist einfach nicht mehr in dem Alter, wo einem alle Optionen offen stehen und weise genug, um zu wissen, dass ein Schatz alleine allenfalls die eine oder andere Herausforderung des Lebens erleichtert.
Mit dieser schottischen Ballade um eine lebenslange Feindschaft versucht sich Stevenson aus dem üblichen Fahrwasser freizuschwimmen. James und Henry Ballantree sind zwar noch sehr jung, als eine Münze die Entscheidung fällt, wer die Interessen des Hauses auf Seiten des Pretenders Bonnie Prince Charlie vertreten darf und wer sie als daheim gebliebener Königstreuer wahren muss.
Henry, der jüngere, in jeder Hinsicht Zweitgeborene rückt in die Rolle des Stammhalters, denn nur ein einzelnes Mitglied der Truppe kehrt von Culloden zurück und verbreitet die Nachricht vom Tod des Junkers. Damit das Geld auch in der Familie bleibt, heiratet Henry die Verlobte seines Bruders und gerät in eine ziemlich freudlose Ehe.
Der Konflikt verschärft sich, als der Totgeglaubte zurückkehrt und allerlei Macht- und Psychospielchen betreibt. Das härteste Piratenabenteuer gehört zur Vorgeschichte der Heimkehr des Junkers, einer immer wieder mal verkrachten Existenz, die ständig härtere Forderungen stellt. Massiv geschrumpfte Optionen, dem an vielerlei Umständen gescheiterten Leben doch noch eine positive Wendung zu geben oder sich auch nur aus der Umklammerung des gegenseitigen Bruderhasses zu befreien, markieren den Unterschied zu Entführt oder Schatzinsel. Der letzte Showdown ereignet sich im winterlichen Indianergebiet, denn der Junker hat dort seine Piratenbeute begraben und allerlei Glücksritter an Land gezogen.
Ich will hier nicht groß Details spoilern, zumal der finale Coup wirklich brillant ist. Dafür ein paar Beobachtungen über die Einflüsse anhängen, mit denen Stevenson sich von den eigenen Klischees freischwimmen wollte. Meine Assoziationen reichen von biblischen Elementen (Kain und Abel/Gleichnis vom verlorenen Sohn), der Konstellation von Schillers Räubern über das Dauervorbild Walter Scott mit dem loyalen Haushofmeister als Erzähler. Ein Verfahren das Wilkie Collins für den Kriminalroman als eine wesentliche Aussage erweitert hat. Allerdings ist Scotts Mckellar aktiver als der geschwätzige Betteridge aus Moonstone und eben auch Teilnehmer jener fatalen Winterexpedition mit der Mordserie im Schatzgräbercamp.
In Sachen lebenslanger Hass und die Auswirkungen auf das Leben in einem Familiensitz in rauher Umgebung ist Sturmhöhe sicherlich ein Einfluss. Die Amerikaromane von Thackeray bei denen verarmter oder geprellter Hochadel in den Kolonien neu anfangen muss (Esmond/Virginians) spielen sicher auch eine Rolle. In Sachen Verehrung und Verklärung einer abwesenden Person, die ordentlich Dreck am Stecken hat, zählt der Junker sicherlich unter die Vorläufer von Daphne Du Mauriers Rebecca. Thomas Mann und Bert Brecht waren also zu Recht begeistert. Ich war, ehrlich gesagt, auch nicht konstant in Fünfsternelaune, das gibt das Konzept des kleingeistigen, etwas parteiischen Zeugen einfach nicht her, aber die Auflösung ist brillant, Das Buch ist auf jeden Fall, der beste mir bekannte Roman von Stevenson, ich bin mir nicht sicher, ob er sich mit dem vollendeten Hermiston-Roman noch mal übertroffen hätte, auch wenn etliche der vorhandenen Kapitel eine stilistischen Steigerung erkennen lassen.
Philologischer Nachsatz: Habe das Original und die kindle-kostenlos-Übersetzung parallel gelesen.
