u/FeloranMe

Welcome to Week Four of Outlander Read Along Club : Chapters 16 - 20

This post is intended for anyone who watched the streaming series and knows the Outlander story who now feels like picking up the first Outlander novel for a reread or first time read and doesn't mind spoilers

Summary of Chapters 16 thru 20:

Claire Randall fell back two centuries in time a mere month ago, assumed the identity of Claire Beauchamp, and then suddenly found herself to be Claire Fraser

The morning after the wedding night is awkward and includes an awkward breakfast and an awkward hike. At the top of a local hill Jamie breaks their near silence to express his gratitude for her generosity to him the night before

Claire blushes at their exchange and the awkwardness returns. So, Jamie settles Claire on his knee since touch makes it easier for them to speak with each other. Claire asks him to reveal more details about the life she's married into and Jamie tells her one of the reasons he can't go home is shame over failing his sister. According to Dougal, she has a child by Randall and is involved with another garrison soldier

Before the ax injury that sent him to France, Jamie's Uncle Dougal had come to find him living rough with the clanless broken men. He'd wanted to tell him of an English deserter named Horrocks who knew who really killed the sergeant-major Jamie is accused of killing, and that is why he was nearby to tend to his nephew when he was hit by the ax blow to the head. Jamie does wonder if it was Dougal who wielded the ax.

There would be motivation for his uncle to do such a thing to prevent him from being considered as a contender to lead Clan Mackenzie as laird. That same motivation seems to have been why Dougal picked Jamie to marry Claire as having an English wife would not make him acceptable to the clan

Once healed from his time at the monastery in France, Jamie returns to Scotland only to fall into company with his uncle again. He takes the chance to ride for Fraser lands and is fairly sure his uncle had Rupert shoot him in the back which is why he was in the state he was in, having fallen off his horse and dislocated his shoulder, when he meets Claire

Continuing their hike, Jamie takes Claire fishing without a pole or bait. He uses his hands to tickle and catch a fish and wraps it to give to his new bride as a gift and quotes old love songs filled with mentions of the local wildlife

Jamie knows Claire is uncomfortable because she can't help but think of her former husband Frank. He offers to distract her with a kiss and thanks her again for being open to him and allowing him to please her in bed as she does him. He also reminds her he has no money and they can look forward to a future of sleeping rough, so they might as well practice laying together in the bracken

Afterwards Claire realizes she is falling for the handsome young Highlander who is so different from Frank and so giving of all of himself compared to Frank's sophisticated reserve

On their way back to the inn Jamie confesses he'd given Dougal three conditions to make the wedding more comfortable and real. A few days for a honeymoon, to be married by a priest in a kirk, and a proper dress for Claire to be married in

At the crowded inn there is general friendly banter over food and dancing and Rupert gives them a wedding gift of coins won from gambling with the Watch. Up in their room Jamie compliments Claire's hair and they discuss who does and doesn't still think Claire is a spy. Claire wonders if he isn't afraid she'll kill him in his sleep. He gives her a dirk and tells her if she does he will die a happy man

On the second day of their honeymoon they go walking again and Claire finds out Murtaugh who originally saved/abducted her is a Fraser, that Jamie's mother died when he was 8, that Jamie has noticed they have an unusually strong attraction, and meets Hugh Munro a beggar who survived torture by Barbary pirates.

Hugh gifts the newlyweds a fresh caught rabbit as a wedding gift and offers to change thelocation of Jamie's meeting with Horrocks to one Dougal won't be aware of

Dougal, meanwhile, is back at the inn. He comments his nephew looks like a red deer at the end of mating season and Claire and Jamie escape upstairs to continue their honeymoon

Which is a good thing because they are soon on the road again. Dougal tells Claire she is safe from Randall as she is now Colum's niece. He also suggests his solution to saving her from the English wasn't the worst, was it?

