- Mass Market Paperback: 850 pages
- Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group; Reissue edition (31 July 1992)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0440212561
- ISBN-13: 978-0440212560
- Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 3.6 x 17.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (353 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 103,663 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Claire Randall is leading a double life. She has a husband in one century, and a lover in another...
In 1945, Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon--when she innocently touches a boulder in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach—an "outlander"—in a Scotland torn by war and raiding border clans in the year of our Lord...1743.
Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire's destiny in soon inextricably intertwined with Clan MacKenzie and the forbidden Castle Leoch. She is catapulted without warning into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life ...and shatter her heart. For here, James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, shows her a passion so fierce and a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire...and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.
In 1945, Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon--when she innocently touches a boulder in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach—an "outlander"—in a Scotland torn by war and raiding border clans in the year of our Lord...1743.
Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire's destiny in soon inextricably intertwined with Clan MacKenzie and the forbidden Castle Leoch. She is catapulted without warning into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life ...and shatter her heart. For here, James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, shows her a passion so fierce and a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire...and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence
It wasn't a very likely place for disappearances, at least at first glance. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
It wasn't a very likely place for disappearances, at least at first glance. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:School & Library Binding
A lover of historical fiction, adventure books, and books with a time travel theme, I hesitated buying this book, despite the very intriguing sounding plot, because it was labeled as being a romance novel. Still, curiosity won the day, and am I ever glad that it did! This has got to be one of the most engrossing and highly entertaining novels that I have ever read. Surprisingly well written, I was hooked almost immediately.
The novel begins in the year 1945, and the plot revolves around the adventures of Claire Randall, an Englishwoman and combat nurse during World War II, who is reunited with her husband, Frank, after the war. While on a second honeymoon in Scotland, she visits a strange flat topped hill in the highlands of Scotland, where a forbidding stone circle draws her. Touching one of the stones, she is hurled through a vortex in time and finds herself in eighteenth century Scotland.
There, she meets James Fraser, a brave and brawny Scotsman, and finds herself thrust into the midst of clan warfare and intrigue. Finding in James a soulmate, she falls passionately in love, but is conflicted because of the feelings she harbors for the husband she left behind. She goes on, however, to have enough adventures to last a lifetime. What happens to these star crossed lovers in eighteenth century Scotland is riveting.
The author is a master storyteller and her use of historical detail is superlative. Those who love well written, historical fiction will be delighted. The book tells a rip roaring good story and is a veritable page turner. This is the first in a now published series of five books. Having read four out of the five, thus far, all I can say is...Bravo! I love each and every one of them!
35 of 41 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Thanks to Amazon and all the other book reviewers for putting me in touch with this book (I've just read the UK version called "Cross Stitch") due to their enthusiastic recommendations. I was a little wary at first - I mean, can a book with over 300 reviewers, nearly everyone giving it 5 stars really be that good? I'd never heard of the author before, and it seemed (from the point of view of an cynical old English reader like me) to have a few things against it from the start.
The author is an American writing about English and Scots people, having never visited Scotland and having been once to England. So it looked like it would turn out to be yet another American rose-tinted view of Scottish history with handsome hunks (speaking with a Yank accent!) sporting kilts and sweeping innocent maidens off their feet! Happily I decided to take a chance anyway and ordered Cross Stitch from Amazon. As others have commented before, this turned out not to be a standard romantic fiction novel. It's an sweeping 18th century historical novel set against the Jacobite rebellion in 1745, with an intense romance between the hero and heroine of the book, Jamie and Claire, plus a touch of the supernatural (time-travel, a la Dr Who!) thrown in to the mix. I found myself really caring about the main characters and even felt a bit teary-eyed on one or two occasions. My only complaint would be that almost all the English characters in the book(apart from Claire and Frank) were portrayed as mad, bad or homosexual. Hope this feature improves with her other books in the series which of course, I now feel compelled to read! As other readers have said, there is some sex and violence in the novel, including a wife-beating scene, so this book may not suitable for very young teenagers. However, this was all in keeping with the historical setting of the story, and did not spoil my own enjoyment of this excellent novel. It's very well researched and I found very little to criticize in its authenticity; Diana Gabaldon has even tried to include British slang words and names for things, Gaelic expressions etc - which other US authors often haven't bothered to do. So there were no really "jarring" bits of dialogue where you're thinking "Huh? -what's this?" I didn't really want the novel to end and found myself dreading the arrival of the last page - always in my experience, the sign of an excellent read. I can't recommend this book too highly. Don't miss it!