In Sachen Sprachmelodie muss man vielleicht Abstriche machen, aber die Vorgänge sind sehr gut übertragen. Dafür gibt es eine ganz gewaltige Lücke auf den ersten Seiten. Im Original beschreibt Stevenson über mehrere Seiten, wie er an die Dokumente gekommen ist und zieht sich auf die Rolle des Herausgebers zurück, dieses Kapitel fehlt in der kk-Version komplett.
Mit dieser schottischen Ballade um eine lebenslange Feindschaft versucht sich Stevenson aus dem üblichen Fahrwasser freizuschwimmen. James und Henry Ballantree sind zwar noch sehr jung, als eine Münze die Entscheidung fällt, wer die Interessen des Hauses auf Seiten des Pretenders Bonnie Prince Charlie vertreten darf und wer sie als daheim gebliebener Königstreuer wahren muss.
Henry, der jüngere, in jeder Hinsicht Zweitgeborene rückt in die Rolle des Stammhalters, denn nur ein einzelnes Mitglied der Truppe kehrt von Culloden zurück und verbreitet die Nachricht vom Tod des Junkers. Damit das Geld auch in der Familie bleibt, heiratet Henry die Verlobte seines Bruders und gerät in eine ziemlich freudlose Ehe.
Der Konflikt verschärft sich, als der Totgeglaubte zurückkehrt und allerlei Macht- und Psychospielchen betreibt. Das härteste Piratenabenteuer gehört zur Vorgeschichte der Heimkehr des Junkers, einer immer wieder mal verkrachten Existenz, die ständig härtere Forderungen stellt. Massiv geschrumpfte Optionen, dem an vielerlei Umständen gescheiterten Leben doch noch eine positive Wendung zu geben oder sich auch nur aus der Umklammerung des gegenseitigen Bruderhasses zu befreien, markieren den Unterschied zu Entführt oder Schatzinsel. Der letzte Showdown ereignet sich im winterlichen Indianergebiet, denn der Junker hat dort seine Piratenbeute begraben und allerlei Glücksritter an Land gezogen.
Ich will hier nicht groß Details spoilern, zumal der finale Coup wirklich brillant ist. Dafür ein paar Beobachtungen über die Einflüsse anhängen, mit denen Stevenson sich von den eigenen Klischees freischwimmen wollte. Meine Assoziationen reichen von biblischen Elementen (Kain und Abel/Gleichnis vom verlorenen Sohn), der Konstellation von Schillers Räubern über das Dauervorbild Walter Scott mit dem loyalen Haushofmeister als Erzähler. Ein Verfahren das Wilkie Collins für den Kriminalroman als eine wesentliche Aussage erweitert hat. Allerdings ist Scotts Mckellar aktiver als der geschwätzige Betteridge aus Moonstone und eben auch Teilnehmer jener fatalen Winterexpedition mit der Mordserie im Schatzgräbercamp.
In Sachen lebenslanger Hass und die Auswirkungen auf das Leben in einem Familiensitz in rauher Umgebung ist Sturmhöhe sicherlich ein Einfluss. Die Amerikaromane von Thackeray bei denen verarmter oder geprellter Hochadel in den Kolonien neu anfangen muss (Esmond/Virginians) spielen sicher auch eine Rolle. In Sachen Verehrung und Verklärung einer abwesenden Person, die ordentlich Dreck am Stecken hat, zählt der Junker sicherlich unter die Vorläufer von Daphne Du Mauriers Rebecca. Thomas Mann und Bert Brecht waren also zu Recht begeistert. Ich war, ehrlich gesagt, auch nicht konstant in Fünfsternelaune, das gibt das Konzept des kleingeistigen, etwas parteiischen Zeugen einfach nicht her, aber die Auflösung ist brillant, Das Buch ist auf jeden Fall, der beste mir bekannte Roman von Stevenson, ich bin mir nicht sicher, ob er sich mit dem vollendeten Hermiston-Roman noch mal übertroffen hätte, auch wenn etliche der vorhandenen Kapitel eine stilistischen Steigerung erkennen lassen.