While camping out there is a raid by a neighboring clan where one of their men is taken for ransom as well as two horses and three bags of grain. Dougalnis wounded and Claire patches him up. It's decided Claire should learn to use a knife to defend herself and the men help her practice which they all find very entertaining

A less alarming incident occurs at another campsite when Claire goes down to the Loch to fetch water and meets and pets the Loch Ness monster. There is one witness, but he is too frightened to speak or go near the water. Claire fills up his bucket for him

Hugh Monro stops by to speak with Jamie late one night and leaves another wedding gift of a dragonfly in amber and a love poem

Jamie reveals to Claire his family estate is called Lallybroch and his uncles should like to ally with Jamie and Lallybroch should it come to war. That's why they are helping him with Horrocks and donating funds. If in all these dangerous endeavors Jamie should die the property will fall to Claire

Because Claire is shy about being with Jamie with so many of the men around, Jamie tempts her to race him to a distant glade under the excuse of filling up the water bottles

While distracted by each other in the glade two British deserters sneak up on them. One holds a pistol to Jamie's head and the other attempts to rape Claire, but she uses her recent training to stab him with her dagger and Jamie slits the other one's throat while he reacts to the death of his friend

Recovering from the shock and clinging together the couple are surprised when Dougal looms up annoyed at having been made to wait for over an hour. Jamie is subdued as he shows Dougal the bodies. Claire loses herself to hysterical laughter as both men disapprove

Claire stays close to camp after that incident and loses her shyness about being with Jamie as the other men sleep. The last thing Claire wants is to be left alone, so when Jamie suggests she stay behind while he meets with Horrocks she protests

Jamie insists Claire obey him and says he will tie her to a tree if she doesn't stay in the small wooded area where she should be comfortable and hidden. He rides off and Claire realizes she is alone for the first time in weeks and she knows how close Craig na Dun is

She feels bad about abandoning Jamie, but reasons he will get over her. She tears up thinking he might easily wed again to Laoghaire from Castle Leoch. This thought does not stop her from heading out to the stones

Her way is blocked by a deep stream with a bit of a current. She is able to make her way for a bit, but then slips and falls in weighed down by layers of clothing. She manages to kick up to breathe a couple times when a hand reaches out to grab hers. The hand belongs to a redcoat, Corporal Hawkins who answers to one Black Jack Randall

• 5th week - Saturday, May 30th - Chapters 21 - 25

• 6th week - Saturday, June 6th - Chapters 26 - 30

• 7th week - Saturday, June 13th - Chapters 31 - 35

• 8th week - Saturday, June 20th - Chapters 36 - 41

Week 1 - Chapters 1 - 5

Week 2 - Chapters 6 - 10

Week 3 - Chapters 11 - 15

Recent Previous Reading Group

https://www.reddit.com/r/Outlander/s/Fiz9pU7Cr2 led by u/nanchika

I know Outlander was Diana Gabaldon's first ever book and she had to make Claire a modern woman because that's how the character spoke to her

But, if she had decided to force the character to be contemporary to the other characters would the story have worked? And would it have been as popular considering it is all the same characters and the conflict and plot could have been similar?

In this version Claire would have to be married to BJR, come up to The Highlands to visit him, and somehow fall in with The Scots and still fall for Jamie Fraser. Even if they couldn't be legally married they could still run off to France together

Claire would be missing future knowledge in this, but she could be just as much a Sassenach stranger with an odd interest in herbs and healing and an ill advised friendship with Geillis Duncan

So, danger would still be there for her being out of place. She could also wrestle more with falling in love with Scotland and it's people and realizing she sides with them over the English Crown which is treason

If she's Catholic as she is in the books it's an added element that would ally her with the Stuart cause and France and also add conflict and conviction

Going into the second book it would be extra difficult if she, thinking Jamie had been killed along with her husband at Culloden, had to go back among the English. If she's recognized as a convicted traitor she could plead her belly to survive. Or if she has some sort of deal with BJR to save her BIL Alex's life he might cover for her and say she was never a traitor

She could end up living with the Randall family and maybe live near Mary Hawkins as they raise Denys and Brianna as cousins

Maybe, once Mary remarries to a merchant, they could go to the Americas together?

Then when Brianna is grown Claire finds out Jamie survived and she could go back to him

Would Outlander without the Time Travel have interested readers and prompted a series?

Or is the Time Travel bit the really enticing part as just anybody can tumble through the stones?

Welcome to Week Three of Outlander Read Along Club : Chapters 11 - 15

This post is intended for anyone who is finishing up the streaming series and knows the Outlander story who now feels like picking up the first Outlander novel for a reread or first time read and doesn't mind spoilers

Summary of Chapters 11 thru 15:

Our valiant, accidental time traveler protagonist has finally escaped Castle Leoch where she was first taken by the Scottish party she encountered in the woods near Craig na dun

Now that same party has taken her on the road with their band of rent collectors. The stated intention for her going along is to bring her to Fort William to meet the notorious Commander. The one everyone has so much history with, in the hopes he will assist Claire on her journey. Claire suspects the meeting is so Dougal and Colum can determine if she is an English spy. She is hoping since Fort William is in the direction of Craig na Dun she will have a chance to escape and make it home

