The Outlandish Companion - Diana Gabaldon [313]
(Following prolonged obnoxious complaint from the author, the publisher has announced its intention of reissuing the entire series of paperbacks with Much Improved Covers, which we await with eager anticipation.)
Dragonfly in Amber
(paperback)
ISBN: 0-09-929471-0
Dragonfly was never published in hardcover in the UK.10 It has had two iterations of the paperback cover; the first being both lovely and suitable, one of my personal favorites11—a pointillist-style depiction of a Highland meadow, with a black stone sticking up out of it, and two tiny, faceless figures (tall, red-haired male, shorter bonneted female) crossing through it. The second is/was an iteration of the frightful woman (no offense to the hapless model who posed for it; I’m sure it wasn’t her fault) on the Cross Stitch cover.
Again, there should be a third—much improved—cover for this edition, to be issued simultaneously with this Companion.
Voyager (1995)
(hardcover)
ISBN 0-7126-6133-6
(paperback)
ISBN 0-09-942851-2
The first Voyager paperback cover looks very like the hardback cover—which is a pity. It featured a female figure purporting to be Claire, looking like either a teenybopper or someone who had escaped the house wearing her bathrobe (variations, owing to separate publication in Great Britain and Australia/New Zealand), a redheaded male figure lurking in the background, evidently intended to be a ghost from its spectral shape, and what is presumably Brianna, depicted as an overgrown ten-year-old in a granny dress. It’s also a rather nasty purple.
In this case, the reissue—third iteration of the Same Horrible Woman—was actually an improvement, but I’m still looking forward to the newest attempt.
The hardcover may be available, but I wouldn’t bet on it; UK hardcovers are normally done in relatively small print runs, since the main demand for these is from libraries.
Drums of Autumn (1997) ISBN 0-7126-7623-6
This one was done—and is likely still available—in both hardcover and paperback. The cover design is actually not too bad, save for the presence of a very literal-looking female in the center. This was actually the first appearance of the Lady with Brown Hair; since the book sold quite well, the publisher promptly reissued the other three books with cut-rate versions of the same cover—and the same model, with her hair combed differently.
Stay tuned for the new and much improved cover, not featuring female portraits, or so they tell me.
RUSSIA
Well, we did sell rights to the first three books to a company called Centrepolygraph, but I’ve never seen any of these books, and in fact have no idea whether they ever were published in Russia, let alone what they might look like.
HOLLAND
A Dutch publisher, Meulenhoff, has bought rights to the first book, and it should be on the market soon—titled de Reiziger. If it does well, presumably they might want the rest.
POLAND AND KOREA
Contracts for Outlander have also been signed with publishers in Poland and Korea, but no information is available as yet regarding titles or publication dates.
AUDIOTAPES
There are several taped versions of the books (see “Frequently Asked Questions”). The commercially available versions are the (severely) abridged tapes from Bantam, and the (delightfully) unabridged ones from Recorded Books, Inc. Addresses and ISBNs are given below.
Bantam Audio
Random House Inc. 1540 Broadway New York, NY 10036
Read by Geraldine James, who is a wonderful British actress. Great productions, but owing to the abridgement, these tapes make a good accompaniment to the books—not a substitute for them.
Outlander
(four tapes, six hours) ISBN 0-553-47329-8