I'm not sure I ever read the original when I was young but I was familiar with one of those abridged classics version and several sequences still haunt me. It's not a long book but is packed with incident and adventure; the stuff I remember remains strongest: David's uncle trying to kill him by getting him to go upstairs, meeting Alan Breck, the murder of the cabin boy, the siege on the boat, running through the heather, the highland council court, the satisfactory conclusion. I'd forgotten the main subplot was about an assassination of a local lord.
Alan Breck remains one of the most memorable action heroes in literature - a bad boy who changed sides during the 45, who loves fighting, charming, sulky, bug on honour but not entirely trustworthy. Reading this I kept thinking "they should do a version where David is a girl it would be a great romantic adventure". I know you'd lose the big brother-mentor thing but it would be worth it - it would give the piece more of a whole.
Evocative and sympathetic descriptions of the highlands, though the scariest moments come on the ship. David is a likeable enough hero.
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