One individual in the group is the lawyer Ned Gowen who regales Claire with stories of Red Jacob, the founder of Clan Mackenzie and Colum and Dougal's father, as well as his adventures in the Highlands. He offers to assist Claire, but she is not talking in order to avoid incriminating herself as being from another time. She does tell him nice try as she knows his loyalty is to Colum

On the road, as they go from town to town, Dougal's behavior becomes surprising to Claire. In the larger inns and taverns he makes speeches in Gaelic she doesn't understand but are captivating to the townspeople. Once he has his audience worked up he seizes his nephew, Jamie, and tears his shirt to reveal the scars on his back to the crowd, which upsets him greatly. The effect on the people is strong and inspires donations. Claire quickly realizes Dougal is collecting funds for a rebellion and is a Jacobite. Claire reveals to Dougal she knows exactly what he is up to

Claire does manage to have a talk with Jamie between sessions where he is humiliated in the same fashion by his uncle. She treats his wounds after a fight that breaks out when a villager insults his scars or how he got them. When some British Dragoons are downstairs at one of the inns Jamie takes refuge outside Claire's door. When Claire discovers him he tells her he is there in case the soldiers have an idea of coming upstairs and bothering her. He refuses to take shelter inside her room because he doesn't want to damage her reputation

The next day Dougal collects Claire and they ride out to meet the Fort William Commander, Black Jack Randall, at a neighboring inn. Claire was hoping to escape before this meeting so she is nonplussed. It turns out there is no preparing for this meeting as The Captain is just as charming and gallant as the last time they met. Which means he interrogates her, punches her very hard in the stomach, and orders her to report to Fort William in a few days. Claire is shocked by his violence towards her, but remains defiant

On the way back to join his men, Dougal takes Claire to St. Ninian's Spring also known as The Liar's Spring so he can be certain once and for all Claire is not a spy. While there he tells Claire all about Jonathan Randall and the incident where his nephew's back was flayed. He tried to bribe The Captain to prevent the punishment, but that didn't work. He also has great admiration for Jamie's bravery, he was only 19 when he was at Fort William enduring all of this

Claire asks why he is telling her all this and he says as a character illustration. She has a problem and that is being wanted for further interrogation by someone as untrustworthy as Captain Randall. And the possibility of an English prison cell if not a hanging. But, Dougal doesn't have to turn her over if he can make her a Scot. And he can do that if he marries her to his nephew, Jamie

Claire objects on several grounds, but finds herself ignored, a common occurrence when dealing with Dougal. She thinks Jamie should at least be told he's being forced into an arranged marriage, and Dougal relents in letting them speak. Jamie is surprisingly unbothered by Dougal's outrageous proposal. Claire makes several attempts to give him a way out, but he seems agreeable to go along with the whole thing

After signing the papers, Claire promptly gets very drunk in the tap room. She notes she hears raised voices and hopes Jamie is putting up a fight to avoid this marriage. Maybe he was only sparing her feelings by not objecting to her face. She feels as helpless as the fly she sees struggling in a sticky puddle

When she wakes the next morning, Claire finds herself in her room having been brought there by two of the men last night, neither of whom were impressed by her behavior. She begins a campaign of passive resistance as she is washed and dressed and her hair is done and adorned with freshly cut flowers. But, ultimately she knows she has no choice in the matter

She hopes Jamie has managed to escape and is miles away from there. But, it turns out he has decided to stand up with her after all. Claire is awed by his appearance dressed up in full Highlander regalia, dazzling in the sunlight. He gives her his mother's pearls and overrides Dougal's objections to him openly displaying his true identity. Claire also finds out his real name is James Alexander Malcolm Mackenzie Fraser

The wedding ceremony is in a church, somehow the same one Claire and Frank were married in, the priest is intimidated by Dougal and his men who at least leave their weapons in the back of the church. As much as Claire balks and protests no one listens and there is nothing else to do but say the words to make the marriage official. Both the wedding vows and the older words said in Gaelic for the blood vow as Dougal cuts both Claire's and Jamie's wrists and binds them together. The only part of the situation that feels reassuring to Claire is when Jamie kisses her and it feels like sanctuary

As they leave the church Claire faints and Jamie forces the others off while she recovers. He is a bit embarrassed to inform her Dougal and his men won't go far from them until the marriage is officially consummated. Dougal says the same back at the inn taking them each aside after a celebratory dinner. He wants no question that the marriage is legal and no chance of annulment

