Episode 179: "Kidnapped," Intro to Robert Louis Stevenson and Ch. 1-6
The Literary Life Podcast
Angelina Stanford
4.7 ā¢ 1.2K Ratings
šļø 4 July 2023
ā±ļø 81 minutes
šļø Recording | iTunes | RSS
š§¾ļø Download transcript
Summary
Welcome back to a new read along series on The Literary Life Podcast! This week Angelina, Thomas, and Cindy will begin their discussion of Robert Louis Stevenson's Kidnapped, covering chapters 1-6, as well as giving some background information on the beloved author and the historical setting of this book. Angelina talks about the life of R. L. Stevenson, and Thomas sets the historical stage for the story. We also get a glimpse into the form of the novel as a romance from some clues Stevenson gives at the outset. Cindy highlights the foreboding in the song of a woman David Balfour passes on the road. They look more closely at David's plight, the role of the usurping uncle, and Stevenson's excellent storytelling.
Come back next week to get in on the discussion of chapters 7-18.
You are not too late to participate in Thomas' mini-class on G. K. Chesterton taking place live or later from June 26th through July 7th. Register atĀ HouseofHumaneLetters.comĀ today!
Commonplace Quotes:
Perhaps it is a mistake to suppose that metaphors can be invented. The real ones, those that formulate intimate connections between one image and another, have always existed; those we can invent are the false ones, which are not worth inventing.
Jorge Luis Borges, An Essay on Hawthorne
The tragedy of King Lear, in some of its elements perhaps the very greatest of all the Shakespearean tragedies, is relatively seldom played. It is even possible to have a dark suspicion that it is not universally read; with the usual deplorable result, that it is universally quoted. Perhaps nothing has done so much to weaken the greatest of English achievements, and to leave it open to facile revolt or fatigued reaction, than the abominable habit of quoting Shakespeare without reading Shakespeare.
G. K. Chesterton, from and introduction to The Spice of Life
Truth is a stern mistress, and when one hath once started off with her one must follow on after the jade, though she lead in flat defiance of all the rules and conditions which would fain turn that tangled wilderness the world into the trim Dutch garden of the story-tellers.
Arthur Conan Doyle, Micah Clarke
Epitaph on a Jacobite
by Thomas Macaulay
To my true king I offered free from stain
Courage and faith; vain faith, and courage vain.
For him, I threw lands, honours, wealth, away.
And one dear hope, that was more prized than they.
For him I languished in a foreign clime,
Grey-haired with sorrow in my manhood's prime;
Heard on Lavernia Scargill's whispering trees,
And pined by Arno for my lovelier Tees;
Beheld each night my home in fevered sleep,
Each morning started from the dream to weep;
Till God who saw me tried too sorely, gave
The resting place I asked, an early grave.
Oh thou, whom chance leads to this nameless stone,
From that proud country which was once mine own,
By those white cliffs I never more must see,
By that dear language which I spake like thee,
Forget all feuds, and shed one English tear
O'er English dust. A broken heart lies here.
Books Mentioned:
The Napoleon of Notting Hill by G. K. Chesterton
Other Inquisitions: 1937-1952 by Jorge Luis Borges, trans. by Ruth L. C. Simms
The Soul of Wit by G. K. Chesterton, ed. by Dale Ahlquist
The White Company by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Sacketts Series by Louis L'Amour
Support The Literary Life:
Become a patron of The Literary Life podcast as part of the "Friends and Fellows Community" onĀ Patreon,Ā and get some amazing bonus content! Thanks for your support!
Connect with Us:
You can find Angelina and Thomas atĀ HouseofHumaneLetters.com, on InstagramĀ @angelinastanford,Ā and on Facebook atĀ https://www.facebook.com/ANGStanford/
Find Cindy atĀ morningtimeformoms.com, on InstagramĀ @cindyordoamorisĀ and on Facebook atĀ https://www.facebook.com/cindyrollins.net/. Check outĀ Cindy's own Patreon pageĀ also!
FollowĀ The Literary LifeĀ on Instagram, and jump into our private Facebook group, The Literary Life Discussion Group, and let's get the book talk going!Ā http://bit.ly/literarylifeFB
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | You're going to. This is not just another book chat podcast. |
| 0:22.8 | Lifelongs, |
| 0:24.8 | joins teachers Angelina Stanford and Thomas Banks |
| 0:27.6 | for an ongoing conversation |
| 0:29.6 | about the skill and art of reading well. |
| 0:33.0 | Explore the lost intellectual tradition |
| 0:35.6 | and discover how to fully enter into the great works of literature. |
| 0:40.3 | Learn what books mean while delighting |
| 0:42.4 | in the sheer joy of imagination. |
| 0:45.0 | Each week we will rescue story from the ivory tower |
| 0:49.0 | and bring it to your couch, your kitchen, and your commute. The literary life is for everyone. your to be granted a deeper insight into reality. |
| 1:03.6 | Join us for an ever unfolding discussion |
| 1:06.6 | of how stories will save the world. |
| 1:09.6 | This is the Literary Life Podcast. Hello and joining me are my my shipmates my my jailers my evil uncles I'm not even sure where I want to go with this sentence. |
| 1:41.6 | Maybe we shouldn't I go anywhere with it. |
| 1:44.0 | The mysterious Mr Banks and the not so mysterious, |
| 1:47.7 | Cindy Rollins. |
| 1:48.9 | Hello everyone. |
| 1:49.9 | Grand to be here, as always. |
| 1:51.3 | It's great to be here. |
| 1:52.3 | It's fun to be back. It is. The |
| 1:56.0 | podcast has continued on with our best of series and we have had a wonderful feedback |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Angelina Stanford, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Angelina Stanford and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright Ā© Tapesearch 2026.