69 pages • 2-hour read
Voyager
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Background
Series Context: Outlander
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of graphic violence and death.
The Outlander novels are a series of books “that have no discernible genre (or all of them)” (“Chronology of the Outlander Series.” Diana Gabaldon). In 2014, the series was made into a popular Starz TV show starring Caitríona Balfe and Sam Heughan. The series begins with Outlander (1991), which introduces Claire Beauchamp Randall. Shortly after returning from her time as a field nurse in World War II, Claire takes a trip to Scotland with her husband Frank Randall, a history professor. Frank is studying the history of his ancestor Jack Randall and his involvement with the 1745 Jacobite uprising, when Claire comes across a set of ancient standing stones nearby at Craigh Na Dun. When Claire touches the stones, she is suddenly thrown back into the year 1743 and taken in by the powerful MacKenzie clan. For safety, she marries a warrior named Jamie Fraser, with whom she later falls deeply in love. Claire tells Jamie that she is a time-traveler, and together they attempt to mitigate the damage Claire knows is coming at the end of the Jacobite uprising in the bloody Battle of Culloden.
In the second novel in the series, Dragonfly in Amber, Jamie and Claire befriend Charles Stuart, the man who believes his father is the rightful king of Britain, and try to sway him from starting the Battle of Culloden. As Claire and Jamie learn that they cannot change the events of the past, they decide that it is best for Claire to return to the 20th century with the baby she is carrying. Twenty years after she returns to the present, Claire tells her daughter Brianna and their historian friend Roger about her time-traveling adventures. At the end of the novel, Roger tells Claire that there is reason to believe Jamie survived Culloden, despite his conviction to die in battle, and they see a woman named Gillian Edgars disappear into the stones at Craigh Na Dun. The third novel, Voyager, takes its name from the emotional and physical journeys that span continents and centuries, as Claire and Jamie attempt to reunite after two decades apart. The novel explores the consequences of war, the fragility of identity over time, and the enduring power of love across extraordinary distances. Following Voyager, Claire and Jamie must navigate the beginnings of the American Revolution while Brianna and Roger grapple with the burden of knowledge of the Frasers’ futures. The series also includes the novels Drums of Autumn, The Fiery Cross, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, An Echo in the Bone, Written in my Own Heart’s Blood, Go Tell the Bees that I am Gone, along with a forthcoming 10th novel and several shorter novels and novellas.
Historical Context: Culloden and the Aftermath of the Jacobite Uprising
The 1746 Battle of Culloden was the final major confrontation of the Jacobite uprising, fought a year prior. The battle was fought between the Jacobite army—led by Charles Stuart, whose grandfather had been dethroned as the King of England and Scotland—and the British army, fighting in favor of a new line of kings called the Hanovers. While the Hanoverians had reigned for three decades by 1745 and a Stuart had not been on the throne since the previous century, many people, particularly in Scotland, believed that the Stuarts were the rightful monarchs and needed to retake the throne. Though the Jacobite cause had supporters in various countries and regions, the army was largely populated by Highland Scots, who were also fighting for self-determination and religious freedom that had been eroded by the Hanoverian kings. The Jacobites had several victories over the British in prior battles, but by the time they reached Culloden, they were weakened, outnumbered, and facing an army with much more weaponry. The Jacobites were soundly defeated within an hour, losing nearly half of their estimated 5,000 or 6,000 men.
Though there were many Jacobites across Britain, those who suffered the most after Culloden were the Scottish Highlanders. After the Jacobites’ defeat at the Battle of Culloden in 1746, many strict impositions were placed on Scottish communities that targeted Highland culture, outlawing important practices like wearing tartan and speaking Gaelic. In the immediate aftermath, all suspected Jacobites that could be found were killed, and many more found in the following years were imprisoned. Gabaldon uses Jamie’s experience to reflect the trauma of a people whose identity was nearly erased by state violence. Jamie’s years spent in hiding, imprisonment at Ardsmuir, and eventual exile into menial labor show the long reach of the British crown’s efforts to punish resistance. His survival is both physical and emotional. He must navigate grief, shame, and isolation while clinging to fragmented connections to family and homeland.
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