It doesn’t happen often, but I do occasionally get email from people asking—always very politely (well, almost always very politely)—whether I have ever considered producing a bowdlerized edition of my books.
Mind, none of them uses the word “bowdlerized”; I doubt most people under the age of forty have ever heard it. It comes from:
Thomas Bowdler (pronounced /ˈbaʊdlər/) (11 July 1754 – 24 February 1825), who was an English physician who published an expurgated edition of William Shakespeare’s work, edited by his sister Harriet, intended to be more appropriate for 19th century women and children than the original.
He similarly published an edited version of Edward Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. His edition was the subject of some criticism and ridicule and, through the eponym bowdlerise (or bowdlerize),[1] his name is now associated with censorship of literature, motion pictures and television programmes.
[Source: Wikipedia]
Now, what these readers would like me to expurgate from my own work, in order to accommodate their desires and sensibilities, ranges from sex-scenes (one very nice woman wrote to ask if I could produce an edition of OUTLANDER from which all the sex scenes were removed, because she was very eager to be able to discuss the book with her fifteen-year-old daughter, but didn’t think her girl was quite ready for the original. By biting my thumb rather hard (she was very nice, and meant well), I was able to refrain from writing back and asking her whether it might not be a trifle simpler just to wait a year or two for her daughter to be ready for the notion that married people have sex, than for me edit and republish a 700-page book–always assuming that I could convince any publisher that there was a market for such a thing? (My guess is that unless her daughter has been living under a rock for the last five years, she knows a lot more than I’ve ever thought of putting in a book, but possibly her mother doesn’t let her watch television)) to Bad Words in general (“I notice people say “Fuck” a lot in your more recent books,” one reader wrote, rather censoriously. “Jamie doesn’t even know what that word means in OUTLANDER!” Well…he’s probably picked up a few expressions from Claire over the last twenty years. But Jamie’s not usually the one saying that word, even in the later books. It would be pretty common to Roger, though, as well as to some of the coarse folk who live in the backwoods), to—very specifically—the use of the Lord’s name (only “Jesus” or “Christ,” evidently. “God” doesn’t appear to bother these particular readers in this context, let alone local variants like “the Holy Spirit”.).
OK. Approaching these concerns from last to first:
I have every sympathy for someone whose religious sensibilities make them uncomfortable with blasphemy, whether casual or heart-felt. I personally am very disturbed by people who curse or use profanity and crude language in restaurants, and a terrible lot of people do these days. (I don’t think it’s just the places I eat in…)
On the other hand, I’m kind of bemused that not one of the people who take the Third Commandment so much to heart that they are horrified at seeing it broken in print are evidently bothered in the slightest by the shattering of the other nine commandments that goes on in these novels. Graven images, skipping church on Sunday, dishonoring one’s parents, bearing false witness, coveting oxen, asses, wives…theft, murder, fornication, adultery–yeah, we don’t mind seeing any of that. The J-word, though….
(Let me pause for a moment of didacticism here, in which I will attempt to explain the subtleties of the terms blasphemy, profanity, and obscenity. To wit:
blas•phe•my
Show Spelled[blas-fuh-mee] Show IPA
–noun, plural -mies.
1. impious utterance or action concerning god or sacred things.
2. Judaism .
a. an act of cursing or reviling God.
b. pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton (YHVH) in the original, now forbidden manner instead of using a substitute pronunciation such as Adonai.
3. Theology . the crime of assuming to oneself the rights or qualities of God.
4. irreverent behavior toward anything held sacred, priceless, etc.: He uttered blasphemies against life itself.
pro•fan•i•ty
Show Spelled[pruh-fan-i-tee, proh-] Show IPA
–noun, plural -ties for 2.
1. the quality of being profane; irreverence.
2. profane conduct or language; a profane act or utterance.
3. obscenity ( defs. 2, 3 ) .
Profane
–adjective
1. characterized by irreverence or contempt for god or sacred principles or things; irreligious.
2. not devoted to holy or religious purposes; unconsecrated; secular ( opposed to sacred).
