Kidnapped is based on true events from the 18th century in Scotland, including the "Appin murder" that occurred in the aftermath of the Jacobite uprising of 1745. Many of the characters, including one of the main characters, Alan Breck Stewart, are real individuals. The political situation of the time is depicted from a variety of perspectives, and the Scottish Highlanders are warmly presented.

The book's full title is Kidnapped: Being Memoirs of David Balfour's Adventures in the Year 1751: How he was kidnapped and sent away; his ordeals on a desert island; his journey through the wild Highlands; his encounters with Alan Breck Stewart and other infamous Highland Jacobites; and everything he went through at the hands of his uncle, Ebenezer Balfour of Shaws.