It all began with a man in a kilt – now Diana Gabaldon writes the bestselling Outlander series
Claire Webb - 18 November 2020
Earlier this year, US author Diana Gabaldon flew to Scotland to be presented with a special award recognising her contribution to Scottish tourism. Attractions used in the TV adaptation of her Outlander novels have seen visitor numbers soar by an average of 67 per cent in the past five years. The book series, which has sold more than 35 million copies and been translated into 39 languages, chronicles the adventures of an English Second World War nurse who travels back in time to 18th-century Scotland and falls in love with a Highlander.
When Gabaldon began writing the first book in the late 1980s (she’s currently on the ninth), she had never been to Scotland and knew nothing about the Jacobite Rising or Scottish history. “I used to be an academic in my previous life, but I had known since I was about eight years old that I was actually meant to be a novelist,” she explains. “And when I turned 35, I said to myself, ‘Mozart was dead at 36, you’d better get a move on.’ I decided to write a novel for practice and I was casting around for ideas in this rather aimless way, when I happened to see a really old Doctor Who rerun on television. The Doctor had a companion he’d picked up in 1746 – a young Scotsman in a kilt [Jamie McCrimmon, played by Frazer Hines] – and I said, ‘Well, that’s rather fetching.’ And I found myself still thinking about this at church the next day, and had what you might call a revelation: Outlander Wednesday 9.00pm More 4 Scotland, 18th century. So that’s where I began, having no plot and no characters – nothing but the rather vague images conjured up by the notion of a man in a kilt, which is, of course, a very compelling image. I immediately went to the library and began looking up Scotland.”
Gabaldon, 67, lives in Arizona and didn’t set foot in Scotland until she left her job at Arizona State University halfway through writing the second book. “I said to my husband, ‘We won’t starve if I stop working at the university and I think I really must go and see Scotland.’ So we parked the kids with my parents and came to Scotland, drove all over the country for two weeks and had a wonderful time.” Nowadays she visits once or twice a year. If it’s not for filming, she and her husband base themselves near Inverness and drive into the hills, stopping whenever they spot something interesting. “No matter what you’re looking for, you’ll find a lot of other things that you would never have imagined looking for, so it’s always something of a treasure hunt. We’re always finding hidden things in the landscape and there’s such variety: 20 miles in any direction, or less than that, is completely different. Or I’ll hear someone say something and think, ‘I’ve never heard that figure of speech before. I wonder how old it is, can I use it?’” There is one place that she has visited time and again: Culloden Battlefield, where the rebel Highlanders made their ill-fated final stand against Loyalist troops in 1746 on a moor east of Inverness – the brief, bloody battle was re-created in series two and three. “The battlefield is very evocative and moving, and the visitor centre is absolutely fabulous. When I first visited it 25 years ago, the battlefield was quite overgrown, but over the years they’ve got moorland sheep to clean it up and restore it to how it was at the time of the battle.”
In the past five years, the film crew for the series have decamped across the Highlands and the Lowlands, shooting in castles, stately homes, churches, country parks, gorgeous villages like Culross in Fife, Edinburgh’s Old Town and Glasgow’s cathedral and university. Scotland has successfully stood in for 18th-century Paris, North America and even the Caribbean. Gabaldon’s favourite location is Drumlanrig Castle, which stood in for the Duke of Sandringham’s estate. Once the seat of the royalist Douglas clan, this 17th-century “Pink Palace” is now the Dumfriesshire home of the Duke of Buccleuch, and its interiors have been beautifully preserved. “That was fascinating. We were filming in a room where Bonnie Prince Charlie stayed on his passage, when we suddenly noticed it had a secret door. In the script, Claire tries to pick the lock and escape from this room where she’s been shut up by the Duke, and I said: ‘You know, why don’t we use the secret door instead?’” She is thrilled that so many Outlander fans have flocked to Scotland after being captivated by the TV adaptation. “I chose Scotland as the setting for my first novel because of a man in a kilt, but upon looking into things more deeply, was enchanted to discover a country and a people like no other, whose traditions and history are as strikingly beautiful as its landscapes.