3. unholy; heathen; pagan: profane rites.
4. not initiated into religious rites or mysteries, as persons.
5. common or vulgar—verb (used with object)
6. to misuse (anything that should be held in reverence or respect); defile; debase; employ basely or unworthily.
7. to treat (anything sacred) with irreverence or contempt; violate the sanctity of: to profane a shrine.
obscenity – 5 dictionary results ob•scen•i•ty
Show Spelled[uh b-sen-i-tee, -see-ni-] Show IPA
–noun, plural -ties for 2, 3.
1. the character or quality of being obscene; indecency; lewdness.
2. something obscene, as a picture or story.
3. an obscene word or expression, especially when used as an invective.
[Source for all of the above: dictionary.com]
Let me state for the record that no one in any of my books has ever pronounced the Tetragrammaton in the original. Not once.
And Jamie Fraser is on record as stating that he only _felt_ like God (while having sex with his wife); he never said he _was_. So I think we’re clear on those particular charges of blasphemy. I’ll get back to the question of impious utterances in a bit.
Now, if you read further on the dictionary.com site (and others), you’ll find that blasphemy, profanity, and obscenity are often used as synonyms for each other—and they often overlap, depending on usage–but there are differences.
The F-word (I’m sorry, I was raised as a Catholic and I have considerable trouble saying that word out loud. Fortunately most of the people in my books have no such scruples) is often obscene, and quite possibly profane, but not blasphemous. I.e., there’s no mention of God or anything sacred (well, not in the word itself. If you started applying it to sacred concepts—which a good many cultures do, in terms of insult (French-Canadian Catholics, for one)—then that’s different). (Ulster Protestants given to tattooing such sentiments as “F— the Pope” on their foreheads (no, I’m not kidding; some of these people feel strongly about their sectarian sensibilities) are not committing blasphemy _per se_, as while the Pope may be a person of reverence, he isn’t God. “F the P” is therefore mere profanity.)
Profanity can also be blasphemous, if an invocation of God is involved—but if you leave God out of it, profanity is not usually blasphemy. It’s just irreverence, and that’s pretty firmly in the eye of the beholder and the standards of the times. Go to, thou saucy fellow!
As for obscenity…the Supreme Court couldn’t do better than, “we know it when we see it,” and I don’t propose to try to top that.
Anyway, the point here is that it’s only blasphemy (or what is perceived as blasphemy) that concerns the “I do wish you would not take the Lord’s Name in vain” letters. One reader informed me that she had gone through my books with a black marker and obliterated all such usages, so that she could read the books in comfort. I congratulated her on her helpful ingenuity; genius often lies in simplicity.
But let’s look at that. Does any use of the C-word (the six-letter one) or the J-word that is not portrayed as a prayer or a scriptural reference constitute blasphemy?
I don’t think so.
Here we come to the “impious utterances” definition of blasphemy. “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” Well…what is “in vain”?
When we did catechism class back in the day, we were taught that “in vain” meant that you mustn’t use God’s name to curse somebody, in the “You g_d_ son of a four-legged what-not..!” kind of way. (Catholics, btw, do include “God” (and the Holy Spirit, for that matter) as being “the Lord’s name.”). Using God’s name as a casual interjection—“Jesus, it’s hot,” or “God, I’d kill for a beer,” was crude and thoughtless and a well-brought-up person ought not to do it—but it wasn’t blasphemy, either.
People in my books do in fact use this sort of casual reference fairly often—because men in certain professions (soldiering, for one) and in the exclusive company of other men, very frequently _do_ do that. (You notice that the women in my books don’t do this.)
In my experience (owing to unorthodox career choices, most of my colleagues and close friends were men, up to my early forties), men who do this are customarily calling unconsciously upon God to witness something, asking for casual assistance in a moment of stress, or merely expressing an intensification of emotion (amazement, shock, anger), and do not actually intend offense to their comrades or impiety toward the Almighty.