The author is an American writing about English and Scots people, having never visited Scotland and having been once to England. So it looked like it would turn out to be yet another American rose-tinted view of Scottish history with handsome hunks (speaking with a Yank accent!) sporting kilts and sweeping innocent maidens off their feet! Happily I decided to take a chance anyway and ordered Cross Stitch from Amazon. As others have commented before, this turned out not to be a standard romantic fiction novel. It's an sweeping 18th century historical novel set against the Jacobite rebellion in 1745, with an intense romance between the hero and heroine of the book, Jamie and Claire, plus a touch of the supernatural (time-travel, a la Dr Who!) thrown in to the mix. I found myself really caring about the main characters and even felt a bit teary-eyed on one or two occasions. My only complaint would be that almost all the English characters in the book(apart from Claire and Frank) were portrayed as mad, bad or homosexual. Hope this feature improves with her other books in the series which of course, I now feel compelled to read! As other readers have said, there is some sex and violence in the novel, including a wife-beating scene, so this book may not suitable for very young teenagers. However, this was all in keeping with the historical setting of the story, and did not spoil my own enjoyment of this excellent novel. It's very well researched and I found very little to criticize in its authenticity; Diana Gabaldon has even tried to include British slang words and names for things, Gaelic expressions etc - which other US authors often haven't bothered to do. So there were no really "jarring" bits of dialogue where you're thinking "Huh? -what's this?" I didn't really want the novel to end and found myself dreading the arrival of the last page - always in my experience, the sign of an excellent read. I can't recommend this book too highly. Don't miss it!
52 of 65 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This is not a typical review.
THIS IS A WARNING.
Although this is a marvolous book it is the same book as CROSS STITCH by the same auther.
I ordered it under the impression that it was a new book. Imangine my surprise when I started reading and could remember the story. A small investigation made me realise why it was so familiar!!!!!!!!
I am very cross that this book is being advertised as the first in the series when the first in the series is also CROSS STITCH.
PLEASE MAKE THIS CLEAR ON YOUR OPRUCHASING DETAILS
THIS IS A WARNING.
Although this is a marvolous book it is the same book as CROSS STITCH by the same auther.
I ordered it under the impression that it was a new book. Imangine my surprise when I started reading and could remember the story. A small investigation made me realise why it was so familiar!!!!!!!!
I am very cross that this book is being advertised as the first in the series when the first in the series is also CROSS STITCH.
PLEASE MAKE THIS CLEAR ON YOUR OPRUCHASING DETAILS
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
20th edition
I was a bit depressed to come to the end of this book, but absolutely elated to find that it was simply the first of a six-part series. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Lucy Ward
A lovely special edition for fans
I love this book, I have read it so many times so the special edition was definately on my christmas list. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Poppyp
Outlander review
An absolutely outstanding edition of the Outlander novel, beautifully written by Diana Gabaldon.
The book also includes a fantastic demo CD of Outlander the Musical with... Read more
The book also includes a fantastic demo CD of Outlander the Musical with... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Outlander Fan
Brilliant
I love all the outlanders series and cannot wait for the next one. I have read all the series 3 times now and have just purchased Outlander the Novel(20tth Anniversary Edition) I... Read more
Published 11 months ago by M. Kulisic
love diana gabaldon
To anyone who has never read a Diana Gabaldon book I urge you to do so. I just can't wait to get my hands on the latest one. My friend and I have read them over and over again. Read more
Published 17 months ago by mad nanna
Outlander series
A wonderfully gripping novel evidencing a vast amount of knowledge and research by the authoress. I found the Outlander series by originally buying a later book in the series and... Read more
Published 21 months ago by B. A. Carter
A classic
I love this book. My mum recommended it to me as a young teenager who was literature starved, and I have adored it ever since. Read more
Published on 27 Dec 2009 by Katy
Historical fiction rather than time travel focus
This book was really just a historical adventure novel, seen from a 'modern' viewpoint: the story takes place in 1743, while the main character, Claire, has time-travelled there... Read more
Published on 1 Aug 2009 by JudithAnn
Value for money, weight wise maybe, content no!
What worries me is that people come to Scotland to see where it really happened!! So many silly factual inaccuracies and too much bodice ripping. Read more
Published on 28 Jun 2009 by John C. Graham
The book by which I judge all others...
I first found this book by accident close to 20 years ago. My local (miniscule) library had a very poor selection and I'd read practically every book of interest they had on the... Read more
Published on 24 Jun 2009 by Me read
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192198663_.gif){kind=small}
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Fantasy > Historical
- Books > Fiction > Historical
- Books > Romance > Fantasy
- Books > Romance > Historical
- Books > Romance > Time Travel
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