After an awkward start in their marriage chamber Claire and Jamie do decide to consummate their marriage without any doubt. It is a bit of a slow start as Claire realizes Jamie won't touch her unless invited and it's up to her to initiate things. After getting to know each other better and finding out more about mainly Jamie's family history they are officially married. Claire unadvisedly tries to go downstairs for food but seeing the men still waiting turns around. The witnesses are not in doubt

Later, Jamie tells Claire if she is unhappy or wants an annulment she can have one as it really is only them who can say for sure what happened in their bedchamber. Claire who is feeling safer and more comfortable than she has since her arrival declines to go that route. She tells Jamie she doesn't hate him and he says the same and that is more than many have to build a marriage on. At least now neither of them is alone as they have each other

* 4th week - Saturday, May 23rd - Chapters 16 - 20

* 5th week - Saturday, May 30th - Chapters 21 - 25

* 6th week - Saturday, June 6th - Chapters 26 - 30

* 7th week - Saturday, June 13th - Chapters 31 - 35

* 8th week - Saturday, June 20th - Chapters 36 - 41

Week 1 - Chapters 1 - 5

Week 2 - Chapters 6 - 10

Recent Previous Reading Group https://www.reddit.com/r/Outlander/s/KAA1Xi9xKN

Welcome to Week Two of Outlander Read Along Club : Chapters 6 - 10

This post is intended for anyone who is finishing up the streaming series and knows the Outlander story who now feels like picking up the first Outlander novel for a reread or first time read and doesn't mind spoilers

Summary of Chapters 6 thru 10:

Our intrepid protagonist finds herself somehow an Englishwoman alone in the Scottish Highlands of 1743. Fortunately, she has found refuge with Clan Mackenzie at Castle Leoch. Unfortunately, everyone is curious about who she is and how she came to be there and Claire is faced with the dilemma of believably accounting for her presence as well as not raising the sort of suspicions that could get her into trouble

She is a bit less cautious when it comes to the person of Jamie MacTavish, the young man whose injuries she tended to on arrival. He injures himself again by choosing to take a young girl's punishment, though opting for being pummeled by the fists of a giant rather than hit with a strap. There isn't much Claire can do to help young Jamie after his ordeal, but she goes to him anyway and learns more about local healing techniques from the indomitable Mrs. Fitz

She also later brings a lunch basket to the stables to find Jamie with the idea of checking on his bandages, but forgets to check them. Colum, laird of Leoch, notices her interest in healing and appoints Claire the castle healer. Davey Beaton, the former healer, set a low bar and she will do comparatively well in his place

Now with a place at the Castle, Claire settles into the pace of life there as she works in the kitchen garden, tends patients, and brings picnic lunches to her favorite patient who still hasn't allowed her to change that bandage

And doesn't until after an evening concert when, having been plied with alcohol by a Colum trying to figure out who she really is, an intoxicated Claire is escorted back to her room by a gallant Jamie who asks for them to finally be removed

Despite having had another intimate conversation with the only other individual at Castle Leoch who appears to be an outsider and alone, and him having invited her out to see a foal the following day, that following day sees Jamie instead spending time with the young Laoghaire who he took a beating for. Claire catches them kissing in a castle alcove and they share a shrug. Claire later teases him about it and is informed by the horse master, Auld Alec, young Jamie should be with a woman, not a girl. Claire has no idea what he could mean by that

Claire meets Geillis Duncan, the fiscal's wife from town while gathering fruit outside the castle with a group of women. Geillis is friendly if gossipy and strange. Dougal, the laird's brother who first brought Claire to Leoch, brings Claire to visit Geillis at her home and get healing supplies from her workshop since the MacKenzies are expecting a large gathering of guests soon

While there Claire advocates for a young boy accused of stealing to get a lesser punishment and Geillis makes that happen. Later, when Jamie MacTavish picks her up she convinces him to help the boy further by removing the nail that attaches his ear to the pillory while she faints to create a diversion

As the MacKenzies are busy with all the Clansmen swearing allegiance to their laird at The Gathering, Claire decides it's a good time to escape. But, she trips over young Jamie in the stables and he escorts her back to the Castle. It turns out he was hiding to avoid swearing an oath as swearing it would cause one uncle to kill him, but not swearing it would cause the entire clan to kill him. Jamie successfully walks the tightrope and walks away with the Clan's goodwill despite not swearing the oath