Now, plainly opinions differ on just what’s an impious utterance and what’s not. That being so, though, we’ve got a few different considerations going here:
1. The notion that a writer ought to try never to offend anyone’s conception of morality or decency.
2. Whether a writer should or should not portray offensive behavior (i.e., behavior condemned by a majority of the populace), and if so, under what circumstances?
3. The question of how far historic speech might differ from modern speech, and whether an historical novelist should take that into account?
OK, #1 is simple. Putting aside aesthetics and the moral imperatives of art, it’s flat-out physically impossible to write something that won’t offend somebody. Ergo, the notion that a writer should try to do so is ludicrous.
#2 is also pretty simple. People don’t always behave well; the briefest glance at the television news makes that pretty clear. If art (whether novels, photographs, or anything else) is going to serve as a reflection of or a reflection on humanity, it’s going to show people doing stuff that may not be moral by anybody’s compass. The essence of art is conflict. Conflict may be difficult to look at (or utterly fascinating. Sometimes both at once), but you can’t do without it and make art.
#3. Now, historicity. Language evolves, and so does social custom. What is obscene or blasphemous in one time often isn’t, in another. If you called a man a fig-licker today, he would probably merely blink at you, whereas them was duelin’ words in the 18th century.**
A writer dealing with historical settings has a lot of things to consider, and one of these is how much “historical” language or figures of speech to use, and how to portray historical characters in such a way that they seem realistic and empathetic to a modern audience, but still belong plainly to their own time.
Well, one of the ways in which you do this is to use figures of speech that are extremely common, and likely always have been, as well as those particular to a specific age. And calling upon the name of the Almighty in moments of strong emotion and/or casual conversation has probably been part of human speech since people discovered the concept of a deity.
Now, I could go on and on (well…even more on and on {g}) about this business, because I find it fascinating, but I do have work to do. I think the best I can do here may be to quote a bit from THE OUTLANDISH COMPANION. This letter was written as part of an exchange with a courteous gentleman who’d written to object to the F-word, which emerged from one of the audiobooks as he was driving with his four-year-old grand-daughter, and is included in the “Controversy” section of the COMPANION:
“Well, I have children myself (11, 13, and 15 at the moment), and we try not to expose them to “bad language,” either, in spite of the fact that they all know all the words already (there’s still some point to insisting that these are not suitable for civilized conversation, after all).
The thing is, though–my books are definitely written (and carefully written at that) for adults. When I do use bad language in the books (oddly enough, I never use it, personally; never), it’s because it seems to me to be called for, by the circumstances and character. In the case of the F-word in DRUMS (I did use that same word in all the other books, by the way, though sparingly), it’s used by a young man in the grip of angry (and sexually motivated) passion, in the late 1960s. Given this character, this time period, and this set of circumstances, his language seemed entirely appropriate.
Now, one reason for insisting that bad language not be used in everyday discourse is, of course, that it’s low-class and offensive. One other reason–equally important, in my opinion–is that such language does have its own legitimate purpose; that is, to express feeling that is also beyond the limits of normal civilized discourse. To use such words casually deprives them of their impact.
You can see that, in the scene in question in DRUMS. If Roger normally spoke like that, the reader wouldn’t have (what I hope is) the impression of a man driven almost beyond endurance, and holding on to his notions of decent behavior with great effort.
Okay. So, the point is that when I do use strong language, I have a specific reason for doing so. It really doesn’t seem reasonable to me to eradicate such language–chosen and used carefully, to a purpose–on the grounds that someone might someday wish to listen to a taped version of an adult book in the presence of a small child.”
(My correspondent very graciously thanked me for hearing his concern, btw, and agreed with my conclusion.)
Right. Well, moving backward from blasphemy and Rude Speech, we come back to the inclusion of sex in my books. I can honestly say that of a thousand letters I get that mention this, 999 readers think there should be more sex. {g}. But there is the occasional one who thinks that the inclusion of sex lowers the tone, impairs my literary reputation, or should be omitted so as to make the books more…um…acceptable {cough} to younger (or possibly older; you wouldn’t believe how many people think their elderly parents or grandparents would enjoy my books but be put off by the sex*) readers.
