What’s your line?
Recently, I saw a thread in which people presented/discussed their favorite sentences/lines from the OUTLANDER/Lord John books. Everyone has their favorites, from the funny to the touching, the dramatic, or the philosophical. And sometimes just because they like the way it sounds. {g}
Here are just a few that I’ve seen quoted as people’s favorites:
“…but it all comes right in the end. So it did, I thought–though often not in any expected way.”
“…for I was gromished from the fall and my right ankle gruppit–and was just about to call once more when I heard sounds of a rare hochmagandy…”
“You’re no verra peaceful, Sassenach… but I like ye fine.”
“And what was the ransom, then, that would buy a man’s soul, and deliver my darling from the power of the dog?”
“And if thee hunts at night, thee will come home.”
“Holy God.”
“And when my body shall cease, my soul will still be yours. Claire—I swear by my hope of heaven, I will not be parted from you.”
“Seems I canna possess your soul without losing my own.”
“That’s all right,” I assured him. “We’re married. Share and share aline. One flesh; the priest said so.”
“Only you. Because ye will not let me lie – and yet ye love me.”
“Whatever (your feelings) are, though, they must be exigent, to cause you to contemplate such drastic expedients.”
“Don’t buy any peaches.”
“On your right, man.”
“Ye scream like a lassie,” he said, eyes returning to his work.
“Come to me, Claire, daughter of Henry, strength of my heart…”
“Stand by my side, Roger, son of Jeremiah, son of my house…”
“You are my courage, as I am your conscience,” he whispered. “You are my heart—and I your compassion. We are neither of us whole, alone.”
“That’s the Third Law of Thermodynamics,” I said. “No,” he said. “That’s faith.”
“What is it about ye that makes men want to take their breeks off within five minutes of meetin’ ye?”(coupled with) “Well, if you don’t know, my dear…I’m sure no one does.”
“Ian, … Ye, sound like your mother. Stop”
” I canna tell whether ye mean to compliment my virility, Sassenach, or insult my morals, but I dinna care much for either suggestion.”
“Lord, ye gave me a rare woman, and God! I loved her well.”
“I am the son of a great man”.
“I mean to make you sigh as though your heart would break, and scream with the wanting, and at last to cry out in my arms, and I shall know that I’ve served ye well.”
“Dinna be afraid. There are the two of us now.”
I do (naturally enough) like all of those, but my own particular favorite is probably the last sentence from THE FIERY CROSS:
“When the day shall come that we do part,” he said softly, and turned to look at me, “if my last words are not ‘I love you’-ye’ll ken it was because I didna have time.”
Now, I like that one particularly, because I didn’t write it. It’s something my husband actually said to me one day, quite casually, looking up from his Wall Street Journal (minus the Scottish accent). I do know a good line when I hear one, though.
(Doug, having seen this, says he appreciates the credit, but would rather I mention that he is the source of the advice on how to get rid of crabs (of the pubic lice variety) that Murtagh offers in DRAGONFLY IN AMBER. This is true. The part where Jamie is teaching his young nephew not to pee on his feet, remarking, “It’s hard when your belly-button sticks out more than your cock does,” is also one of Doug’s lines, along with the bit where Jamie (after a drunken night) wakes up, sniffs his oxter and remarks that he smells like a dead boar. And people wonder where writers get their material…some of us marry it.)
People always do ask me “Which book is your favorite?”—and to me, it’s all One Huge Thing, so I can’t really pick. But I’m in the habit of saying, “The one I’m working on now—because that’s the one where I don’t yet know everything.”
I’m now in the Final Frenzy phase of SCOTTISH PRISONER (this is where I know Everything, and it’s a matter of how long I can sit at the computer without interruption and/or stopping to eat {g}), so at the moment, I’m in love with this book. Just for fun, here are a few of the lines that I particularly like from it:
“I haven’t seen a cove that sick since me uncle Morris what was a sailor in a merchant-man come down with the hockogrockle,” said Tom, shaking his head. “And he died of it.”
“He at once felt better, having taken action, and smoothing his crumpled neckcloth, went in search of fried sardines.”
“And then I heard other noises—screeching and skellochs, and the screaming of horses, aye, but not the noise of battle. More like folk who are roaring drunk—and the horses, too.”
“Distracted by the vision of amphibians in their thousands locked in slime-wrapped sexual congress amid the dark waters, he caught his foot in a root and fell heavily.”
“Abbot Michael was talking of neutral things: the weather (unusually good and a blessing for the lambs), the state of the chapel roof (holes so big it looked as though a pig had walked across the roof, and a full-grown pig, too), the day (so fortunate that it was Thursday and not Friday, as there would be meat for the mid-day dinner, and of course Jamie would be joining them, he would enjoy Brother Bertram’s version of a sauce, it had no particular name and was of an indistinct color—purple, the abbot would have called it, but it was well known he had no sense of color and had to ask the sacristan which cope to wear in ordinary time, as he could not tell red from green and took it only on faith that there were such colors in the world, but Brother Fionn—he’d have met Brother Fionn, the clerk outside?—assured him it was so, and surely a man with a face like that would never lie, you had only to look at the size of his nose to know that), and other things to which Jamie could nod or smile or make a noise. “
“Behind him, he thought he heard the echo of wild geese calling, and despite himself, looked back.”
