We all know how Outlander's Jamie Fraser lost his virginity -- it made for one of the most, ahem, memorablehours of television ever -- but that doesn't mean that the dashing Scot was lacking in life experience before Claire Beauchamp Randall crashed into his life, first in the pages of Diana Gabaldon's novel, then in its Starz adaptation.
Now, in a new collection of short stories, Gabaldon is exploring another period in Jamie's life -- when the 19-year-old Highlander and his best friend, Ian Murray, become mercenaries in France, despite the fact that neither has yet bedded a lass or killed a man, and they’re both rather worried about going to hell. The possibilities for all three rise abruptly when they’re hired to see a young Jewish bride and the priceless Torah that is her dowry from Bordeaux to Paris, and find much more along the road than they bargained for.
SEE ALSO:Everything you need to know about 'Outlander' Season 3The novella is aptly titled "Virgins," and is one of seven short stories included in the new book, which is titled Seven Stones To Stand Or Fall. (On her website, Gabaldon also specifies that "short" stories are a relative concept, since each of the novellas run from 30,000 words to 50,000.)
Five of the stories have been previously published in other anthologies or ebook formats, while two are brand new. One, titled "Besieged," follows Lord John Grey (who will make his TV debut in Season 3 of Outlanderthis fall, but is already much-beloved among fans of Gabaldon's books), when he learns that his mother is in Havana—and that the British Navy is on their way to lay siege to the city.
The second, "A Fugitive Green," is the story of Lord John’s elder brother, Hal, and a seventeen-year-old rare book dealer with a sideline in theft, forgery, and blackmail. The other stories included in the collection are “The Custom of the Army,” which begins with Lord John Grey being shocked by an electric eel and ends at the Battle of Quebec.
Then comes “The Space Between,” where it is revealed that the Comte St. Germain is not dead, Master Raymond appears, and a widowed young wine dealer escorts a would-be novice to a convent in Paris. In “A Plague of Zombies,” Lord John unexpectedly becomes military governor of Jamaica when the original governor is gnawed by what probably wasn’t a giant rat. Finally, “A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows” is the moving story of Roger MacKenzie’s parents during World War II.
SEE ALSO:An obsessive deep dive into the 'Outlander' Season 3 trailerThe new anthology, Seven Stones To Stand Or Fall,goes on sale on June 27, and should help take the edge off the Droughtlander before Season 3 premieres in September. Gabaldon is currently at work on the ninth book in her Outlanderseries of novels, titled Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone.
Read more about the stories contained in Seven Stones To Stand Or Fallhere.
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