The Master of Ballantrae


Read by Thomas A. Copeland

(4.3 stars; 51 reviews)

Heir to a noble Scottish house in the mid 18th century, the Master is a charming, clever, and resourceful villain whose daring but ill-advised schemes first alienate his patrimony and at last cost him his life. His younger brother, sweet-tempered and good but dull and unpopular, suffers at the Master's hands until his patience and courage win him limited ascendancy, but he is at last consumed with hatred and driven to madness and death by the strain of his many sufferings. The story is told from the point of view of a loyal servant with the occasional insertion of documents in the words of other eye-witnesses. The episodic plot, although exciting, serves mainly as a structure on which to hang superb character studies. The Master, whom one both admires and hates, bears comparison with Long John Silver, not to mention Milton's Satan, to whom the narrator explicitly likens him. The secondary characters—narrator, father, and wife—are deftly characterized, and (with the exception of the two children) even the minor characters are vivid and memorable.

Except for a few highly dialectal passages whose spelling insists on a Scottish burr, the reading eschews any false accent. (T. A. Copeland) (8 hr 46 min)

Chapters

Dedication & Preface 10:32 Read by Thomas A. Copeland
Chapter 01 25:07 Read by Thomas A. Copeland
Chapter 02 34:38 Read by Thomas A. Copeland
Chapter 03 1:08:25 Read by Thomas A. Copeland
Chapter 04 1:13:54 Read by Thomas A. Copeland
Chapter 05 43:13 Read by Thomas A. Copeland
Chapter 06 44:39 Read by Thomas A. Copeland
Chapter 07 8:24 Read by Thomas A. Copeland
Chapter 08 47:08 Read by Thomas A. Copeland
Chapter 09 43:19 Read by Thomas A. Copeland
Chapter 10 41:57 Read by Thomas A. Copeland
Chapter 11 53:24 Read by Thomas A. Copeland
Chapter 12 31:46 Read by Thomas A. Copeland

Reviews

Not Your "Typical" RLS


(4 stars)

The reader is excellent. The story is sad. It's not quite as evil as I was expecting from the summary - the older brother wasn't as diabolical, and the younger brother wasn't as "mad" as I expected - but there's definitely some monomania going on, on both sides. Not a rip-roaring adventure as others of Stevenson's works, but an enjoyable experience anyway.

Favourite RLS


(5 stars)

Excellent reading of my favourite RLS novel, a character study rather than an adventure yarn. RLS was always fascinated by the twin sides of human nature as in characters like Long John Silver and in Jekyll and Hyde. The background descriptions of Scotland post-Jacobite rebellion are fascinating.

Excellent Narrator, Interesting Story


(3.5 stars)

The reader did a wonderful job throughout, I very much enjoyed his rendition of this work. The book itself, I felt, was not among Stevenson's best works, but still held my interest to the end.

DARK ADVENTURE


(4.5 stars)

A great tale of good versus evil, although the good is marred by insanity. The "Master" is as interesting a villain as one will encounter. A fine reading by Thomas Copeland.

Good read


(4 stars)

Not of the calibre of Treasure Island or Jekyll and Hyde, but still an interesting story with many unforeseen twists and turns.


(5 stars)

The book was really intriguing to me, and never felt like it dragged on at all. I enjoyed the pacing, and the narrator was endearing and likeable. The most exciting point, though, was the reader. He was absolutely superb! He was clear, emotive, well paced, and incredibly engaging.