The Master of Ballantrae · Chapters

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Chapter companions for The Master of Ballantrae by Robert Louis Stevenson.

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Chapter 1
Dedication
The author dedicates the tale to Sir Percy Florence and Lady Shelley, reflecting on the story's composition across many years and distant lands, particularly at sea, and expresses hope that its maritime origins will endear it to seafarers.
Chapter 2
The Master of Ballantrae
The opening chapter introduces the Durie family of Durrisdeer, focusing on the two brothers, James (the Master) and Henry, during the Jacobite rising of 1745. The family faces a critical decision: which brother will join the rebellion and which will stay to support the government. The Master, charismatic and favored by their father, volunteers to go, while the dutiful Henry remains. This choice sets the stage for a lifelong rivalry, as the Master is presumed dead after Culloden, and Henry inherits the estate and marries the Master's intended bride, Alison Graeme.
Chapter 3
I: Summary of Events During the Master’s Wanderings
Mackellar introduces himself as the narrator, intimately involved with the Durie family's last years. He recounts the history of the Duries of Durrisdeer and Ballantrae, focusing on the year 1745. The Master (James Durie) is portrayed as wild, popular, and duplicitous, while Mr. Henry is honest but overshadowed. After the Master joins the Jacobite rebellion and is presumed dead at Culloden, Mr. Henry becomes heir. Rumors spread that Mr. Henry betrayed the rebels, leading to his social ostracism. The family mourns, and Lord Durrisdeer pressures Miss Alison to marry Mr. Henry for financial reasons, despite her love for the Master.
Chapter 4
II: Summary of Events (Continued)
Mackellar arrives at Durrisdeer in December 1748 and is warmly received by Mr. Henry and Lord Durrisdeer, though Mrs. Henry treats him with condescension. He quickly becomes devoted to the family, especially Mr. Henry, whom he finds kind but deeply unhappy. The household is haunted by the memory of the Master, and tensions arise over a stained-glass window pane that Mrs. Henry and Lord Durrisdeer treat as a relic. Mackellar is sent to deliver a pension to Jessie Broun, who reviles Mr. Henry as a 'Judas' and speaks of the 'bonny lad' (the Master) as dead. This is Mackellar's first indirect encounter with the Master's shadow over the family.
Chapter 5
The Master's Wanderings
Colonel Burke recounts his flight after Culloden, his meeting with the Master of Ballantrae, and their subsequent adventures as pirates aboard the Sainte-Marie-des-Anges. The chapter details their pact of mutual tolerance, their capture by Teach's pirate crew, and the Master's rise to leadership through cunning and discipline.

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Dedication

The Master of Ballantrae

I: Summary of Events During the Master’s Wanderings

II: Summary of Events (Continued)

The Master's Wanderings