Outlander - Diana Gabaldon [412]
Q: Why is Outlander written in the first person point of view?
A: My initial impulse is to say, “Why on earth shouldn’t it be?” However, I do get this question quite often at writers conferences, so I’ll try to go into a bit more detail.
I like to experiment and try new and interesting things in terms of structure and literary technique (not that writing in the first person is what you’d call madly adventurous). However, the answer is simply that a first person narrative was the easiest and most comfortable for me to use at the time, and since I was writing the book for practice, I saw no reason to make things complicated.
Now that I know more about writing, there are other good reasons to have done it, but that’s why I did it at the time; it felt natural to me. I think I may have felt most comfortable with this (aside from the minor fact that Claire Beauchamp Randall took over and began telling the story herself), because many of my favorite works of literature are first person narratives.
If you look at the classic novels of the English language, roughly half of them are written in the first person, from Moby-Dick to David Copperfield, Swiss Family Robinson, Treasure Island—even large chunks of the Bible are written in the first person!
Which is not to say that there are no drawbacks to using this technique, or that it suits everyone. But if it fits your style and your story, why on earth not?
Q: Are all the locations used in the books real?
A: Bear in mind that I had never been to Scotland when I wrote Outlander. When I finally did go, I found a stone circle very like the one I had described, at a place called Castlerigg. There is also a place near Inverness called the Clava Cairns, which has a stone circle, and another place called Tomnahurich, which is supposed to be a fairy’s hill, but I’ve never been there, so I don’t know how like Craigh na Dun it is. As for Lallybroch … well, I do repeatedly find things that really exist after I’ve written them, so I really wouldn’t be at all surprised.
Q: Are you Claire?
A: Well, no. Though of course, I’m all the characters; I have to be, after all. But if you are asking whether I based the character of Claire on myself, no, I didn’t.
Q: Who is the ghost in Outlander?
A: The ghost is Jamie—but as to exactly how his appearance fits into the story, All Will Be Explained—in the last book of the series.
Q: Where will the story end?
A: I think the Outlander books will end in about 1800, in Scotland. If this tells you anything, more power to you.
Q: Will the story have a happy ending?
A: Oh, yes, the last book will have a happy ending, though I confidently expect it to leave the readers in floods of tears, anyway.
Excerpted from The Outlandish Companion, copyright © 1999 by Diana Gabaldon
Readers’ Guide to Outlander
Catherine MacGregor
If your book club is like mine, you probably have a mix of people who have just recently discovered Outlander and others who have read the entire series—perhaps multiple times—perhaps recently, or perhaps years ago.
This Readers’ Guide to Outlander is intended to extend the pleasure individual readers feel when enjoying these remarkable books privately. I hope the questions serve to enrich fresh discussions with friends and book club members. The questions assume that you have read the entirety of Outlander and they are more or less chronological, but some link particular early details with larger patterns. Most questions refer only to Outlander; some in parentheses, however, suggest connections with the sequels. Don’t worry: they are