The Saucy Wenches Book Club

Jamie stood beside Brianna with that utter stillness that so frightened me—straight and still as a stick of dynamite, with a lit match laid a hairsbreadth from the fuse.

The flame of Brianna’s head moved slightly, looking from one to the other, and I saw what she saw; the echo of Jamie’s dangerous stillness in Roger. It was both unexpected and shocking; I had never seen any resemblance between them at all—and yet at the moment they might have been day and dark, images of fire and night, each mirroring the other.

MacKenzie, I thought suddenly. Viking beasts, bloody-minded and big. And saw the third echo of that flaming heritage blaze up in Brianna’s eyes, the only thing alive in her face.

~ Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn (Outlander #4)

“I’m reasonably sure the White Sow is beyond redemption, if not actually a demon of some sort.”
~ Diana Gabaldon, Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone

“Testosterone poisoning,” I said, with a shrug.

“Can you do anything about it”? she asked. The corner of her mouth twitched, though I couldn’t tell whether with laughter or incipient hysteria.

I pushed a hand through my hair, considering.

“Well,” I said finally, “there are only two things they do with it, and one of them is try to kill each other.”

Brianna rubbed her nose.

“Uh-huh”, she said. “And the other …” Our eyes met with a perfect understanding.

“I’ll take care of your father,” I said. “But Roger’s up to you.”

~ Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn (Outlander #4)

“So long as my body lives, and yours—we are one flesh,” he whispered. [snip]

“And when my body shall cease, my soul will still be yours. Claire—I swear by my hope of heaven, I will not be parted from you.”

The wind stirred the leaves of the chestnut trees nearby, and the scents of late summer rose up rich around us; pine and grass and strawberries, sun-warmed stone and cool water, and the sharp, musky smell of his body next to mine.

“Nothing is lost, Sassenach; only changed.”

“That’s the first law of thermodynamics,” I said, wiping my nose.

“No,” he said. “That’s faith.”

~ Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn (Outlander #4)

Followers of our What the Wenches are Reading posts will know that I listened to the audio books of the Outlander series last year. Now, I join the ranks of Outlandians... Outlanders...Sassenachs....I don't actually know what the Outlander fans call themselves, anyway, now I join them in not so patiently awaiting the release of book #9, Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone. As I finished the series, I was thinking about all of the amazing characters there are that I wouldn't consider main characters. Every single person, no matter if I like them or not, is so well developed and rounded out. Ms. Gabaldon has certainly created a rich and versatile world. And, since I am a sucker for a good side character, here I am to tell you about some of my favorites. Spoilers are a definite, so make sure you are caught up on all of the books before you follow me after the jump!

The only time I would dare to walk through a puddle was at twilight, when the evening stars came out. If I looked in the water and saw one lighted pinprick there, I could splash through unafraid—for if I should fall into the puddle and on into space, I could grab hold of the star as I passed, and be safe.

Voyager, Diana Gabaldon

“…but Sassenach—I am the true home of your heart, and I know that.” 

He lifted my hands to his mouth and kissed my upturned palms, one and then the other, his breath warm and his beard-stubble soft on my fingers.

“I have loved others, and I do love many, Sassenach—but you alone hold all my heart, whole in your hands,” he said softly. “And you know that.”

Written in My Own Heart's Blood by Diana Gabaldon

“Name,” he said abruptly. “I have to have a name. Can’t get married without a name. Just like a cock. Can’t get married without a name; can’t get married without a c—” [...]

Father Fogden blinked, brought back to attention. He made an unsuccessful attempt to stifle another belch, and transferred his bright blue gaze to Fergus.

“You have a name, too? And a cock?”

“Yes,” said Fergus, wisely choosing not to be more specific. “Fergus.”

The priest frowned slightly at this. “Fergus?” he said. “Fergus. Fergus. Yes, Fergus, got that. That’s all? No more name? Need more names, surely.”

“Fergus,” Fergus repeated, with a note of strain in his voice. Fergus was the only name he had ever had—bar his original French name of Claudel. Jamie had given him the name Fergus in Paris, when they had met, twenty years before. But naturally a brothel-born bastard would have no last name to give a wife.