Well, I think my literary reputation will have to take care of itself; I can’t do anything but write the best books I can, and history and the readers will make of them what they want to.
I do think that the sex scenes are both necessary and integral to the story, or they wouldn’t be there. These aren’t romance novels, but they are (among other things) the story of a very long and complex marriage. Now, there may possibly be long and successful marriages that don’t include sex, but I don’t personally know of any.
Neither are any sex-scenes included for the sake of gratuitous titillation (any titillating that happens is purely fortuitous, I assure you), nor are any of them just about sex. They have structural and emotional reasons for being where they are, and the book would not be the same story, nor have the same complexity, without them.
Still, the bottom line here is the Eye of the Beholder. There is no book that will say the same thing to all readers. A good book will say something different each time it’s read, even by the same person. And each reader brings his or her experience, background, prejudices, desires, and perceptions to the reading.
That being true, there’s little point in bowdlerization. What offends one person will be revelation and elevation to the next. That’s why we have a great variety of books.
“If thine eye offend thee, pluck it out,” seems a trifle extreme here as a response—but if there are particular things in my books that annoy or offend a reader as an individual, the ultimate power to control these does lie with the reader, not with me.***
Thank you for reading!
*(I am irresistibly reminded here of a book-signing event in Chicago, where I signed books for a grandmother, her daughter, and grand-daughter (intergenerational—and multi-gender—trios are pretty common at my signings). I was chatting with the grandmother while signing a book for her grand-daughter, and she said, “You know, I was in the middle of VOYAGER and I turned to my grand-daughter and said, ‘I’ve just had the most terrible thought! We’re both lusting after the same man!’”)
**To save you looking it up, the modern equivalent slang would be “muff-diver.” Weirdly enough, I don’t think there’s a female slang version of this epithet, though there is a purely formal descriptive term. But when was the last (or the first, for that matter) time you heard someone called a fellatrix?
*** A good-quality Sharpie costs about $1.79.
The scene where Claire shocks Dougal et al when she curses while trying to bandage Jamie was one of my early favorites. I don’t mind any of the swearing, and certainly don’t mind the sex. A friend of mine told me, “oh I just skip those scenes when I get to them.” Whaaaat? I told her, that’s ok, I’ve read them over (and over!) enough times for both of us!
Re the purported origin of the F word: there was lawful carnal knowledge also – what would that have been called?
Re the muff-diving: there is a female marching krewe in one of our Mardi Gras parades named the Muff-a-lottas. They wear waitress dresses and have hats that look like muffalettas.
I started reading the series with Drums of Autumn around 14 or 15 (I read them out of order the first go around), after picking the book up randomly at a store on vacation, and I still think they’re some of the best books I’ve read. Some teenagers may not be ready for them I suppose, but that is definitely not on the author. … Authors do what they do for a reason, and I think it’s silly for someone to request an edited version of anything… For instance, I still don’t get why someone insisted on reordering the chronicles of narnia by chronology instead of publication date..
Diana, I am sure that you heard about the bowdlerisation of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I am not in the habit of saying the offending word, however, I believe what they are doing to this classic piece of literature IS offensive. There is such a thing as carrying political correctness too far. People who read this book should keep in mind the time period in which it was written, and also that Jim the slave is viewed by many as the hero of the book. To censor what was originally written is wrong, and the same thing holds true for any of your books. If people don’t want to read something that is offensive to them, then don’t read it. I wouldn’t change one word of your books, and I am sure that the large majority of your readers would agree with that.
Diana,
I am shocked there are people out there who’d like you to remove ONE word of your books. One of my very favorite parts was when Bree was embarrassed to have Roger go “down there” because of the smell. He told her the last time he’d “done that” the girl had used something and smelled like a field of flowers, and he didn’t like it.
That is why your writing is so real. No one else talks about stuff like that, and who hasn’t worried those kinds of things?
