Weekly Reader: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon; Top Notch Historical Romance and Fantasy is Undone By It's Inflated Reputation

Weekly Reader: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon; Top Notch Historical Romance and Fantasy is Undone By It's Inflated Reputation

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews




Spoilers: This is one of those books that I heard about so much that I had to read it. Several members of various Facebook groups talked it up. The series is quite popular. It even ended up as #2 in PBS The Great American Read countdown only under To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. With a reputation like that, you have to wonder how good is it?


Is Outlander great or is it….not? Well it's complicated.


Author Diana Gabaldon deserves credit for not only making one historical fiction but two in one. The story is a Fantasy Romance about a lovelorn time traveler going into the past and meeting the man of their dreams in the past. (Is there any other kind?) But instead of a woman from modern day, she is from WWII.

Claire Beauchamp-Randall is a nurse in 1946 rekindling her marriage to historian, Frank Randall. The two have been married for seven years but have been apart for six while Frank fought in the War and Claire tended to soldiers. They are on their second honeymoon in Scotland where Frank is researching his family history and hopefully they could do a little more. Instead of getting a relaxing vacation, things get kind of weird.

First Frank reports seeing a ghostly figure in a kilt. Then while attending a ceremonial ritual by the local women, Claire hears the stones in a sacred grove scream. Suddenly, she is transported to 17th century Scotland and she's taken by a group of British soldiers only to be rescued by a group of Highlanders.

Her first assignment is to treat Jamie Fraser, who is injured. While she heals his wound using modern medicine (at least WWII era modern medicine), she and Jamie develop an understanding bond. The bond strengthens though she is held under suspicion as a “Sassenach” or Outlander, an Englishwoman and possibly a spy for the English. The suspicion reaches the ears of the clan head who says that the only way to waylay suspicions towards Claire is for her to marry a Scotsman and what do you know there is a Scotsman available, one whom she just healed and already developed a bond.


The multiple parts to the story work well together. Gabaldon should be commended for having a handle on writing two historical periods and she shows great details on both of them.

Gabaldon certainly did her homework in researching 17th century Scotland. She writes the Jacobite conflicts and clan wars in ways that are more engaging than textbooks. She does a commendable job of capturing the various details such as court hearings where the guilty party could be sentenced to a flogging but can find a champion to take the flogging for them. She gets everything from the clothing (no Scotsman don't wear much under there), to health care (sometimes rely on leeches and potions though Claire offers a few modern touches as newly appointed “physician”) to status of women (marginalized, considered as daughters and wives, though some unmarried women have official positions) right.

While less explored than 17th century Scotland, Gabaldon also captured the post-WWII era really well. She explores what it's like for long separated couples reunite only to discover that they have little in common. She also explores the lives of nurses who had to live through treating soldiers who had traumatic experiences as well as what the nurses learned from them. In one humorous moment, Claire accidentally uses some colorful language that she picked up from soldiers in front of some guests.

The Fantasy aspect flows nicely but is very open ended. The ghostly visitation and the ritual at the beginning of Claire's journey suggests some supernatural reason for her trip as though she were sent back to change something though this is never resolved why at least in the first book. The awareness of Claire's presence in the past comes to focus when she is responsible for the death of someone and is concerned that she could have ended someone's family line prematurely.

There is also an interesting twist when Claire encounters another time traveler. (She recognizes the smallpox vaccination scar.) The other time traveler has already settled into Scottish life by having an active love life and a reputation of being a witch because of her foreknowledge of events (actually historic research.). Once Claire picks up the habit she too is accused of being a witch. While this plot twist resolution is saved for a later book, it is intriguing that this has happened before.

While I am not a big Romance fan, the Romance holds up pretty well mostly because Gabaldon treats the lovers like real people despite the conventional stumbling blocks. Claire is a strong willed opinionated woman for any era and stands out in the 20th and 17th centuries. She is able to carve an identity for herself as a healer and adviser.

While some may criticize her having an extramarital affair, it squeaks by when you consider that she and Frank had been separated for some time and had spent little time together.

Jamie also is a good character. He has the standard man of his era attitude where he behaves brutally and believes that the man is the Lord of his castle, but thankfully those aspects are minimal. It helps that he was injured to begin with. He also shows a very chivalrous nature by taking punishments for a local girl and explains that he is on the run after fighting soldiers when his sister was attacked. He and Claire have great chemistry in their moments together that flow naturally from friendship to romance.

Thankfully, Claire and Jamie are an engaging couple that takes them through the typical clichés of romance. There is the jealous other woman who has sights on the male half and could cause trouble for the duo. There is the dangerous sadistic other man who fancies the female half and in this case the male as well. Then of course there is the classic misunderstanding which puts the two at each other's throats until things are resolved with a "kiss and make up" passage. It is nothing new and we have seen it before.

Outlander is a great book but is it deserving of the #2 spot of favorite books of all time? Over books like Jane Eyre, The Outsiders, and even though I'm not crazy about the series but I recognize it's impact and influence on getting children to read, Harry Potter? While it is good and has plenty of great qualities I will have to say no. Many of the Romance plot points are clichéd and present nothing new. Even the idea of a modern woman going back in time and receiving a lover from the past has been done in books like Jude Devereux's A Knight in Shining Armor and the movie, Kate and Leopold.

Outlander is a popular book and that's not a bad thing. It has every reason to be popular but there is not enough to consider it a classic.

At least not yet anyway.