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From the moment the Scottish Highlands come into view, you’ll be taken aback by the spectacular views at every turn. Whether it’s the craggy countryside along your path, the winding River Ness or Inverness Castle marking its point on the skyline, rugged natural beauty meets age-old traditions on this fascinating tour of North West Scotland. A highlight is the epic train journey from Fort William to Mallaig, hailed as one of the world’s finest. Whilst a trip to the Highlands wouldn’t be complete without sampling whisky, discovering the mysteries of Loch Ness and experiencing the magic of Skye.
Earlier this year, US author Diana Gabaldon flew to Scotland to be presented with a special award recognising her contribution to Scottish tourism. Attractions used in the TV adaptation of her Outlander novels have seen visitor numbers soar by an average of 67 per cent in the past five years. The book series, which has sold more than 35 million copies and been translated into 39 languages, chronicles the adventures of an English Second World War nurse who travels back in time to 18th-century Scotland and falls in love with a Highlander.
When Gabaldon began writing the first book in the late 1980s (she’s currently on the ninth), she had never been to Scotland and knew nothing about the Jacobite Rising or Scottish history. “I used to be an academic in my previous life, but I had known since I was about eight years old that I was actually meant to be a novelist,” she explains. “And when I turned 35, I said to myself, ‘Mozart was dead at 36, you’d better get a move on.’ I decided to write a novel for practice and I was casting around for ideas in this rather aimless way, when I happened to see a really old Doctor Who rerun on television. The Doctor had a companion he’d picked up in 1746 – a young Scotsman in a kilt [Jamie McCrimmon, played by Frazer Hines] – and I said, ‘Well, that’s rather fetching.’ And I found myself still thinking about this at church the next day, and had what you might call a revelation: Outlander Wednesday 9.00pm More 4 Scotland, 18th century. So that’s where I began, having no plot and no characters – nothing but the rather vague images conjured up by the notion of a man in a kilt, which is, of course, a very compelling image. I immediately went to the library and began looking up Scotland.”
Gabaldon, 67, lives in Arizona and didn’t set foot in Scotland until she left her job at Arizona State University halfway through writing the second book. “I said to my husband, ‘We won’t starve if I stop working at the university and I think I really must go and see Scotland.’ So we parked the kids with my parents and came to Scotland, drove all over the country for two weeks and had a wonderful time.” Nowadays she visits once or twice a year. If it’s not for filming, she and her husband base themselves near Inverness and drive into the hills, stopping whenever they spot something interesting. “No matter what you’re looking for, you’ll find a lot of other things that you would never have imagined looking for, so it’s always something of a treasure hunt. We’re always finding hidden things in the landscape and there’s such variety: 20 miles in any direction, or less than that, is completely different. Or I’ll hear someone say something and think, ‘I’ve never heard that figure of speech before. I wonder how old it is, can I use it?’” There is one place that she has visited time and again: Culloden Battlefield, where the rebel Highlanders made their ill-fated final stand against Loyalist troops in 1746 on a moor east of Inverness – the brief, bloody battle was re-created in series two and three. “The battlefield is very evocative and moving, and the visitor centre is absolutely fabulous. When I first visited it 25 years ago, the battlefield was quite overgrown, but over the years they’ve got moorland sheep to clean it up and restore it to how it was at the time of the battle.”
In the past five years, the film crew for the series have decamped across the Highlands and the Lowlands, shooting in castles, stately homes, churches, country parks, gorgeous villages like Culross in Fife, Edinburgh’s Old Town and Glasgow’s cathedral and university. Scotland has successfully stood in for 18th-century Paris, North America and even the Caribbean. Gabaldon’s favourite location is Drumlanrig Castle, which stood in for the Duke of Sandringham’s estate. Once the seat of the royalist Douglas clan, this 17th-century “Pink Palace” is now the Dumfriesshire home of the Duke of Buccleuch, and its interiors have been beautifully preserved. “That was fascinating. We were filming in a room where Bonnie Prince Charlie stayed on his passage, when we suddenly noticed it had a secret door. In the script, Claire tries to pick the lock and escape from this room where she’s been shut up by the Duke, and I said: ‘You know, why don’t we use the secret door instead?’” She is thrilled that so many Outlander fans have flocked to Scotland after being captivated by the TV adaptation. “I chose Scotland as the setting for my first novel because of a man in a kilt, but upon looking into things more deeply, was enchanted to discover a country and a people like no other, whose traditions and history are as strikingly beautiful as its landscapes.
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