I have a question regarding writing, if you don’t mind? You’ve said you had difficulty figuring out the genre for your first book. I have a YA novel on time-travel that is on submission to several agents right now. Ann Behar has my full- so I’m fingers crossed on that one. But, I’ve found it very difficult to pick a sub-genre under the YA. The time travel aspect is a very short, but very crucial part,(so Fantasy?) yet most of the novel takes place in the past(Historical?). Also, my MC is battling an addiction, so it has a lot of contemporary YA attributes.
Arghh! It’s so frustrating! I just wondered if you’d mind giving me your thoughts on the subject?
Thank you so much. I drove 5 hours to see you in Kansas City– and I’d do it again anytime you came near. You were wonderful.
Janet
Dear Janet–
Best of luck on your YA book(s)! I am _not_ the person to advise anybody on genres, though. {g} Frankly, I’ve never worried about it, because I wrote the first book for practice, not intending either to try to publish it, or even to let anybody see it. But Stuff Happened, and here was all are… Anyway, so far I’ve seen my books sold (with evident success) as Literature, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical NON-fiction (really {g}), Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Military History (really. The MIlitary History Book Club occasionally sells several of my titles–the ones with battles in them {g}, Gay and Lesbian Fiction, and…Horror. (No kidding; ABOSA beat _both_ George RR Martin and Stephen King for a Quill Award.)
Anyway, figuring out how best to market a book is the publisher’s problem. If you have a good agent–and Ann certainly is!–the agent can help decide what to say about the manuscript, but lack of a genre description never stopped an editor from buying a book he/she loved.
–Diana
Thanks so much for answering! I sure hope you’re right. This whole submitting thing is such a roller-coaster. We are all so fortunate that Stuff Happened. You’ve enriched our lives to such a degree.
Again, thanks and have a wonderful day!
Janet
Diana, my Mom introduced me to your books, and I am glad she did! They are fantastic, I could read them again and again, and await your next. People will complain about alot, but I bet they couldn’t put the books down! They have a choice… to read or not to read. To pass them up would be a great loss, the scenes in the book, that contain sex or profanity are part of its making. I have always liked history and your books lit a fire for Scotlands story (where I have ancestors) and the beginnings of America. So much in this world gets changed to “accomodate” people, that should just be left alone. Your books are one of them. Thankyou!!
This is on a different subject…may not want to read this if you haven’t yet read The Fiery Cross…
I have a question I can’t seem to figure it out. I found a section on it in the Outlandish Companion about it,but, it didn’t answer my question.
Before Roger and Brianna get married at the Gathering, Roger tells Jamie about the letter from Frank where he asks the Reverend to place the fake headstone. Jamie tells Roger it’s ok to tell Claire and Brianna. In the book, Roger does tell Brianna but, I don’t remember ever seeing anything about anyone telling Claire. Did they tell her about it? I can’t find it and I don’t remember reading it or hearing it on the audio book. Did I just miss it?
If anyone can answer this, I would really, really appreciate it!
This was sort of an “off-stage” conversation between Roger and Claire. It’s mentioned at some time much later in a later book (ABOSA or ECHO?) when Claire and Jamie discuss Frank’s motives but the actual repeat of the letter TO Claire wasn’t seen “on-stage.”
Thank you! I have already read all 7 books but I guess I missed that. I’m listening to the series now. I’m on ABOSA and will pay good attention to catch it this time.
To quote my favorite movie: “Spoken like a true smartass-”
love love the Sharpie reference
I love the Outlander series, they are my all time favourite books!!!! They have kept me awake many times till dawn enjoying the story. I have laughed out loud, cried and just been absolutely taken with your characters.
Thank you for your awesome storytelling. The unmitigated gall of some people amazes me. To ask an artist to change their work because it offends them is absolutely ridiculous. It would be blasphemous to take a Sharpie to your books. I look forward to the next installment of the Frasers and Mackenzies and attending the Scottish Fesival in Fergus for an autograph.
Golly Diana, just finished Echo In The Bone. Hurry up, will ya, and finish #8. I have enjoyed the character development, good, bad words and all.
