THE SCOTTISH PRISONER is out TODAY (well, yesterday…sort of…I work late, OK?) in trade paperback, for the US and Canada! (It came out in paperback already in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.)
Besides the story—half Jamie, half Lord John (and below is the beginning of the book)—this book also includes several preview excerpts from WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART’S BLOOD, the next upcoming OUTLANDER novel. Some of you will already have seen some of these excerpts, some of you won’t. FYI, the excerpts include:
- Claire, Jenny and Mrs. Figg
- William meets a Whore
- What happened to Lord John after Jamie said, “Oh? Why?” And
- What Happened to Jem in the Tunnel
And here is the beginning of THE SCOTTISH PRISONER:
SECTION I: The Fate of Fuses
Chapter 1: April Fool
Helwater, the Lake District
April 1, 1760
It was so cold out, he thought his cock might break off in his hand—i. If he could find it. The thought passed through his sleep-mazed mind like one of the small, icy drafts that darted through the loft, making him open his eyes.
He could find it now; had waked with his fist wrapped round it and desire shuddering and twitching over his skin like a cloud of midges. The dream was wrapped just as tightly round his mind, but he knew it would fray in seconds, shredded by the snores and farts of the other grooms. He needed her, needed to spill himself with the feel of her touch still on him.
Hanks stirred in his sleep, chuckled loudly, said something incoherent, and fell back into the void, murmuring, “Bugger, bugger, bugger…”
Jamie said something similar under his breath in the Gaelic, and flung back his blanket. Damn the cold.
He made his way down the ladder into the half-warm, horse-smelling fug of the barn, nearly falling in his haste, ignoring a splinter in his bare foot. He hesitated in the dark, still urgent. The horses wouldn’t care, but if they noticed him, they’d make enough noise, perhaps, to wake the others.
Wind struck the barn and went booming round the roof. A strong chilly draft with a scent of snow stirred the somnolence, and two or three of the horses shifted, grunting and whickering. Overhead, a murmured “‘ugger” drifted down, accompanied by the sound of someone turning over and pulling the blanket up round his ears, defying reality.
Claire was still with him, vivid in his mind, solid in his hands. He could imagine that he smelled her hair in the scent of fresh hay. The memory of her mouth, those sharp white teeth …he rubbed his nipple, hard and itching beneath his shirt, and swallowed.
His eyes were long accustomed to the dark; he found the vacant loose-box at the end of the row and leaned against its boards, cock already in his fist, body and mind yearning for his lost wife.
He’d have made it last if he could, but he was fearful lest the dream go altogether and he surged into the memory, groaning. His knees gave way in the aftermath and he slid slowly down the boards of the box into the loose piled hay, shirt rucked round his thighs and his heart pounding like a kettle drum.
Lord, that she might be safe, was his last conscious thought. She and the child.
Copies of the trade paperback version of THE SCOTTISH PRISONER are available from:
Click here for information on hardback and e-book formats.
Diana,
As always this book was wonderful! Thank you!
the book was excellent as all your books are.I can’t wait for your next book I hope that you will finish it and that it is published as soon as possible.
This book is a great read. I encourage all of Diana’s fans to buy it immediately!
Thorougly enjoyed The Scottish Prisoner.
Can’t wait for the next one. I have started all over again from the beginning on my iPad.
Great to have all the books under my thumb to carry around.
By far, my favourite books, except for Alice in Wonderland….. I wonder why that is?!
Thank you Diana for filling my hours so completely – for the third, fourth time?
I loved The Scottish Prisoner. But I’ve loved everything Diana has written. I’m reading the ENTIRE Outlander Series for the third time. My husband thinks I’m crazy––he only read it once. Or rather, WE only read it once, reading it together each night before going to sleep. (Aw. How romantic. It was.) I love The Outlander even on round 3. There’s enough depth, detail and richness to engage a reader forever.
After watching George R.R. Martin’s HBO Series on The Game of Thrones, I’m going to write to HBO and BEG them to make Outlander into a series. That’s the right format for it––a series has enough time to communicate the depth and richness of the story. You go, Diana! Keep on writing!
what a great idea! the Sassenach TV Mini Series! Ms. Gabaldon is prolific enough to keep it in scripts for years. Just when you think she has explored every possible storyline, Ian falls for a Quakeress, Jem timetravels by himself, William finds his true father at last, and Claire marries Lord John! and the Revolution is just getting started. where does she get these ideas? Amazing.
Loved the book and all the others. Have read them all several times as well as the other odd stories that aren’t in a collection of just your stories. Is MOBY going to be another 800 plus pages book? I do like those, they last longer. Thank you for writing such great books.
Oh man I simply loved this book and am savoring the last few pages. I was particularly taken by the Irish context and the history of Athlone Castle – trust Diana to teach me something about my own country. (I even tried to figure out the Irish (Gaeilge) without using my dictionary.) But above all I simply loved reading about Jamie’s life without Claire – it’s like putting a glorious jigsaw together. And I’m becoming increasingly fond of Lord John Grey, and Hal, and Minnie, and Tom and … Can’t wait for MOBY. Keep writing Diana. xx
I never read fiction but was encouraged to read Outlander by a friend. It immediately became my favorite book ever. I own all of the series. I cannot wait for the movie – Christopher Hemsworth, from Snow White and the Huntsman, would be the perfect Jamie. Manly in a way most actors are not now and the right age -29. Dye his hair red – very convincing.
