Seven Stones to Stand or Fall (Outlander)
Diana Gabaldon
INTRODUCTION
A Chronology of the Outlander Series
If you picked this book up under the misapprehension that it’s the ninth novel in the main Outlander series, it’s not. I apologize.
So, if it’s not the ninth novel, what is it? Well, it’s a collection of seven…er…things, of varying length and content, but all having to do with the Outlander universe. As for the title…basically, it’s the result of my editor not liking my original title choice, Salmagundi.* Not that I couldn’t see her point…Anyway, there was a polite request via my agent for something more in line with the “resonant, poetic” nature of the main titles.
Without going too much into the mental process that led to this (words like “sausage-making” and “rock-polishing” come to mind), I wanted a title that at least suggested that there were a number of elements in this book (hence the Seven), and Seven Stones just came naturally, and that was nice (“stone” is always a weighty word) and suitably alliterative but not a complete poetic thought (or rhythm). So, a bit more thinkering (no, that’s not a typo), and I came up with to Stand or Fall, which sounded suitably portentous.
It took a bit of ex post facto thought to figure out what the heck that meant, but things usually do mean something if you think long enough. In this instance, the “stand or fall” has to do with people’s response to grief and adversity: to wit, if you aren’t killed outright by whatever happened, you have a choice in how the rest of your life is lived—you keep standing, though battered and worn by time and elements, still a buttress and a signpost—or you fall and return quietly to the earth from which you sprang, your elements giving succor to those who come after you.
SO. THIS IS (as the front cover suggests) a collection of seven novellas (fiction shorter than a novel but longer than a short story), though all of them are indeed part of the Outlander universe and do intersect with the main novels.
Five of the novellas included in this book were originally written for various anthologies over the last few years; two are brand-new and have never been published before: “A Fugitive Green” and “Besieged.”
Owing to differences among publishers in different countries, some of the previously published novellas may subsequently have been published in print form as a four-story collection (in the UK and Germany) or as separate ebooks (in the United States). Seven Stones provides a complete print collection for those readers who like tactile books and includes the two new stories.
Since the novellas fit into the main series at different points (and involve a number of different characters), below is an overall chronology of the Outlander series, to explain Who, What, and When.
THE OUTLANDER SERIES includes three kinds of stories:
The Big, Enormous Books of the main series, which have no discernible genre (or all of them);
The Shorter, Less Indescribable Novels, which are more or less historical mysteries (though dealing also with battles, eels, and assorted sexual practices);
And
The Bulges,—these being short(er) pieces that fit somewhere inside the story lines of the novels, much in the nature of squirming prey swallowed by a large snake. These deal frequently—but not exclusively—with secondary characters, are prequels or sequels, and/or fill some lacuna left in the original story lines.
The Big Books of the main series deal with the lives and times of Claire and Jamie Fraser. The shorter novels focus on the adventures of Lord John Grey but intersect with the larger books (The Scottish Prisoner, for example, features both Lord John and Jamie Fraser in a shared story). The novellas all feature people from the main series, including Jamie and/or Claire on occasion. The description below explains which characters appear in which stories.
Most of the shorter Lord John novels and novellas (so far) fit within a large lacuna left in the middle of Voyager, in the years between 1756 and 1761. Some of the Bulges also fall in this period; others don’t.
So, for the reader’s convenience, the detailed listing here shows the sequence of the various elements in terms of the story line. However, it should be noted that the shorter novels and novellas are all designed in such a way that they may be read alone, without reference either to one another or to the Big, Enormous Books—should you be in the mood for a light literary snack instead of the nine-course meal with wine pairings and dessert trolley.
(For your added convenience, the description of each story includes the dates covered in it, and,—if it has been published before, the original anthology title and year of publication are also given. This information will be mostly useful to collectors and hardcore bibliophiles, but we aim to please as many people as possible.)
“Virgins” (novella)—Set in 1740 in France. In which Jamie Fraser (aged nineteen) and his friend Ian Murray (aged twenty) become young mercenaries. [Originally published in the anthology Dangerous Women, eds. George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois, 2012.]
Outlander (novel)—If you’ve never read any of the series, I’d suggest starting here. If you’re unsure about it, open the book anywhere and read three pages; if you can put it down again, I’ll give you a dollar. (1946/1743)
Dragonfly in Amber (novel)—It doesn’t start where you think it’s going to. And it doesn’t end how you think it’s going to, either. Just keep reading; it’ll be fine. (1968/1744–46)