Philologischer Nachsatz: Habe das Original und die kindle-kostenlos-Übersetzung parallel gelesen.
In Sachen Sprachmelodie muss man vielleicht Abstriche machen, aber die Vorgänge sind sehr gut übertragen. Dafür gibt es eine ganz gewaltige Lücke auf den ersten Seiten. Im Original beschreibt Stevenson über mehrere Seiten, wie er an die Dokumente gekommen ist und zieht sich auf die Rolle des Herausgebers zurück, dieses Kapitel fehlt in der kk-Version komplett.
November 28, 2017
Half-Life
Dice la contemporanea fonte di tutti i saperi, Wikipedia: L'emivita (o tempo di dimezzamento) di un isotopo radioattivo è definita come il tempo occorrente perché la metà degli atomi di un campione puro dell'isotopo decadano in un altro elemento. L'emivita è una misura della stabilità di un isotopo: più breve è l'emivita, meno stabile è l'atomo. Il decadimento di un atomo viene detto spontaneo in quanto è un fenomeno che avviene naturalmente. Trattasi di un evento stocastico per cui non si può predire quando un determinato atomo decadrà ma è possibile determinare la probabilità di decadimento, di cui l'emivita è espressione.
Si potrebbe scrivere molto - e tanti l'hanno già fatto - riguardo a Il Master di Ballantrae, analizzandone la tecnica narrativa, l'intreccio delle vicende, il riemergere del tema del doppio e dell'incontro/scontro tra Bene e Male, qui caratterizzato dalla debolezza del primo e dal fascino del secondo. Ma mi voglio limitare a un unico aspetto, l'ideale emivita del vero protagonista, Henry, fratello del Master del titolo: nel giro di pochi decenni, in modo affatto naturale (a differenza di quanto avviene per gli atomi, dunque), ma a causa dell'influsso malefico del Master - presente o assente, non fa differenza - un uomo d'indole buona e generosa, pronta al sacrificio e alla sopportazione, vivrà un decadimento verso il male, verso la crudeltà, l'indifferenza, l'odio irragionevole e smisurato. Verso il più vile delitto e verso la triste morte, che lo coglierà più simile che mai all'odiato fratello. Il manicheismo, ancora una volta in RLS, non regge, e il Bene contiene il germoglio del Male (lo dimostrano anche gli impulsi omicidi del buon Mackellar): la tragedia è servita.
Fattore scatenante della vicenda è lo scoppio dell'ennesima insurrezione giacobita del 1745-46, con il tentativo fallimentare di Carlo Edoardo Stuart, Bonnie Prince Charlie, e la sconfitta definitiva nella battaglia di Culloden. Il solito Metal becero e ignorante ha trovato il modo di affrontare l'argomento, grazie ai tedeschi Grave Digger e al loro concept scozzese Tunes of War: da ascoltare la più che epica Rebellion, che accenna anche alla battaglia vinta dai giacobiti a Prestonpans nel 1745 (il Master vi avrà partecipato?) - per soprannumero, tre versioni, standard - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-x_u...
doppia, live al Wacken - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbzSW...
light, versione tagadagadagadà, ovvero la cover vocale dei Van Canto (viva l'autoironia dei metallari e la follia dei tedeschi) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPUNd...
...naturalmente, anche la più tirata e battagliera Culloden Muir https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obpY_...
Dice la contemporanea fonte di tutti i saperi, Wikipedia: L'emivita (o tempo di dimezzamento) di un isotopo radioattivo è definita come il tempo occorrente perché la metà degli atomi di un campione puro dell'isotopo decadano in un altro elemento. L'emivita è una misura della stabilità di un isotopo: più breve è l'emivita, meno stabile è l'atomo. Il decadimento di un atomo viene detto spontaneo in quanto è un fenomeno che avviene naturalmente. Trattasi di un evento stocastico per cui non si può predire quando un determinato atomo decadrà ma è possibile determinare la probabilità di decadimento, di cui l'emivita è espressione.
