Page to Screen: Outlander 1

Page to Screen

The Page to Screen series explores the cinematic adaptations of books and my criticisms of them, comparing the two works and reviewing them separately and as a whole.

Outlander (Book/Season 1)

1991, Written by Diana Gabaldon
2014-15, Developed by by Ronald D. Moore

The cover of the book Source

The Outlander Series is possibly one of my favourite of all time. There are 8 books, I've only read two and a half at time of writing this and I love them. I got into them because of how much I love the TV series, and let me say now, the comparison is great. The series does not disappoint when comparing with the books.
This post of course contains spoilers for both Outlander book 1 and season 1
The first book is an introduction to this epic saga of love. If you don't already know the story, it starts in 1945 when war nurse Claire Randall and her husband, Frank, take a trip to Inverness for a post-war honeymoon. While there, Claire gets whisked up into some fairy magic, and transported to the same spot in the year 1745.

Catriona Balfe as Claire Randall in her 1940s clothes Source

Of course, she stands out in her modern 1940s clothing and with her English accent, and is set upon by highlanders, being forced to come up with some sort of explanation as to why she is there. She then settles into highland life at Castle Leoch, the home of the Mackenzie clan, where she meets a host of intriguing characters, including man she is made to marry, Jamie Fraser, the jealous girl who he was once courting, Laoghaire, and a suspected witch, amongst many others. The stories she tells and the ordeals she goes through are amazing and dramatic, not to mention shocking and romantic.

The main thing I love about this book and series is the drama. The first thing that happens when Claire is transported to the past is that she stumbles across a man who looks exactly like her husband Frank. This is foreshadowed when, in the year 1945, Claire and Frank are looking at a family tree, seeing Frank's ancestor, the Redcoat officer Jonathan Wolverton Randall, nicknamed "Black Jack". At first, Claire believes it is Frank playing a trick on her, acting as though they are two hundred years in the past, since Jack looks remarkably like Frank. The decision for both Frank and Jack to be played by Tobias Menzies is one that I love, it heightens Claire's confusion and highlights their relation.

Tobias Menzies as Frank Source

Tobias Menzies as Jonathan Randall Source

In addition to this, the more awful Jack Randall is, the more Claire fears him, and the more reason she has to fear returning to Frank, as his face is the same as that of his heinous ancestor. All becomes clear when the highlanders appear and 'rescue' her from Randall, taking her back to Leoch, where she realises, she is in fact, in the past. The whole ordeal that Claire goes through is excellently portrayed, from the appearance of Randall, to the highlanders and the introduction of Jamie-- all is exactly accurate to the book, and I love it.

Another thing I love about the series is being able to see Claire and Jamie fall in love. In the book, all is implied, they are described as afraid when they get married, but Jamie's tenderness and naivety, and Claire's reluctance and fear, makes them respect each other on their wedding night, and as the book goes on it is clear that they are falling deeper and deeper in love, but being able to see it on their faces and in their actions when I watch the series is mesmerising. Not only are they both extremely attractive, they seem to be made for each other, as they get to know each other and share each others' secrets (Jamie's being he is an outlaw, and has a back covered in whip marks, Claire's of course being that she is from the future). They learn to trust each other and genuinely fall in love as their lives continue after being forced to marry one another. I love that the commitment they are forced into becomes genuine, and the way it is expressed in the series is so much like in the book. I can't talk about Jamie and Claire's love for each other without mentioning the ever-present sexual tension between them. It's as palpable reading the book as it is watching the show; they are so attracted to one another and you won't see me complaining about the amount of sex and nudity there is in the series, both the series and the book (it's a LOT).
The only thing I will say about Jamie is that, in the book, he is described as having short hair, but comparing this to Sam Heughan's portrayal of him with long hair, I have to say I prefer this. 

Sam Heughan as Jamie Fraser Source

Another thing which is aptly dramatic and well-presented in the show is the witch trial. After having been married for a while, and fostering respect in the community, Claire becomes friends with Geillis Duncan, the wife of a fairly rich and important man in the clan. As a natural healer, Claire takes responsibility for the treatment of ailments for the Mackenzies, but deprived of her modern medicines, is forced to use herbs and natural remedies for her healing. This is how she meets Geillis, who also takes an interest in these matters. Geillis is portrayed exactly as I imagined her, slightly suspicious with a haughty air about her, and very sly and brazen.

Catriona Balfe as Claire Fraser and Lotte Verbeek as Geillis Duncan Source

Claire's friendship with her is looked down upon, and when Geillis poisons her husband, the both of them are accused of being witches. Jamie is away with Dougal, his uncle, and unable to save them (which of course he would have if he could), and they go to trial, for it to be revealed to the clan that Geillis is with Dougal's child, and to Claire that she is also a time traveller. This series of events does happen slightly differently in the book to the series, but it ends the same way- with Claire getting saved and Geillis being sent to be burned at the stake. This whole ordeal is very traumatic, but the representation of it in the series, although different to the book, is very dramatic and, in my opinion, very well done.

I like the portrayal of Jamie's family as well, his bond with his sister, Jenny, and her husband, Ian, and the way in which they are presented in the series. I really like both of them in the book, and while Jamie's relationship with Ian is much more developed and close in the book, their trust and good relationship is still implied in the series, which I like.

Laura Donnelly and Steven Cree as Jenny and Ian Murray, respectfully Source

Black Jack Randall comes back with a vengeance later on. After having tried to rape Claire and getting stopped by Jamie, he manages to get Jamie into Wentworth Prison, and seriously abuses him. When I say abuse, I mean seriously abuse, emotionally and physically. All of this was hard to read about, but watching it was so much worse, seeing the pain that Jamie is in and hearing his screams. But, ever the committed wife, Claire comes to save him, after fighting off wolves (something that wasn't shown in the series) and working with the clan to get cows inside the prison to cause a distraction, as well as trample Jack.

The final major event of this book is Claire warning Jamie about the uprising, the Jacobite revolution, when she discovers that his uncle Dougal is a supporter of the 'Bonnie Prince Charlie' and his ideas. She tells him that they will fail, so they decide to go to France in order to find the prince and either dissuade him from following through, or help him to succeed. The end of the series sees Claire and Jamie, expecting a child, on a boat to France. In the book however, this is a little more drawn out. They arrive in France and are hosted at an abbey, where Jamie is able to heal, and in very dramatic and non-conventional ways, none of which made it into the series.

Jamie and Claire set sail for France Source

Because I watched the show first, I found myself comparing the book with this, picturing what I knew and reading in Catriona Balfe's lovely English accent, but because I'd seen the series, I knew exactly what was going on at all times and noticed how much of it was true to the book. The books are worth reading, but the show is very enjoyable and is very close to Gabaldon's writing, since she is a consultant on the show.
So go ahead, watch, if just for this beautiful face:

Don't forget to follow my socials to keep updated: 
twitter : @chwcblog
facebook : Curly Hair, Who Cares
instagram : @chwcblog