My personal motto is “There are only two unacceptable four-letter words: HATE and WARS.” If that sentiment was good enough for Eleanor Roosevelt, it’s good enough for me.
Your books reflect real life, with all its joys, sorrows, and conflicts. That’s why they’re so relatable and enjoyable. Please don’t change a thing!
Dear Diana,
I always find your blog very educating (English is my second language). But how(insert profanity of your choice) are you ever going to finish the next book? Go back to your desk and write novel-stuff!
Now. Please.
Oh Dear Diana,
How I could write a book in response but I will not. All I will say is I agree with your readers……. there should be MORE sex.
I think your love scenes are very sweet and beautiful, even when Jamie can’t “be gentle”. When you love someone sometimes the lovemaking can be sweet and soft or it can be fast and rough, but it doesn’t change the fact that love is there. It is simply the emotion behind it that changes the physical contact during the act.
I love how Jamie is in every way a man, he was a hard laborer, trained horses, was a warrior, etc. but at the same time we see how sweet and gentle his soul is when he loves Claire. I think that is ultimately what draws me to him, he is a man in every sense of the word, which unfortunately for me and few and far between, but at the same time, he is sweet and kind. The current state of the male species leaves something to be desired, I think all my male friends could benefit from reading your books.
As far as “children” or young adults reading the books, I think it depends on their maturity level. I started reading your books years ago, my goddaughter remembers me talking about them. Ashamed to admit life happened and I lost track of your books until awhile back when I purchased my Kindle. Now I am reading all of them, started with Outlander again and currently am on Dragonfly in Amber. My goddaughter has recently asked me about the books since I am reading them again and I told her they were hard to explain because my fandom of the books comes from what the books make you feel instead of a certain incident in the books. She is going to start reading them on spring break, she is excited to be able to talk to me finally about these books that I have loved for years.
Well it seems I did write a little bit of a book, but sometimes people need to get over themselves and just enjoy the feeling a book gives you instead of just worrying about what words are printed on the page.
(And yes I’m a Christian and I LOVE your work!)
Diana,
Whenever I recommend your wonderful books (with much praise), I also let the reader know that there are sections in the books which may be disturbing to some and, just in case, I also let them know the sex scenes can be rather descriptive. I do this because I know we all have different sensibilities about these things and that’s to be respected. That way they can censor themselves if they choose to (and leave the author alone).
Often with so many books today, it’s not the graphic sex that makes me think “ugh” but rather the tiresome characters, boring repetitive sex scenes, and plotless drivel that makes me want to throw the book against the wall if it weren’t trapped in my Kindle. Sex scenes can’t be too graphic or too tame for me as long as they’re done well and make sense. Violence is not something I gravitate towards in books, but it’s a very real part of Jamie and Claire’s world and so I read on because you make it work Diana.
Twenty years and we don’t tire of Jamie and Claire and their loved ones.
Uhh… Language, Language “Part 1″? Can’t help yerself can ye? Heh-heh.
DiForBooks
Oh Diana,
I have to shake my head at the audacity of people to ask the creator to change the creation.
I have enjoyed your writing ever since I picked up a copy of Outlander over 18 years ago when my daughter was 2 and I have read every book since. She is now 20 and I want her to read them so she can see why her mother gets so excited when a new one is published. I have read and re-read every book at least 3 times as I am sure every true fan has and I have never been offended by any of the writing. I find something new each time including frustration for having to wait for the next book to be published *cough*.
Please keep Jamie and Claire’s story true, dirty bits and all.
In a world where political correctness is threatening to rewrite Huck Finn to take out the (GASP!) racial indignities, I say that I find your books f***ing refreshing, g**damned fine, and full of interesting s***. So there. Happy !)(@)(#*$ day.
Hi Diana,
I’d been wondering why the first book in the series had a different title here in Australia to that in the USA. Just read the explanation in The Outlandish Companion, and was surprised to learn we are considered by the British to be Outlanders… Must be a hangover from our colonial beginnings, I guess. I have to say that if the book had been named Sassenach or Outlander I probably would’ve read it years before I did. Goes to show that the old saying re judging a book by its cover is very true!
