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Written in My Own Heart's Blood is the eighth novel in the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon.

Main Characters[]

  • Claire Fraser: The story's protagonist, a physician who was born in the the 20th century, but has transported herself to the 18th-century Scotland, where she fell in love with a Highland warrior Jamie Fraser. After living for twenty years apart, they were reunited in 1766 and have settled in North Carolina. During the American Revolutionary War, Claire works as surgeon for the Continental army.
  • James "Jamie" Fraser: Former heir to the Lallybroch estate in Scotland, and proprietor of the Fraser's Ridge estate in North Carolina. Jamie is a high-ranking officer in the Continental army.
  • Brianna MacKenzie: Daughter of Claire and Jamie, who was raised in 20th-century Boston, but has later lived with her parents and her husband Roger in the 18th century for seven years. She was forced to return to the 20th century due to her daughter's heart condition. She is an engineer.
  • Roger MacKenzie: Brianna's Scottish husband, a historian. Minister...but not yet ordained
  • Ian Fraser Murray: Jamie's nephew, who has moved with Jamie and Claire to America. Ian had lived with a Mohawk tribe for 2.5 years, but returned to Fraser's Ridge. He is an Indian scout, with allegiance to the Continental army.
  • William Ransom: Ninth Earl of Ellesmere, Captain in the British Royal Army, and Jamie's illegitimate son.
  • Lord John Grey: Lieutenant Colonel in the British Royal Army, Jamie's longtime friend, William's stepfather and Claire's erstwhile husband.

Plot[]

In June of 1778, the world turns upside-down. The British army withdraws from Philadelphia, George Washington prepares to move from Valley Forge in pursuit, and Jamie Fraser comes back from the dead to discover that his best friend has married his wife. The ninth Earl of Ellesmere discovers to his horror that he is, in fact, the illegitimate son of the newly-resurrected Jamie Fraser (a rebel and a Scottish criminal!) and Jamie's nephew Ian Murray discovers that his newfound cousin has an eye for his Quaker betrothed.

Meanwhile, Claire deals with an asthmatic duke, Benedict Arnold, and the fear that one of her husbands may have murdered the other. And in the 20th century, Jamie and Claire's daughter, Brianna, is thinking that things are probably easier in the 18th century: her son has been kidnapped, her husband has disappeared into the past, and she's facing a vicious criminal with nothing but a stapler in her hand.

Timeline of Significant Events[]