That night Claire is saved from drunken Clansmen by Dougal and then forceably kissed by him. The next day Claire gains Dougal's respect as she treats a fallen boar hunter in the woods. Having brought her to Castle Leoch Dougal now wants to take Claire away on a rent collecting party. He tells her as she enters the stable looking for Jamie again

• 3rd week - Saturday, May 16th - Chapters 11 - 15

• 4th week - Saturday, May 23rd - Chapters 16 - 20

• 5th week - Saturday, May 30th - Chapters 21 - 25

• 6th week - Saturday, June 6th - Chapters 26 - 30

• 7th week - Saturday, June 13th - Chapters 31 - 35

• 8th week - Saturday, June 20th - Chapters 36 - 41

Week 1 - Chapters 1 - 5

Recent Previous Reading Group https://www.reddit.com/r/Outlander/s/HTrJcjTF4c

Welcome to Week One of Outlander Read Along Club : Chapters 1-5

This post is intended for anyone who is finishing up the streaming series and knows the Outlander story who now feels like picking up the first Outlander novel for a reread or first time read and doesn't mind spoilers

It can be nice to have a read along rather than a read alone, so please free to comment however you like on this post, but with a focus on chapters 1-5

Summary:

In the prologue and first five chapters we are first intrigued by the invocation of the idea of mysterious disappearances before being immersed in the world of the Post-WWII Scottish Highlands as we follow WWII Veteran Claire Randall of the Royal Army Nursing Corps and her MI6 veteran husband as they reconnect on a second honeymoon

Claire seems to be having a moderate amount of trouble keeping her husband's attention as Frank prefers to obsess about points of history, mainly regarding his dashing 18th century ancestor Captain Jonathan "Black Jack" Randall with male academics in the area while she busies herself with a botany hobby

It's near Beltane and The Highlands are full of echoes of the supernatural, from blood sacrifices, to fortune telling, even to a ghostly stalker! Claire and Frank witness the local ladies dancing around standing stones at Craigh na Dun. After they leave Claire notices an exotic species of Forget-me-nots she intends to return to examine more closely

When she does she has the strangest experience where the stones seem to scream at her and she feels as though she has fallen through them

Running from the stones and lost in the woods, Claire encounters a nefarious lookalike to her husband who calls himself Jonathan Randall before she is whisked away by a band of Scots who had been having a shootout with the English soldiers. She wonders if she's stumbled onto a movie set

In a significant scene Claire treats the dislocated shoulder of one of the Scots and is forcefully invited by one Dougal Mackenzie to accompany them to Castle Leoch where she is welcomed as a guest by the laird Colum who doesn't quite believe her hastily concocted story of how she came to be lost in the woods

So far, she can possibly count as friends Mrs. Fitz who runs the Castle Leoch household and young Jamie MacTavish whose injuries she has tended to several times in the last few days and whose horse she shared on the journey to the castle

It now seems clear Claire really is in the past, specifically 1743, a dangerous time to be an Englishwoman alone. How will she ever get back to her own time and Frank?

* 2nd week - Saturday, May 9th - Chapters 6 - 10

* 3rd week - Saturday, May 16th - Chapters 11 - 15

* 4th week - Saturday, May 23rd - Chapters 16 - 20

* 5th week - Saturday, May 30th - Chapters 21 - 25

* 6th week - Saturday, June 6th - Chapters 26 - 30

* 7th week - Saturday, June 13th - Chapters 31 - 35

* 8th week - Saturday, June 20th - Chapters 36 - 41

Previous Reading Group from 3 months ago https://www.reddit.com/r/Outlander/s/6jWZY88LoN by u/nanchika

With the series wrapping up it seems like a good idea to visit or revisit where the series began

I last read Outlander in 2015 and I'd forgotten just how detailed and well paced the first book was

A magical and immersive experience!

Just wondered if anyone else was in a similar place in a reread or picking up the books for the first time!

Edited: u/nanchika previously did a Book 1 breakdown and is currently doing one for Book 2

If anyone would like to do a read along for Book One I'm happy to make a new post every Saturday for a discussion during the week

• 1st week - Saturday, May 2nd - Chapters 1 - 5
• 2nd week - Saturday, May 9th - Chapters 6 - 10
• 3rd week - Saturday, May 16th - Chapters 11 - 15
• 4th week - Saturday, May 23rd - Chapters 16 - 20
• 5th week - Saturday, May 30th - Chapters 21 - 25
• 6th week - Saturday, June 6th - Chapters 26 - 30
• 7th week - Saturday, June 13th - Chapters 31 - 35
• 8th week - Saturday, June 20th - Chapters 36 - 41