Si potrebbe scrivere molto - e tanti l'hanno già fatto - riguardo a Il Master di Ballantrae, analizzandone la tecnica narrativa, l'intreccio delle vicende, il riemergere del tema del doppio e dell'incontro/scontro tra Bene e Male, qui caratterizzato dalla debolezza del primo e dal fascino del secondo. Ma mi voglio limitare a un unico aspetto, l'ideale emivita del vero protagonista, Henry, fratello del Master del titolo: nel giro di pochi decenni, in modo affatto naturale (a differenza di quanto avviene per gli atomi, dunque), ma a causa dell'influsso malefico del Master - presente o assente, non fa differenza - un uomo d'indole buona e generosa, pronta al sacrificio e alla sopportazione, vivrà un decadimento verso il male, verso la crudeltà, l'indifferenza, l'odio irragionevole e smisurato. Verso il più vile delitto e verso la triste morte, che lo coglierà più simile che mai all'odiato fratello. Il manicheismo, ancora una volta in RLS, non regge, e il Bene contiene il germoglio del Male (lo dimostrano anche gli impulsi omicidi del buon Mackellar): la tragedia è servita.
Fattore scatenante della vicenda è lo scoppio dell'ennesima insurrezione giacobita del 1745-46, con il tentativo fallimentare di Carlo Edoardo Stuart, Bonnie Prince Charlie, e la sconfitta definitiva nella battaglia di Culloden. Il solito Metal becero e ignorante ha trovato il modo di affrontare l'argomento, grazie ai tedeschi Grave Digger e al loro concept scozzese Tunes of War: da ascoltare la più che epica Rebellion, che accenna anche alla battaglia vinta dai giacobiti a Prestonpans nel 1745 (il Master vi avrà partecipato?) - per soprannumero, tre versioni, standard - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-x_u...
doppia, live al Wacken - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbzSW...
light, versione tagadagadagadà, ovvero la cover vocale dei Van Canto (viva l'autoironia dei metallari e la follia dei tedeschi) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPUNd...
...naturalmente, anche la più tirata e battagliera Culloden Muir https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obpY_...
May 7, 2020
Con Il Master di Ballantrae Stevenson torna a esplorare il tema del doppio, raccontando in un romanzo storico ambientato 100 anni prima della sua pubblicazione, la storia di due fratelli molto diversi tra loro. James, il primogenito, è un affascinante manipolatore, privo di sentimenti sinceri e che basa la propria vita sul calcolo e sul tornaconto personale. Henry è invece un uomo buono e onesto, ma non sa attirarsi le simpatie di chi lo circonda. La loro rivalità si protrae negli anni e li porta ad affrontarsi molte volte. Nel corso della storia i personaggi evolvono e sorprendentemente tendono ad assomigliarsi sempre più l'uno all'altro. La vera maestria di Stevenson è proprio questa: saper sondare l'animo umano e comprendere che il bene e il male albergano in ognuno di noi.
January 18, 2026
Perseguire implacabilmente il nostro interesse - ecco che cos'è la guerra!Scrittura tesa e atmosfere cupe caratterizzano quest'opera di Stevenson. Due fratelli, i cui destini riflettono le lotte fra scozzesi e inglesi per il trono, dedicano la loro vita a una lotta perenne, un eterno braccio di ferro per prevalere come Lord di Ballantrae e negli affetti dei loro familiari. E' un destino implacabile, a cui sembra impossibile sfuggire, e che impregna la narrazione di un'angoscia opprimente. Se solo veramente lo volessero, i due fratelli potrebbero deporre le ostilità o almeno prendere ognuno una strada diversa in questo vasto mondo. Eppure questa guerra fratricida sembra non poter trovare una fine che non sia il baratro comune in cui sono destinati a precipitare.
February 25, 2024
A poignant examination on the way a rebel uprising, whether noble or ignoble, can tear apart a family and town no matter how judiciously it’s handled by the local power brokers. Obviously completely irrelevant for modern times.
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