“Fraser,” said a deep, sure voice beside me. Fergus and Marsali both glanced back in surprise, and Jamie nodded.…

“A cold supper, were you thinking? I asked dubiously.

I was not, he said firmly, I mean to light a roaring fire in the kitchen hearth, fry up a dozen eggs in butter, and eat them all, then lay ye down on the hearth rug and roger ye 'till you - is that all right? he inquired, noticing my look.

'Til I what? I asked fascinated by his description of the evening's program.

'Til ye burst into flame and take me with ye, I suppose, he said, and stooping, swooped me up into his arms and carried me across the darkened threshold.”

A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon

“The dog would run a few steps toward the house, circle once or twice as though unable to decide what to do next, then run back into the wood, turn, and run again toward the house, all the while whining with agitation, tail low and wavering.
"Jesus H. Roosevelt Christ," I said. "Bloody Timmy's in the well!” 

A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon

“I’m honest enough to say that I dinna care what the right and wrong of it may be, so long as you are here wi’ me, Claire,” he said softly. “If it was a sin for you to choose me ... then I would go to the Devil himself and bless him for tempting ye to it.” He lifted my foot and gently kissed the tip of my big toe. {snip}

“I don’t think it was wrong,” I said softly. “But if it was ... then I’ll go to the Devil with you, Jamie Fraser.”

~ Dragonfly in Amber, Diana Gabaldon

“There is an oath upon her,” he said to Arch, and I realized dimly that he was still speaking in Gaelic, though I understood him clearly. “She may not kill, save it is for mercy or her life. It is myself who kills for her.”

“And I,” said a tall figure behind him, softly. Ian.

Arch nodded understanding, though his face was still in darkness. Someone else was there beside him—Fergus. I knew him at once, but it took a moment’s struggle for me to put a name to the streaked pale face and wiry figure.

“Madame,” he said, and his voice was thin with shock. “Milady.”

A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon

“I’ll leave it to you, Sassenach,” he said dryly, “to imagine what it feels like to arrive unexpectedly in the midst of a brothel, in possession of a verra large sausage.”

My imagination proved fully equal to this task, and I burst out laughing.

“God, I wish I could have seen you!” I said.

“Thank God ye didn’t!” he said fervently. A furious blush glowed on his cheekbones.

Ignoring remarks from the fascinated inmates, Jamie had made his way awkwardly through what he described, shuddering, as “tangles o’ bare limbs,” until he had spotted Fergus against one wall, regarding the intruder with a round-eyed astonishment.

Seizing upon this unexpected manifestation of maleness, Jamie had gripped the lad by the shoulder, and fervently implored him to show the way to the nearest exit, without loss of a moment.

“I could hear a hurly-burly breakin’ out in the hallway,” he explained, “and I kent they were in after me. I didna want to be having to fight for my life wi’ a lot of naked women gett…

Season 2 of Outlander is upon us. It's a must-see series for many of the Wenches, and you can guarantee that most of us have read some, if not all, of the books to date. With that in mind, we thought it would be a perfect time to discuss what we are dying to see transferred from the book to the screen. Plus we're just a little bit curious as to what the writers might have changed to meet the requirements of adaptation. After all, television is a different medium to books, and what works in the books doesn't always work on screen.

Join us after the jump for our thoughts on season 2. If you haven't read Dragonfly in Amber yet, be warned that we do talk about events in that book, so spoilers abound!

Quick as lightning, she stooped and her hand shot under his kilt like a striking snake.

Jamie let out a roar of sheer outrage and stood bolt upright with shock. He tried to turn, then froze as she apparently tightened her grip.

“There’s men as are sensible,” she said to me, with a wicked smile, “and beasts as are biddable. Others ye’ll do nothing with, unless ye have ’em by the ballocks. Now, ye can listen to me in a civil way,” she said to her brother, “or I can twist a bit. Hey?”

~ Outlander, Diana Gabaldon