Outlander

While on her second honeymoon in Scotland just after World War II, Claire Randall returns alone to a nearby henge, an ancient circle of stones, to gather a plant specimen that interests her. (After spending the war as a nurse in France, she has taken up the housewifely hobby of plant pressing to please her husband, an Oxford don.) As she picks the plant, she accidentally touches one of the stones, and it screams. Suddenly, it's the year 1743, and she is in the war camp of Scottish insurgents, a battlefield nurse once more--or is she a witch? Whatever the case, Claire's life is in peril. Should she go back to the twentieth century or stay with the passionate James Fraser? This is escape fiction at its best, and Claire's decision won't surprise any reader with an adventurous soul. ~--Cynthia Ogorek

Time-traveler Claire Randall returns to 18th-century Scotland in this compulsively readable sequel to Outlander. (Dec.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Claire Randall is vacationing in the Scottish Highlands with her husband when she somehow travels through time to the 17th century. Rescued from British troops by a clan of Highlanders, Claire is forced to create a life in the past-a task made easier by attractive Scotsman Jamie Fraser. Brilliantly rendered details of the time and place for historical fiction fans plus swoon-worthy chemistry are two reasons this has also made an excellent TV adaptation is in its first season on STARZ. (LJ 8/96) (c) Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Once-in-a-lifetime romantic passion and graphically depicted torture sessions are only the two extremes of this lively time- travel romance set in 18th-century Scotland--an imaginative and lighthearted debut by a promising newcomer. World War II has finally ended and Claire Beauchamp Randall, a British Red Cross nurse, has gone off to Scotland with her historian husband, Frank, to try to resume their married life where it left off six years before. Their diligent attempts to make a baby come to a halt, however, when Claire discovers an ancient stone circle on a nearby hilltop, slips between two mysterious- looking boulders, and is transported willy-nilly to the year 1743. Stumbling down the hillside, disoriented and confused, Claire is discovered by Jonathan ``Black Jack'' Randall, an evil English officer who happens to be her husband's direct ancestor and physical look-alike. Randall notes Claire's revealing 1940's summer dress, assumes she is a whore, and attempts to rape her, whereupon she is rescued by the fierce MacKenzie clan, who take her to their castle and confine her there. Claire adjusts to her changed circumstances with amazing ease, using her nursing experience to tend to her hosts' illnesses while she impatiently awaits a chance to return to the circle of stones. Before she can get away, circumstances force her into a marriage with James Frazer, a Scottish renegade from English justice and Jonathan Randall's archenemy. Young Jamie's good looks, passion, and virility soon redirect Claire's energies to defending her stalwart new husband against her former mate's evil clone, and the fierce, courageous but historically doomed Scottish clans against the course of destiny itself. A satisfying treat, with extra scoops of excitement and romance that make up for certain lapses in credibility.

After being separated by seven years of World War II, Claire and Frank Randall return to the Scottish Highlands for a second honeymoon. Left to her own devices while her husband immerses himself in historical pursuits, Claire inadvertently enters a circle of standing stones and is plunged back 200 years to a Scotland on the verge of the second Jacobite uprising. Her pluck and skill as a nurse win the Scots' grudging respect, but only marriage to a Scot will save her from the clutches of Frank's vicious forbear, Black Jack Randall. Though first novelist Gabaldon uses time travel primarily to allow a modern heroine, this is basically a richly textured historical novel with an unusual and compelling love story. The author, an assistant professor of research in environmental studies, was encouraged to publish by fellow users of CompuServe and has two more books contracted. If these fulfill the promise of the first, they should win a devoted audience. Literary Guild alternate; Doubleday Book Club main selection.-- Cynthia Johnson Whealler, Cary Memorial Lib., Lexington, Mass. Copyright 1991 Cahners Business Information.

Claire Randall is vacationing in the Scottish Highlands with her husband when she somehow travels through time to the 17th century. Rescued from British troops by a clan of Highlanders, Claire is forced to create a life in the past—a task made easier by attractive Scotsman Jamie Fraser. Brilliantly rendered details of the time and place for historical fiction fans plus swoon-worthy chemistry are two reasons this has also made an excellent TV adaptation is in its first season on STARZ. (LJ 8/96)

Time-travel stories that combine swashbuckling adventure, romance, and vivid historical details don't get any better than Gabaldon's now classic debut. Claire Randall and her husband Frank are taking their second honeymoon in Scotland when Claire stumbles across a mystical stone circle that whisks her back to the 18th century. There she meets the wounded clansman Jamie Fraser and unexpectedly finds shelter and even love while trying to find her way in a tumultuous historical time. VERDICT With vividly drawn, relatable characters and a respectful, loving eye for the history of the Scottish Highlands, Gabaldon's Outlander series launch is a lush, romantic epic.

Time-travel stories that combine swashbuckling adventure, romance, and vivid historical details don't get any better than Gabaldon's now classic debut. Claire Randall and her husband Frank are taking their second honeymoon in Scotland when Claire stumbles across a mystical stone circle that whisks her back to the 18th century. There she meets the wounded clansman Jamie Fraser and unexpectedly finds shelter and even love while trying to find her way in a tumultuous historical time. VERDICT With vividly drawn, relatable characters and a respectful, loving eye for the history of the Scottish Highlands, Gabaldon's Outlander series launch is a lush, romantic epic. — "Summertime, and the Reading Is Easy" LJ Reviews 6/7/12 (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. HISTORICAL FICTION

After 20 years, the "Outlander" series is going strong, with more than 17 million copies sold worldwide and 14,000 copies in all formats moving each month. So why not go back to the first title in the series and reissue it in a glossy new anniversary edition, with a reading group guide and a new letter and essay from the author herself? Well worth considering even if you have copies of Outlander; they probably need replacing.

Absorbing and heartwarming, this first novel lavishly evokes the land and lore of Scotland, quickening both with realistic characters and a feisty, likable heroine. English nurse Claire Beauchamp Randall and husband Frank take a second honeymoon in the Scottish Highlands in 1945. When Claire walks through a cleft stone in an ancient henge, she's somehow transported to 1743. She encounters Frank's evil ancestor, British captain Jonathan ``Black Jack'' Randall, and is adopted by another clan. Claire nurses young soldier James Fraser, a gallant, merry redhead, and the two begin a romance, seeing each other through many perilous, swashbuckling adventures involving Black Jack. Scenes of the Highlanders' daily life blend poignant emotions with Scottish wit and humor. Eventually Sassenach (outlander) Claire finds a chance to return to 1945, and must choose between distant memories of Frnak and her happy, uncomplicated existence with Jamie. Claire's resourcefulness and intelligent sensitivity make the love-conquers-all, happily-ever-after ending seem a just reward. Doubleday Book Club main selection, Literary Guild alternate. (July) Copyright 1991 Cahners Business Information.

Time-traveler Claire Randall returns to 18th-century Scotland in this compulsively readable sequel to Outlander. (Dec.) Copyright 1993 Cahners Business Information.