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THE OUTLANDISH COMPANION
by Diana Gabaldon
Delacorte Press, June 2003
608 pages
$27.95
ISBN: 0385324138


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Diana Gabaldon's first four books in the OUTLANDER series were published during the 1990s. Totaling over 3000 pages, some inconsistencies were noted by readers, and some of the fans of the series were getting testy while awaiting the fifth book in the series, THE FIERY CROSS, so the author wrote another 600+ page book called THE OUTLANDISH COMPANION.

In this she explains her research methods, title changes, differences between the US and UK editions and so on. She also gives a synopsis of each of the first four books in the series. (OUTLANDER 1991; DRAGONFLY IN AMBER 1992; VOYAGER 1994; DRUMS OF AUTUMN 1997)

Having listened to OUTLANDER, I wanted to know what happened to Jamie and Claire immediately, not after reading another 3000 pages of great historical romantic fiction, so I got THE OUTLANDISH COMPANION and read it instead, or at least sampled it.

The first part is a synopsis of the first four books in the series. Whether you have read them or not, or, if you read them as they come out, this is a good way to remind yourself of what happened to who and when. The second section is an explanation of where the characters come from and a list of the characters, including horoscopes cast for James Fraser, Claire Beauchamp and Randall Fraser, with a note about magic and medicine in the 18th century.

It is inevitable that in almost 4000 pages and several dozen characters, that people and places get confused in a reader's mind. In THE OUTLANDISH COMPANION, with humor and grace, Gabaldon indicates who all these people are, what part they play in the book, why they were placed in that particular time and location, and how she determines who goes where and who does what. She also answers FAQs and submits an annotated biography, and also some tips on writing and how to get published.

This is a valuable reference work for several reasons, not the least being it gives an insight into how Gabaldon works. If you are already a fan of the OUTLANDER books, or if you just want to see how one author develops her well- received stories, then this book is for you. All five of the books in the series are still in print, which is quite a feat in these days of publishers arbitrarily ending series or allowing books to go out of print.

Reviewed by Barbara Franchi, November 2003

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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