1770s

1778

  • June 16–18:
    • Ian Murray mourns Jenny and Jamie, as he believes they died at sea on their way to America. He also becomes engaged to Rachel Hunter.
    • Jamie beats up Lord John Grey for having had sex with his wife Claire, and for admitting bluntly that both Grey and Claire had essentially been making love to Jamie in the act. They are interrupted by militia men, who take Grey prisoner.
    • Jamie tries to go back to Philadelphia to Claire. He meets General Washington, who promotes him to the rank of general. Jamie then suffers from back pain and is unable to walk for almost two days.
    • With Jenny's help, Claire deals with Hal Grey's asthma attack, in the mean time hiding the truth of Lord John's whereabouts and Jamie's resurrection from Hal and other British soldiers.
    • As Rachel informs William Ransom of her engagement to Ian Murray, he and Ian get into a fight. Ian is arrested, but Jamie approaches William and blackmails him to get Ian released.
    • With the help of Dottie and Denzell Hunter, Lord John escapes from a Continental army's camp. However, he encounters another group of rebels and finds himself swearing an oath of allegiance to the United States.
    • Jamie finally returns to Philadelphia, just in time to stop Jenny from shooting Hal Grey. Arrivals of Denzell, Ian and Rachel add to the confusion.
    • Jamie and Claire are reunited and clear the air between them.
  • June 19–27:
    • Jamie and Claire join General Washington's army.
    • While with the Continental army, Lord John encounters Germain Fraser.
    • William lands up as an aide-de-camp to General Clinton.
    • Jane, a Philadelphian prostitute of William's acquaintance, asks him for protection for her and her sister Fanny.
    • Jamie is inspecting his troops when Claire spots Lord John Grey and Germain in the crowd. Grey surrenders to Jamie and is escorted to his tent.
    • Claire treats Lord John's eye when Percy Beauchamp appears.
  • June 28 – Battle of Monmouth:
    • Percy warns Grey that William is in danger from Captain Richardson. Grey escapes from the Continental army camp to find his son.
    • William is knocked unconscious by Hessian grenadiers. Ian finds him but is assaulted by two Indians. He then reaches Jamie and takes a few soldiers to get help for William.
    • Grey reaches the British army's camp and is kept prisoner. After a while, another group of prisoners is brought, Ian Murray among them.
    • Claire is shot. Jamie resigns his commision to stay with her, and Denzell Hunter performs a surgery to retrieve the bullet.
    • Grey is reunited with William and Hal. Ian kills one of the Indians who attacked him earlier, and leaves the British camp.
  • June 29–early July:
    • Jane and Fanny disappear from the army followers' camp, and William goes to look for them.
    • Claire is recovering. Lord John and his brother Hal pay Jamie a visit to ask for a letter of introduction to General Arnold. They are searching for William, as well as Hal's son Benjamin, who was taken by rebels months earlier and is rumored to be dead.
    • Having located Jane and Fanny, William meets Rachel Hunter. They find Ian Murray, who was shot with an arrow during the battle and is fevered. Rachel takes Jane and Fanny to a Quaker settlement, while William transports Ian to Jamie.
    • William, who has resigned his commission, comes to Lord John's house and offers to search for Benjamin.
  • Late July/early August:
    • A double Quaker wedding takes place in Philadelphia – Denzell Hunter is married to Dottie Grey, and Ian Murray to Rachel Hunter.
  • September:
    • Jamie starts preparations for the journey back to Fraser's Ridge. Fergus and Marsali receive threats.
    • Ian's beloved dog Rollo dies. Rachel gets pregnant.
    • William finds the grave that presumably belongs to his cousin Benjamin Grey. However, the body in the grave is not Ben's.
    • Fergus's printshop burns down. His son Henri-Christian dies while trying to escape from the burning building.
    • Lord John and Dottie search for Amaranthus Cowden, a woman claiming to be Benjamin's widow and the mother of his son.
  • Late November:
    • The Frasers and the Murrays move to Savannah, where Jamie is to retrieve his printing press.
  • Late December:
    • General Howe and Colonel Richardson pay Jamie a visit, trying to recruit him, as British army approaches the city. Jamie refuses.
    • British army invades Savannah.

1779

  • January:
    • Claire learns where Amaranthus Cowden lives and sends a note to William.
    • Richardson reveals to Claire that he had been an American spy, and planned to make Claire his asset. He also discloses his intentions regarding Hal Grey.
    • While searching for Amaranthus, William encounters Fanny and learns that Jane has been arrested for the murder of a British officer and is to be hanged. William tries to speak on her behalf to Lieutenant Colonel Campbell, but fails to save her.
    • As a last resort, William seeks Jamie's help to rescue Jane. They arrive too late – Jane has killed herself. William gives Fanny into the care of the Frasers.
    • Lord John and Hal find Amaranthus and her son Trevor. The woman wants to go with them.
    • William and Jamie have a short but honest conversation about William's birth.
  • Late spring:
    • Having left Fergus with pregnant Marsali and their daughters Joan and Félicité in Wilmington, Jamie, Claire, Ian, Rachel, Jenny, Germain and Fanny return to the Fraser's Ridge.
    • Claire encounters a man who raped her several years earlier.
    • Jamie starts building the new house.
  • Early June[1]:
    • Jamie leaves the Ridge to track down and kill the man whom Claire saw, having learned about him from Jenny.
    • Rachel gives birth to Ian's son.
    • Brianna, Roger and their children arrive at Fraser's Ridge.

