THE OUTLANDISH COMPANION, VOLUME TWO, (aka "OC II") was published on October 27, 2015, a companion guide to my second four OUTLANDER novels: THE FIERY CROSS, A BREATH OF SNOW AND ASHES, AN ECHO IN THE BONE, and WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART’S BLOOD. It is the second volume to the revised and updated edition of THE OUTLANDISH COMPANION, VOLUME ONE, published in March, 2015.
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Preliminary Table of Contents
What information about the OUTLANDER series will be in OC II? If you’d like a sneak peek of this work-in-progress, here’s the (rough) Table of Contents for THE OUTLANDISH COMPANION, Volume TWO, as of February 19, 2015
Introduction
Section 1: Chronology of the Outlander Series
A complete listing of all novels, novellas and short stories, including the eight (so far) novels of the main series, the three (so far) novels of the Lord John series, and quite a few novellas, which deal with various lacunae in the main novels, secondary characters, and anything else it struck me to write about.
Section 2: Detailed Synopses
I do mean "detailed." These are synopses for THE FIERY CROSS, A BREATH OF SNOW AND ASHES, AN ECHO IN THE BONE, and WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART’S BLOOD, and they run about 15-20,000 words each. The point being that 20K (20,000) is a whole lot less than the 380-500K that each novel runs, and therefore ideal for readers who want to refresh their memories before a new book comes out, but haven’t got time to go back and re-read the whole series. Synopses of these books will be included:
Main Outlander Novels:
- THE FIERY CROSS (done)
- A BREATH OF SNOW AND ASHES (done)
- AN ECHO IN THE BONE (done)
- WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART’S BLOOD
Lord John Novels (if I have time…):
Section 3: Cast of Characters
This is a big chunk, as it includes all the characters from the second four novels and from the Lord John books, with brief notes as to which book each character is introduced in, who they are, and whether they’re fictional or real historical persons.
Section 4: Controversies and Conversations – Sex and Violence
- Spanking, Beating, Flogging and other Interesting Topics involving Physical Interactions of a Non-Consensual Sort. (This one consists of two parts: a basic essay on the spanking scene in OUTLANDER, plus a discussion of intrinsic cultural bias and the effects of reader frame of reference.)
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"Don’t You Think That’s a Little Rapey?"
(Discussion of rape—or not rape—as depicted in the books. Rant about current ideolization of rape. (No, that isn’t misspelled; I mean "ideolization"— i.e., the conversion of a cultural phenomenon to ideology.) - The Role of Sex and Violence in Fiction and Real Life
- Sadism (Character Analysis of Black Jack Randall – Redemptive violence vs. Unredeemed Violence)
- Selection of Reader Letters (and the Author’s (more-or-less) Witty Replies)
- Adultery (or not)
- Bad Language and its Uses
- Cultural and Ethnic Depictions
- The Loch Ness Monster
Section 5: History and the Three Levels of Lies
(basically an analysis of what history actually is— i.e., it’s not necessarily "what really happened"— and the relationship between history and historical fiction, with notes on the responsibilities a writer of historical fiction may or may not have to the people of the past.)
- History and the Responsibility of a Writer of Historical Fiction
- A Note on Organizing the Past; How to Keep Track of Your Research
Section 6: A Comprehensive Annotated Gaidhlig Glossary and Pronunciation Guide – by Adhamh O Broin
[Section 7: The OUTLANDER Family Tree]?
(I put this one in brackets, because it might be better to use it as endpapers, as was done in MOBY. If we do it in the body of the book, though, I might add a page or two of commentary— such as notes on Davina Porter being Jamie’s grandmother, his mother’s middle names including Caitriona, and where Heughan the foul-mouthed smith (not shown in the family tree, but relevant to the discussion) came from.)
Section 8: Writing, and other Games You Play by Yourself
(essays on writing in general, with specific notes/advice on certain topics. Includes: )
- "Mind Games"
- "Watch This" – just a stream-of-consciousness example of what goes on in my mind when I’m working. (I do this live all the time, and there’s a good version of it in a video interview by the Author’s Road. Click to see the interview video on the Autbor’s Road website, or click to view the Author’s Road interview on Youtube.)
- "An Annotated Coda" – How to Read Like A Writer
- "A Brief Footnote on Tidiness"
Section 9: Claire’s Medical Procedures
Section 10: Costume, Cookery, Herbs and Music in the 18th Century
Section 11: Maps and Floor-plans
- Map of Lallybroch (exterior)
- Floor-plan of Lallybroch (interior)
- Map of Fraser’s Ridge
- Floor-plan of the Big House at Fraser’s Ridge
- (maybe a few other things)
Section 12: The Methadone List (as of 2015)
Section 13: Bibliography
Similar to the one in OC I – i.e., broken down into relevant categories.
Assorted Photos, Sidebars and Personal Recipes
Publisher’s Synopsis
From the Random House (and Delacorte) web site:
More than a decade ago, #1 New York Times bestselling author Diana Gabaldon delighted her legions of fans with THE OUTLANDISH COMPANION, an indispensable guide to all the OUTLANDER books at the time. But that edition was just a taste of things to come. Since that publication, there have been four more OUTLANDER novels, multiple spinoffs, and one smash-hit STARZ original (TV) series. Now Gabaldon serves up THE OUTLANDISH COMPANION, VOLUME TWO, an all-new guide to the latest books and the strange, sprawling world that Claire Randall and Jamie Fraser call home.
Global Publication Dates
Each time a new book by Diana is published, readers in different countries around the world would like to know when it will be available in their publication area. Diana announces release dates in each country or publishing region as soon as she knows them. Publishers in Canada, the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand usually release her new books near the publication date in the U.S. If you live in another area, these general guidelines may help. Or contact a local independent bookseller in your area. Note that translation of her books from English to another language before publication usually takes about a year.
Publishing Information
Below are the ISBN numbers and other information for the English-language (U.S.A.) version in hardback format:
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: October 27, 2015
ISBN-10: 0385344449
ISBN-13: 978-0385344449
Notes: The preliminary table of contents listed here was first posted by Diana on her Facebook page on February 19, 2015.
The publisher’s synopsis of this book listed here was obtained and added on February 2, 2015.
This page last updated by Diana’s Webmistress on Saturday, December 5, 2015 at 1:48 a.m. (PT).