I am such a great fan of the Otlander series and have referred many friends to it. When I heard rumors of a movie I could not think of anybody who could play Jamie. Could never think of someone—except…when I saw Snow White and The Hunstman last week,,,Chris Hemsworth would be a PERFECT Jamie! Same age, same height, very attractive and very “manly”. So yes, I agree with you Kelsey!! Get a casting director on that right away!
Chris Hemsworth — I thought the exact same thing since Thor! Just a little more depth and he’s a ringer for Jamie!
I discovered your books about 3 years ago. I have a long commute to work and got them all on CD. Your writing made me feel like I knew all your charactors first hand. Never has any series of books made such an impact on me. I have been talking all about them with a Scotish man I met online who just happens to live in North Carolina. He is a bagpipe player and is retired. The size of the novels intimadates him. But I convinced him to read the first “Outlander”. Thank you Diana for enriching my life so much and even though I hated all the violence in your novels I really love them all. I just reserved the latest at my libary, I want to find out what happens to Jem and everyone else. He did not really time travel but his dad is looking for him in the past. I hope all ends well.
Thank you again for writing all these wonderful books! I have read this one 2 or 3 times, all the short stories, all the Lord John books (which I am beginning to appreciate more and more), The Exile, and I have read all the main books in the series through at least 5 times. I am now listening to the series as well. I bought and downloaded to my computer (where they will live forever) all 7 of the unabridged books by Davina Porter from Audible.com and I transfer one at a time to my Kindle and listen to them anytime and anywhere I want. It took three hours and then some to download all of them but well worth the effort and time. You get a whole new perspective hearing the words spoken and get more detail than just reading them.
I also wanted to ask about “The Outlandish Companion Part 2″. Is that something that will be finished when all the books are written or can we expect it sooner?? Thanks.
Davina Porter really makes the audio versions of the “big books” a great listen. I wonder who will be doing The Scottish Prisoner.
JerryT: On the Audible version of the Scottish Prisoner, Jeff Woodman is the voice for Lord John and Rick Holmes is the voice for Jamie. Jamie’s narration is very disappointing– probably because we are so used to Davina Porter, but also because he makes Jamie sound low-class, not the Highland Warrior In Charge that we are used to. I would be interested in your opinion after you listen to it.
Karen S: I agree with you regarding Jamie’s voice. Very disappointed with it – he does sound low class and not trustworthy compared to how he sounds when Davina narrates.
“Come aside wi’ me, now”. Ah, for me, that is taken from your best excerpt yet. Certainly many of us are imagining the next scenes. And certainly many of us are hoping we are among the living early in 2013.
Loved The Scottish Prisoner and of course, have read it several times. In TSP we have almost (greedy and never satisfied) all the interaction between Jamie and John that we want. And it is your writing of it that keeps so many of us hungry for more. You really are like no other author. I am grateful that you shared your gift and that I found Outlander. Thank you. Donna
I just purchased the Scottish Prisoner today in paperback.I have already read a copy from the Library which I work at. I also read Custom of the Army and the Plaque of Zombie in the anthologies plus the story about Roger’s father.All very good. I was wondering are the novellas going to be put together in one volume like it was done in Lord John and the Hand of the Devils?Anymore graphic novels for the Outlander series in the future?Thank you for your books I really enjoy them.
Amazingly wonderful books.
Just a comment about hay ” bales” (in the barn). Before the 19th century, hay was cut and stored in haystacks, being that there was no machinery available to actually make bales of the hay, as we do nowadays. Therefore, Jamie would not have sat on hay bales, but more likely on some sort of tack box, or barrel, but not a hay bale (as they did not yet exist).
Keep up the stories!!!
Does “The Scottish Prisoner”…. follow…. “A Breathe Of Snow And Ashes”? Thank You, and I LOVE this Entire STORY. ……..Amy…..
Dear Amy–
No, the next book after A BREATH OF SNOW AND ASHES is AN ECHO IN THE BONE. THE SCOTTISH PRISONER is kind of an interpolation–a joint Jamie/Lord John adventure set in 1760; you can read that one any time after VOYAGER, for the events and timeline to make best sense.
–Diana
I LOVE YOUR BOOKS!! When I saw the Lord John books coming out, I got really nervous that there wouldn’t be anymore in the series that come from Claires POV. But I’m sincerely glad that that’s not the case. This is my favorite series EVER. I think my favourite book of yours would probably be A BREATH OF SNOW AND ASHES. I don’t know though, all of them are spectacular. I’m super excited for the new book that’s coming out. Just one thing PLEASE???!! Don’t sacrifice the quality of the book to get it out to us faster. I don’t mind waiting. Other series tend to get less and less good as they grow, because the author starts to rush for the demand for them. Anyways — Super excited!!
Diana,
Oh how I LOVE your books. I was shocked when I “turned the last page” of The Scottish Prisoner on my e-reader because as usual I wasn’t ready for it to be over. I need to know what happens next to Jamie and little William and how Lord John Grey comes to be his step-father! I can’t recall the details of this period in time from the Outlander series because there’s so much detail in every book I can’t keep it all straight. I’m always engaged in the moment of each story. I too could likely read this series over and over again many times without getting bored. I fear the end of this series because no other books I read between them ever compare!! Please keep writing forever.
-Erin
I started to listen to Lord John Grey series first and now going through Outlander to get more bits about him. )) He is really a remarkable character, thank you very much for him! It’s a pity though you didn’t include in The Scottish Prisoner the scene when Jamie offered himself in gratitude for taking care of Willie. I’d like very much to read it from lord John point of view, his turmoil of thoughts and feelings and may be (I hope))) some involuntary fantasies about the Scott later in the night. )
I hope very-very much for continuation of Lord John Grey series!
Sincerely yours,
Ri