[That's the cover for the Dutch edition of SCOTTISH PRISONER, and if you can figure out what it's supposed to be, you're a better man than I am, Gunga Din.]
I can’t remember the exact words but:
“With an arse like that, what does it matter if she has a face like a sheep?
“Jamie Fraser, are you telling me you married me for love?!”
“Have I not just been saying so?”
totally cracked me up.
I struggle with a favorite line, too many to list. So if I a may, can I add a scene that I love ?
I love the scene in Outlander ( or Crossstitch as it was called here ) where Frank and Claire are in Scotland before Claire goes back in time. Frank is outside their accommadation and sees a man, in full highland dress, looking up to the bedroom watching Clarie brush her hair. Its only after the man walks past him he realises that the man may be a ghost…
At the time, very unimportant or so it seemed. The ghost was Jamie .. he was by Claire’s side just as he told her would be even after death.
Love it !
Oh i never realised this! thanks so much for pointing it out.
Hi Diana,
I’ve recently had quite alot of time of work due to a surgery and the recovery period, so I have been re-reading the Outlander series like a fiend (my Fiery Cross book just fell apart from so many re-reads!)
The favorite line is a hard one, there are so many and the series is so large that I believe I have quite a few in each book.
I’m currently reading Voyager though, and this one part always sticks out to me and always makes me very happy. (It’s a tiny bit bigger than a line)
“He splayed a hand out over the photographs, trembling fingers not quite touching the shiny surfaces, and then he turned and leaned toward me, slowly, with the improbable grace of a tall tree falling. He buried his face in my shoulder and went very quietly and thoroughly to pieces.”
It’s amazing, the complete joy of having Claire back again and knowing that the pain of the last 20 years was worth it. Love it to bits.
So thank you, for your books and your writing, I feel as if these characters are all distant friend’s and I eagerly await finding out what happens to them in book eight.
Most important though, look after yourself and eat!
Larrissa Marie
I have a few favorites, one of which was in the group you posted – “Dinna be afraid. There are the two of us now.” Another one of my favorites was the one you said is your favorite. I LOVE that line! Good job to your husband!
The list could go on and on. Most of my favorites are sweet and romantic, or just plain hilarious. However, one of my favorites is the last line after they hang Roger in The Fiery Cross – “A brilliant light blazed up behind his eyes, and he heard nothing more but the bursting of his heart and the distant cries of an orphaned child.” That was just so well written. It gives me chills every time I read it. It is also one of the hardest parts of all of the books for me to read. You write so well and make it seem so real and really bring the emotions to life. That’s what that line about Roger does – it brings the emotions to life.
One of my favorites was in Voyager just after Claire returned and found Jamie again.
” He glanced down at the floor between his leg, frowning. Did you lose something? I asked, surprised. He looked up and smiled, a little shyly. I was afraid I’s lost hold of myself altogether and pissed myself, but it’s all right. Ive only just sat on the alepot.”
and another
” Oh, aye,” he said “Well you speaking to the only man in Scotland who has a terrible cockstand at the sight of a plucked chicken.”
I like these 2 lines from Voyager:
“To say ‘I love you,’ and mean it with all your heart”
and
“Ye know, I seldom wanted to go home to Laoghaire,” he said contemplatively. “And yet, at least when I did, I’d find her where I’d left her.” This was after Claire got injured by the pirates that boarded their ship. She was supposed to be below deck with Marsaili but ended up climbing the rigging to get away from a pirate.
I have re-read your books many times and like the short stories in the anthologies that give us more insight into Lord John and Roger’s parents.
I love all of the books and especially all of the romantic ones listed above. The one that struck me funny was when Claire said: “Get your finger out of your nose Ian, you look like a dimwit”.
My husband liked the part when Rachel told Young Ian “That dog is a wolf, is he not?”
“Aye, well, mostly.” A small flash of hazel told him not to quibble.
“And yet he is thy boon companion, a creature of rare courage and affection, and altogether a worthy being?”
“Oh, aye,” he said with more confidence. “He is.”
She gave him an even look.
“THEE IS A WOLF, TOO, AND I KNOW IT. BUT THEE IS MY WOLF, AND BEST THEE KNOW THAT.”
I love that passage too.
Wishing for more Rachel and Ian…
Such a brilliant and satisfying way to end Echo….
Maybe someone has already guessed what it is on the cover, but to me it looks like a horse rearing up and some trees to the right, in the shadow of the moon.
Doug has some great lines, I do appreciate them very much.