Gail
Hello, Diana!
First. Thank you dearly for the many months I’ve loved, shared, and re-read your many books. It’s always a lovely vacation for me.
Second. Hm. I’ve almost just finished an amazing book, A Discovery of Witches, by Deborah Harkness. Fantastic read! Did you write it? It sure reads as if you did!
May I recommend this fantastic read (sorry; said that) to all the Gabaldon followers?
With Light, Love, and Laughter,
Kitty
San Diego
Dear Katharine–
Riiiight….I have so much spare time that I thought I’d write another series under an assumed name. {wry g}
No. It’s a richly detailed, well-imagined book, but Ms. Harkness’s style (and her characters) are quite different to mine (to note but one point, while her characters are engaging and well-done, none of them really has an inherent sense of humor, whereas none of my people can say _anything_ without being intermittently funny, whether on purpose or not. {g}). By all means, though, recommend away! Everybody always needs something new and good to read!
–Diana
Diana!
Thank you for the answer! Well, no … I didn’t Really Think you wrote another series! Just keep on keepin’ on with the original Outlander, please!
As a Scot/English/Irish, I know a bit about humor, and I always look for the enjoyment of your character’s humor. You never disappoint me! The people in your books always sound like family … I know that gal/guy! I’ve found, in re-reading your tomes, I always find new kernels of fun, love, surprise, and sex! Yay! Sorry; getting carried away here. Guess that must be because I powered through too fast to get to the end of the book! Thank you again for the lovely and erudite writing!
May the best of luck continue to follow you … and may it catch up!
Kitty
LOL
I cannot help but laugh, reading the one woman didn’t want her fifteen year old daughter being exposed to the lovemaking between Jamie and Claire. Really?! While I understand a mother’s NEED to protect and shield her daughter… Come on… Most fifteen yr olds know WAY more then what is in these books, and instead should be GIVEN the books, in the hopes that they will LEARN that sex and lovemaking mean more then a means to an end…. That it can be an integral part of a relationship, a way of loving, healing and commiserating with another soul that is beyond compare.
All of life is a learning experience. I learned from these books. My own daughter, now sixteen, is reading them and, I hope, learning from them. When she has a question about a portion of the book…she asks. I speak honestly and openly, to the best of my ability, whether about the intimate portions, or the historical references.
Of course, her face flames (rather like Bree’s, I like to think) when I speak as openly as I do…but in all honesty..with the advent of the internet (not to mention her school luncheon table), if she wanted to, she could find out alot more then these books tell…. ALOT more
Bet this mother you refer to in your comment doesn’t have any issue with Twilight…sex…oh dear…but stalking a young woman…well that’s A-okay!
I too spoke very openly with my kids and continue to even now that my kids are in their 20′s. And you are right…kids know waaaaaay more than we think!
Hello Diana:
I loved the excerpt from “The Space Between” and am already creating possible story lines in my mind waiting for it to be published. I was pretty sure that you had previously given us another little taste from “The Space Between” and have gone back looking for it, but can’t find it. Was it wishful thinking or my ‘menopause brain’? If there was one, I’d love to re-read it.
Thanks,
Elaine
Ms. Gabaldon,
Regarding your post on “Language”.
Please keep writing what you want to write. You do it oh, so well.
After 20 years as a public and/or school librarian, I have learned to tell people who complain about the content of books this:
1. You get to choose what is appropriate for you (and your kids) to read.
2. I get to choose what is appropriate for me (and my kids) to read.
3. You don’t get to choose what I read and I don’t get to choose what you read.
4. Don’t ask me to choose what your kid reads at the library circulation desk. Only you are qualified to do that. I am a librarian and a parent, but I’m not your kid’s parent.
5. If it’s not appropriate for you, put it back on the shelf. Don’t fuss at me.
And the ALA agrees with me.