Sir Percival Turner is the Superintending Customs Officer for the Edinburgh district. Jamie Roy bribes him to turn a blind eye to his smuggling operations; in return, Jamie allows Sir Percival to "seize" enough contraband from him to keep his superiors satisfied.
Personal History[]
Not much is known about Sir Percival, beyond his involvement in events during Voyager.
Events of the Novels[]
Voyager[]
Sir Percival has ambitions to gain elevation to the peerage. When Sir Percival hears that a seditionist is working out of Edinburgh, he realizes that if he can be to one to apprehend this person, he may be rewarded with a peerage.
He makes little headway in learning the identity of the seditionist until one of Jamie's associates tips off another one of Sir Percival's agents that Jamie Roy is the same man as Alex Malcolm the printer, and his real name is Jamie Fraser – a pardoned Jacobite traitor.
Sir Percival learns from this man that Arbroath is the fallback landing point for Jamie's latest cargo, and so he warns Jamie of an impending ambush, with the intended effect that Jamie changes his plans to Arbroath and does not suspect the deception. On instruction from Sir Percival, a customs officer is killed at Arbroath by a second customs officer; as a result of the printshop fire, Sir Percival had no evidence that Jamie was a seditionist, and instead sought to frame him for the murder of the customs agent.
Personality[]
Sir Percival is ambitious, even in advanced age, and has his sights set on a peerage. He makes deals with criminals with an eye toward betraying them as soon as it may be profitable to him.
Physical Appearance[]
Described as a small, elderly gentleman with blue eyes who suffers from gout.[1]
Name[]
- Percival is a name created by the 12th-century French poet Chrétien de Troyes for his poem "Perceval, the Story of the Grail". The character (and probably the name) of Perceval was based on that of the Welsh hero Peredur, possibly means "hard spears" in Welsh[2]. The spelling was perhaps altered under the influence of Old French percer val "to pierce the valley".[3]
- Turner is an occupational name meaning "one who works with a lathe".[4]
Trivia[]
TV Series[]
English actor Paul Brightwell portrays Sir Percival Turner in the Outlander television series.
Appearances[]
References[]
- ↑ Voyager, chapter 27.
- ↑ Behind the Name: Peredur - accessed 18 July 2016
- ↑ Behind the Name: Percival - accessed 18 July 2016
- ↑ Behind the Name Surnames: Turner - accessed 18 July 2016