The Outlandish Companion - Diana Gabaldon [312]
Sjéfararna
(Voyager)
(paperback)
Vol. 1: ISBN 91-7133-261-8 Vol. 2: ISBN 91-7133-262-6
I believe this is the only one of the Swedish editions published in paperback (more of a trade paper edition than a mass market paperback), but I can’t be sure, because of the bewildering multiplicity of book-club editions produced in that country. Same ocean/ship design—on both volumes—as in the hardcover(s).
Trummornas Dan (Drums of Autumn) (hardcover) (1997) ISBN 91-7133-313-4
This book is almost identical (externally) with the American hardcover; the size, cover design and artwork are the same, but with a difference in the typeface used for title and author name. I don’t know whether (or why) the publisher decided that the two-volume approach wasn’t satisfactory, but they did do this one as a single volume, in spite of the fact that it’s longer than Voyager (Sjéfararna).
GERMANY
Publisher: Blanvalet Verlag GmbH
Neumarkterstrasse 18 W-81664 Munich Germany
Feuer und Stein (Outlander)
(hardcover, regular edition) ISBN 3-7645-0697-0
This tide means “Fire and Stone”; adventurous, if not particularly referent. The cover art, oddly, is essentially that of the American edition of Dragonfly. (The book-club edition was plainly done as “women’s fiction”; a plaid background with an inset of the face and bust of a highly undistinguished-looking
Feuer und Stein (Outlander)
(paperback)
Same art as the hardcover. German paperbacks tend to be smaller in dimension than do American ones; the effect of this, given a very long book, is to render the result somewhat cuboidal.
Die Geliehene Zeit (Dragonfly in Amber) (hardcover) ISBN 3-7645-0702-0
This means “The Borrowed Time,” which is really rather an appealing title. With (I suppose) perfect logic, this book uses an adaptation of the American Outlander art—the clock and tartan motif—though in this version, the ornate French clock has been replaced by a large pocket watch.
Die Geliehene Zeit (Dragonfly in Amber) (paperback)
When this paperback arrived, my husband looked at it and said, “When one of your books gets to be as thick as it is wide, do you get some kind of prize?” If you laminated a few of these things, you could build walls with them.
Ferne Ufer
(Voyager)
(hardcover)
This means “The Far Shore,” which is okay, if not inspired. Not yet released in paperback (as of the publication of this Companion, that is).
The art department seems to have caught up with itself; this one uses a variant on the American Voyager cover.
Der Ruf Der Trommel (Drums of Autumn) (hardcover)
I think this means “The Sound of Drums,” which is actually something like the original; rather a change. Like the Swedish edition of Drums, this one is almost identical with the American version, save for the dimensions; it’s slightly shorter and fatter. (I think this paperback just might win that hypothetical prize.)
UK (AND COMMONWEALTH COUNTRIES, INCLUDING AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND, BUT NOT CANADA)
Publisher: Century Random (now Random House UK)
20 Vauxhall Bridge Road London SW1V 2SA England
Cross Stitch (Outlander) (1991)
(hardcover—out of print; may be available in
reprint) ISBN 0-7126-4760-0
This book was originally published in hardcover, but that edition is out of print. However, Random House has indicated an intention to reprint the hardcover (with original cover illustration, which was quite pretty) in a limited quantity, for library consumption. It may be possible to obtain copies of this reprint edition; if not, I have ordered a small quantity for myself, to fill orders from people wanting autographed copies.8
Cross Stitch (paperback) ISBN 0-09-991170-1
There have been three (wildly) different cover designs for the paperback, so far: The first was truly disgusting, being orange with bouquets of