Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3058 in Books
• Published on: 1994-03-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 864 pages

Synopsis
Claire Randall is leading a double life. She has a husband in one century - and a lover in another...In 1945, Claire Randall is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon in Scotland. Innocently, she walks through a stone circle in the Highlands, and finds herself in a violent skirmish taking place in 1743. Suddenly, she is a Sassenach, an outlander, in a country torn by war and by clan feuds. A wartime nurse, Claire can deal with the bloody wounds that face her. But it is harder to deal with the knowledge that she is in Jacobite Scotland and the carnage of Culloden is looming. Marooned amid the passion and violence, the superstition, the shifting allegiances and the fervent loyalties, Claire is in danger from Jacobites and Redcoats - and from the shock of her own desire for James Fraser, a gallant and courageous young Scots warrior. Jamie shows her a passion so fierce and a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire, and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

From the Publisher
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE FIERY CROSS

About the Author
Diana Gabaldon is the international bestselling author of five previous historical novels - Cross Stitch, Dragonfly in Amber, Voyager, Drums of Autumn and The Fiery Cross, and one work of non-fiction, Through the Stones. She lives with her family and a lot of other assorted wildlife in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Customer Reviews

Gripping
This was a wonderful and gripping book, I read it under a week, although I did stay up half the night and set the alarm early in the morning to get through it. Although not always historically accurate, it is a work of fiction. Clare seemed to go from one disaster to another in the 1700's, each time I felt completely on the edge of my seat wondering if she would escape relatively unharmed. The love scenes were equally descriptive!! Just got the next 3 books to read, can't wait.

A bit of a hoot mon! (sorry)
I don't usually read romantic fiction and only tried 'Outlander' after a friend nagged me almost to death!
Fair enough, the reviewers who say it is a load of tosh are right. And yes, it was written by an American so the Scots are all noble/brave/loyal/strong/butch warrior types with ridiculous accents and the English are all sadists/rapists/homosexual (usually all three when I come to think of it) aristocratic types with ridiculous accents.
But if you just accept 'Outlander' as good old-fashioned escapism you might even enjoy it. I must admit I did!

IMPOSSIBLE TO READ!!!
I decided to give this book a go after reading many of the good reviews it got. At over 800 pages I knew the pace could be slow to start but was prepared to give it a chance. However after about 300 pages I just couldn't take anymore.

The pace was plodding at best. For instance, a whole chapter was given over to hunting a wild boar, and in my opinion didn't add anything to the story. The main character, Jamie, wasn't in the least bit appealing, and Claire seemed to relax into life two centuries before her time without too much difficulty.

But for me the worst part was that most of the speech was written in Scottish accents!! I have nothing against the accent. I have Scottish relatives, but it made for very stilted reading. Every other line was filled with talk of wee laddies and wee lassies. We know these people spoke with a Scottish accent. They live in Scotland for heaven's sake. We don't need to read with one. If a book is set in America do we all suddenly start reading with an American twang?

Sorry I just couldn't read it all, and failed to even get halfway through. If this is the first in the series, I would hate to see the sequels.

Please , please, if you're looking for a good time slip novel I would check out Barbara Erskine first.

Otherwise, 'Hoots mon, pass me those bagpipes, ye wee lassie. I'll tak a wee nip we it!!!'