Maybe not really a line, but when Bree and Jamie are preparing to go out to hunt the great white bear and Bree is singing Yogi Bear’s theme song, that made me laugh ou loud.
Oh and the tune of ‘Yellow Submarine’ being whistled on the verandah of Joscata’s Plantation.
I got the yellow subamarine, but I dont recall the yogi bear bit… a re read is called for
any excuse will do for a re read 
Diana has always described how she writes in “chunks.” Rather than favorite lines, I have favorite chunks from the books, and often think how satisfied she must have felt when she wrote them. Two favorites, for their poignancy — they always make me cry:
- From Voyager, when Jamie tells Willie good bye. Just the loveliest, most touchingly perfect scene.
- From Dragonfly, when Jamie sends Claire back through the stones, telling her “Tomorrow I will die. This child … is all that will be left of me — ever. I ask ye, Claire — I beg you — see it safe.”
And Jamie’s wonderful dream in ABOSAA, seeing Jem and Bree and Roger in Fiona’s house after they left the past to save Amanda. Thank you, Diana, for giving us the comfort of Jamie and Claire knowing that their dear ones made it safely back through the stones to their own time.
Diana – we are like twins you and I.
Your favorite quote is also my favorite and the most romantic thing I have ever heard. My 10 year old daughter asked me just this week why I thought so and I just couldn’t put into words how the love between Jamie and Claire is pure and perfect. They are not perfect, but their love is!
As for the list of quotes, I custom made a “skin” for my Kindle last month and put all my favorite Outlander quotes on it. Of course the “…dinna have enough time” frames my Kindle screen and “Da Mi Dasia Mille” is right above my keyboard. The back is filled with all the names of the books and the rest of my favorite quotes. And, I named my Kindle “MacKenzie” cause there is no other Jamie than yours!!
So you think I’m obsessed?? Yep, I love Jamie and I love my Kindle too!
Have a great day,
Debbie
Dallas, TX
Awww, I named my Kindle ‘kittlehoosie’ because I just love the word.
When we were getting our new puppy last year and THOUGHT we were getting a boy I had him prenamed James. James Alexander Malcolm McKenzie Fraser for when he was bad. But alas, we ended up with a girl puppy. And her name is Elaine Benes. She just didn’t look like a Claire.
I love all the quoates listed, but did not see my favorite.
It is just before Jamie and Claire’s wedding, when she is describing how well Jamie looks in full Highland dress. Something about ‘how wonderful a Scotsman looks in full Highland regalia.” I can only imagine!
I have always loved the books, and though my husband is not 6 feet tall, he is a red head and I can often relate to the ‘man of few words’ and a hot temper. One thing I have always missed in the books. Jamie is never described as having freckles, which every red-head has, and in some ‘interesting’ places….
There are indeed spotless “gingers”. I knew a brown-eyed red head (female) with milky white skin and nary a freckle in sight even in a bikini.
There are so many good lines it’s ridiculous. Almost everything Jamie says is a gem whether he is funny, angry or romantic– he is so honest!
When I saw the new Thor movie I could totally picture that kid as Jamie. (=
I too think Chris Hemsworth would make an excellent Jamie.
so I can’t pick just one.i think that’s what I love the most about your writing. About a month ago I was curled on the sofa reading one of your books while my husband was watching one of his reality tv shows (a normal thing in our house)…….with in 1hr you had me from tears to laughter…..my husband actual stops staring at the tv and looks at me during my recent chuckle and says “ok,i don’t know what your reading , but I think I should get jealous!”
After reading so many of these qoutes I feel the need to start reading Outlander again!
I have lots of favorites, but two that always stick out in my mind…
From Voyager: “You’re real.” *Jamie faints*
Fiery Cross: “I knew ye weren’t a fairy, Auntie Claire!”
I love that line from Fiery Cross as well!!! that cracked me up!!! LOL!
Hi,
This has nothing to do with a favorite line, I am rereading the series….. again, and i thought i would ask, in Outlander, Claire meets with a “waterhorse” next to the loch, now she says its different from the modern version, what is it? I would usually just google it, like “Merde” but as i have no clue what to google, thought i’d ask
Thanks
Amy from Australia
Dear Amy–
Probably a plesiosaur.
–Diana
I’ve seen at least one snippet taken from Jenny’s letter … one of my absolute favorite excerpts is the entire letter Jenny writes to Jamie forgiving him, in The Fiery Cross.
I always love & laugh out loud when Jamie want’s Claire to at least give his sperm a decent burial!
Your number one fan,
Deborah
One thing that has stuck in my mind is the quote from Lady Sarah Fraser’s headstone – “My turn today, yours tomorrow. And thus passes away the glory of the world.” DRAGONFLY IN AMBER
Love, Love, Love your books,
Janet
Dear Janet–
That epitaph is real, btw–so was Lady Sarah Fraser.
–Diana
“Does the name Ringo Starr mean anything to you?”