1980

1980

  • October 30:
    • Roger MacKenzie and William Buccleigh MacKenzie walk through the stones at Craigh na Dun to look for Roger's son Jemmy in the past. They arrive in 1739.
    • Jemmy is being held by Rob Cameron, who wants the boy to show him where Jemmy's grandfather has hidden gold. A security guard finds Jemmy, but is shot by another man, presumably Cameron's accomplice.
    • Rob Cameron comes to Jemmy's mother, Brianna MacKenzie, to get her to have sex with him in exchange for Jemmy's whereabouts. Brianna fights him and locks him in a priest hole.
    • Brianna takes Jemmy's little sister Mandy, and playing "warmer, colder", they find Jemmy.
  • October 31:
    • After being questioned by the police, Brianna arrives at home in the middle of the night, and finds that someone must have set Rob Cameron free and has taken keys to the house and her rifle. She takes the children to Fiona Buchan's.
    • While Jemmy and Mandy are staying at the Buchans', Rob Cameron arrives to ask Fiona questions about Craigh na Dun. Jemmy calls the police, but Cameron escapes. Ernie Buchan doesn't want to put his family in danger and decides to take Jemmy and Mandy back to Brianna.
    • Brianna stakes out her own house with a shotgun, as she believes someone is inside. Ernie arrives with the kids, and Brianna rushes to stop them from getting out of Ernie's truck. Two men come out of a house, and another truck with Rob Cameron arrives, and Brianna fights him to get to her children and keep them safe.
    • Brianna and the kids get away safely with the help from Ernie and Lionel Menzies, Jemmy's school principal.
    • Brianna finds a letter written by Frank Randall, in which he warns her that she might be a person of interest to conspiracy nuts because of the Fraser Prophecy, according to which "The last of Lovat's line will rule Scotland."
  • November-early December:
    • Brianna and the children hide in America. With help from Joe Abernathy, Brianna makes preparations to travel through the stones to find Roger.
  • December 21:
    • Brianna, Jem and Mandy go through the stones at Craigh na Dun to look for Roger in 1739. They are almost waylaid by Rob Cameron et al., but manage their escape with the help of Lionel Menzies.

1739

1739

  • October 30:
    • Roger MacKenzie and William "Buck" Buccleigh MacKenzie successfully travel through time, to look for Roger's son Jemmy, who has been kidnapped and is believed to have gone into the past.
    • While Buck searches for Jemmy in Inverness, Roger goes to Lallybroch hoping to meet Brianna's cousins and her aunt Jenny. However, he meets Brian Fraser and teenage Jenny, and realizes that he has arrived further in the past than expected—in 1739.
  • October 31–December:
    • Brian Fraser helps Roger in the search for Jemmy. Buck then sends word that he has taken ill, and Roger goes to see him.
    • Roger meets Dr. Hector McEwan, a healer who attends to Buck, and realizes that McEwan is also a time traveller. Roger and Buck then encounter Dougal MacKenzie.
    • Upon Roger's return to Lallybroch,
      Raf dog tags

      WWII-era RAF Dogtags

      Brian Fraser presents him with WWII dog tags of RAF pilot Jeremiah Walter MacKenzie, which were left for Roger by a redcoat captain, Jonathan Randall. Roger visits Randall to learn more details about the dog tags.
    • Roger and Buck go to Hadrian's Wall to look for Jerry MacKenzie. Roger gives his father a gem, so that Jerry could go back to is own time through a stone circle.
    • Roger and Buck meet Geillis Duncan.
  • December 21:
    • Brianna, Jemmy and Mandy arrive at Craigh na Dun. Short time later, Roger meets them outside of Lallybroch.

Trivia[]

  • In June 1778, Claire is 61½ and Jamie is 57. By the end of the novel in June 1779, Claire is 62½ and Jamie is 58.
  • By the end of the novel, Brianna is 32½, Roger is about 41, Jem is 9, and Mandy is 3.

Book Covers[]

Maps[]


External Resources[]

References[]

  1. A note on dates:
    • It is June 1, 1779 at the beginning of Chapter 143.
    • The next morning, June 2, Jamie "goes a-hunting". Claire learns that Rachel is in labor after a visit to Malva's Garden (Chapter 144).
    • Jamie returns home three days later (Chapter 145), which would make June 5. There is a feast in the evening.
    • Late in the afternoon the next day – June 6 – the MacKenzies arrive (Chapter 145).

See also[]

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