Cross Stitch (Outlander, US)

You need to suspend your disbelief on a number of occasions, particularly with regard to Claire Randall's ability to cure almost anything with a few herbs and a poultice or two, but I can't bring myself to be too harsh as I love this book and all the subsequent ones so much.

Jamie certainly only exists within the pages of these books, he is a male ideal, he is almost perfect in his blend of sexiness and romanticism and his single minded totally faithful love for Claire is what we women all dream of!

I have read all the books in this series many times and I urge you to buy them all, I can't wait for the final installment.


POSITIVELY RIVETING!...   January 20, 2003
Lawyeraau (Balmoral Castle)
15 out of 15 found this review helpful

A lover of historical fiction, adventure books, and books with a time travel theme, I hesitated buying this book, despite the very intriguing sounding plot, because it was labeled as being a romance novel. Still, curiosity won the day, and am I ever glad that it did! This has got to be one of the most engrossing and highly entertaining novels that I have ever read. Surprisingly well written, I was hooked almost immediately.

The novel begins in the year 1945, and the plot revolves around the adventures of Claire Randall, an Englishwoman and combat nurse during World War II, who is reunited with her husband, Frank, after the war. While on a second honeymoon in Scotland, she visits a strange, flat-topped hill in the highlands of Scotland, where a forbidding stone circle draws her. Touching one of the stones, she is hurled through a vortex in time and finds herself in tumultuous, eighteenth century Scotland.

There, she meets James Fraser, a brave and brawny Scotsman, and finds herself thrust into the midst of clan warfare and intrigue. Finding in James a soul mate, she falls passionately in love, but is conflicted because of the feelings she harbors for the husband she left behind. She goes on, however, to have enough adventures to last a lifetime. What happens to these
star-crossed lovers in eighteenth century Scotland is riveting.

The author is a master storyteller and her use of historical detail is superlative. Those who love well written, historical fiction will be delighted. The book tells a rip roaring good story and is a veritable page-turner. This is the first in a now published series of five books. Having read each and every one, all I can say is...Bravo! I love each and every one of them!


This book deserves more stars!   May 11, 2005
Sue Lewendon (England)
19 out of 20 found this review helpful

All I can say is WOW!!!

I read this in utter bliss and was unable to put it down. I drove everyone crazy talking about it and have got people to read it for themselves. They all agree with me that it's possibly the best book they have read.

The characters are flawlessly written and the historical aspects are very accurate indeed. There are simply not enough words available to describe it and do it justice.

Basic storyline is that Claire Randall, a nurse during the 2nd World War, is home with her husband of seven years who is a historian of sorts. They are on a 2nd honeymoon to try to get to know each other again after being separated by the War for so long. They go to Scotland and whilst there, Frank is doing some research into his family history.

On a trip up a hill for a picnic, where there are some 'standing stones' like Stone Henge, they witness a ritual of some kind performed by the women of the local village. Unseen, they leave after the women have finished but Claire decides to go back and collect some plant specimens the next day. Whilst there she hears a sort of humming coming from one of the stones and before she knows it, she steps into the stones crevice and is transported back in time!

Almost immediately she is captured by an English Redcoat soldier. He attempts to rape her but she is saved by a Highlander and taken away. She is taken to meet the Scots' leader and this is where she meets Jamie Fraser for the first time. He has been injured quite badly and being a nurse, she tends to his wounds. They are saddled together and travel to his home, a great castle.

Here she is taken to Callum, Laird of the castle. He believes she is a spy for the English and so wants her to stay for a while to keep an eye on her.

Throughout this epic journey, there are some truly awful characters but none quite so evil as Captain Randall, the Redcoat who tried to rape her. He just keeps popping up throughout and gets more horrid as the pages turn.

However, Jamie and Claire build a strong relationship that will stand the test of anything Randall throws at them. The true test of this comes near the end of the book when he manages to capture Jamie. The sheer horror of what they have to face is mind bendingly real. I haven't cried so much over a book as I did when I read through Jamie's explanation of his torture. Ms.Gabaldon has done a superb if somewhat chilling job of managing the facts of this imprisonment.

Just when you think everything is going to be ok, she hits you with something else again and again. It really is a rollercoaster of a ride that will leave you breathless and weeping for joy as well as sorrow.

I spent several hours just thinking about all I had read and was still unable to think of a single thing I would change. This is a true masterpiece and it deserves to be one of the World's best sellers for many years to come. I am now reading the second installment of this wonderful story and I dread the day when I finish all the books in this series.

Even if you have never read anything like this before, I cannot stress hard enough to give it a go. If you have the slightest amount of compassion in you, you will find something that will stay with you for a very long time.

Mesmerizing and hauntingly beautiful. Well done Ms.Gabaldon!


Read them, read them, read them!!!!   October 18, 1999
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

I can't say enough about how absolutely brilliant the Cross-stitch novels are. They are romance, adventure and suspense all rolled into one. Diana Gabaldon has the remarkable ability to make you feel everything that Claire and Jamie feel. If I wasn't laughing, I was crying. And if I wasn't shaking in fear, I was shaking in anger. For all those people out there who are looking for a new book to read, do yourselves a favour and get a copy of this. I guarantee you won't regret the choice.