“Better To Marry Than Burn”
Now, overall, I liked Ep. 506 (of the STARZ Outlander TV show)—especially Jocasta’s heartbreaking final words with Murtaugh—Maria Doyle Kennedy is fabulous (and Duncan LaCroix was right there with her)! Parade Magazine asked me what I thought of the iconic stable scene, though, and so I told them what I thought.
I know a lot of people found it arousing and enjoyed it, and that’s great—I’m all for people liking the show in all its manifestations <g>, and people being people, they’re going to like different things.
That being so, let’s respect each other’s opinions—and I’d like to hear all of them!
So—what did y’all think of 506? (And have you ever eaten grasshoppers or locusts? I have. Once…)
Read “Outlander Fans Get the Sex Scene They’ve Been Hoping for, but Diana Gabaldon Thinks They Might Not Be Satisfied,” by Paulette Cohn for Parade.com. Published on March 22, 2020.
Passage From the Parade article featuring Episode 506::
“As for Jamie and Claire’s fight—and I suppose you would have to call it makeup sex, though as played, it was more or less a continuation of the fight—this is one of those ‘iconic’ scenes from THE FIERY CROSS,” Gabaldon tells Parade.com exclusively.
“Those are the scenes that book readers particularly value, and spend months hoping will be included in the show. The book fans will be happy that it is included.” However, the more nitpicky fans might be distracted. “I’m afraid it’s one of those situations where they’re so provoked by the omissions and changes that they may forget to be thankful.”
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Hello, I believe you would have last heard from me in the early 90′s . I was Thosta, Thoud, or Adrudin on the Comcast AOL group. I wrote about a woman going down aboard a fishing boat to crawl in a bunk.
Anyway off subject, My Grandmother regularly received chocolate covered Grasshoppers, ants and other nutty tasting and refularly fed them to me. They were great! Just don’t look after you’ve bitten into any of it. Savor the taste, skip the quality control inspection.
I have books in the Outlander series to catch up on but we enjoyed getting you to sign your books in Moncton, New Brunswick.
I love your work. Thank you.
I absolutely love Outlanders, which is being shown in the UK now. Because I like it so much, I have been buying the books. I have nearly finished The Fiery Cross so asked Waterstones to order me a Breath of Snow and Ashes but they say it is out of print. When will it be reprinted?
I know it may be available on e.bay or at Amazon but I never buy anything on line. I hope it will have another print run soon.
Hi, Patricia,
As to which editions of my books are available in different countries around the world, that is a complicated topic, and no master list exists. If you choose not to buy online, your remaining options are local bookstores which sell new books, and local bookstores which sell used books.
The Poisoned Pen bookstore is a great resource which carries all of my books, mostly the U.S. editions that are currently in print. Including books signed by me (no charge for my signature). You pay the list price of the book plus shipping, and the Pen ships anywhere in the world. You can contact the friendly staff there by email at
sales@poisonedpen.com
They may be willing to take orders by telephone using your credit card. Send them an email and inquire about that if you’re interested.
Some hardcover editions of my books are only available used. So visiting a local used bookstore might be helpful to you.
Diana
Two “firsts” for me thanks to this amazing work: reading a fantasy and writing a blog. I could add comments to the millions you have already received vis-à-vis the story telling, research, characters, imagination, etc., but I would like to send my accolades with respect to the craft: the writing, which is after all what sets a talented writer apart from the rest. I have not read all the books, (nor have I reached the end of the TV episodes), but I know from my own attempt at a/n historical novel, what a task it is to maintain the speech style ( Jamie’s et al.) for hundreds of chapters, and never miss. Claire’s educated and sophisticated speech is an interesting juxtaposition all along the way, (her 20th century outbursts notwithstanding). Luckily, she’s not a child of the 21st century—linguistically, that might’ve gotten in the way. But, the most gratifying to me, is that you have used foreign words and phrases correctly and idiomatically—namely French. It always amazes me that even well-known authors completely fall down on this, relying on google-translate or dictionaries instead of checking with someone who knows. For anyone who cares, the result is always shocking and cheapens the work. Kudos for avoiding that pitfall with such aplomb!
As far as the series goes, I managed to cause my own goosebumps and tears having a sudden vision of how the two lives might end, as I assume they must. In brief, Jamie’s ghost must be involved, and he and Claire must die in their own time, in Scotland. I heard him say he would wait for Claire if it took two hundred years. “Because, Sassenach, my spirit will need ye as much in death as my mind and body have needed ye in life.” A wee bit of special effects will help the final scene (Claire’s death) that ends with a ride across the moor that appears in the intros. I was overwhelmed with the poignancy of Jamie’s ghost waiting, and probably wandering the moors of Inverness for centuries, until his love can join him. Of course, my vision will suffer when the true ending is published, but I trust my wait will be shorter than his.
Of course, time travel is only a vehicle for exposing us to all the information and characterizations, so to say thank you for opening my eyes to this genre would be to greatly minimize what the entirety of the work presents. Thank you for all of it. My life has been enhanced.
I just finished watching this scene( for the 2nd time) last night and just finished The Fiery Cross (audible) this morning. I felt the written account of Claire’s interactions with Wiley was very clear and gave Jamie far more motivation to be angry at Wiley on account of other’s perceptions. While the show did not incorporate those details. Wiley was still a cad and I cheered when Jamie once again came to the rescue! Their fiery passion for each other never gets old…. while most women use sex or the omission of it to win their battles with men, Clair uses it to win her battles with Jamie and he with her. It’s exciting and effective.
I’ve rewatched and reread all the Outlander books/seasons and till now I don’t know what to think of episode’s 506 stable scene. What bothers me is that at one moment Jamie tells Claire that she’s only a woman after all. Has he only had in mind to provoke her or is he really a misogynist after all?