David Schwinghammer's Blog - Posts Tagged "1903"
The Outlander
First off, Gil Adamson is a woman, which might explain the feistiness of Mary Boulton, the hero of THE OUTLANDER. The term “outlander” may refer to a person who prefers the wilderness to human contact, as does “The Ridgerunner” Mary's lover in the story.
At the beginning of the novel Mary is running for her life after murdering her husband. We don't know why, but eventually it becomes clear that he was a philandering creep who treated her like a slave. Mary is only twenty and she had no say so in the marriage. This is 1903 Canada after all. There's no such thing as romantic love, at least not when the parents are involved in selecting a mate. She's just lost her baby which may have contributed to her mental instability.
Anyway, she heads into the mountains, taking solace in a lonely church, where an old lady has pity on her and takes her into her home. Meanwhile her husband's twin brothers are hot on her trail. When they get too close she is forced to steal a horse and head into the hills. She's starving when she meets “The Ridgerunner”; he's been on his own for eight years. He says he'll never leave, but he eventually does anyway, regretting it almost immediately.
Mary meets Henry, a Crow Indian, whose wife recommends she head for the coal mining town of Frank where she should search out Reverend Bonnycastle who will take care of her. Reverend “Bonny” is only one of the many eccentrics who appear in this novel which will remind you more than a little of Charles Frazier's COLD MOUNTAIN. There's a dwarf named McEchern who owns the general store in Frank. There's a human bloodhound who's helping the brothers track Mary. There's a lunatic who attended the same military school as Bonny. For some reason he's still in the RCMP, but he's allowed to leave whenever he feels the need to be rejuvenated by going to see his friend Bonny.
The brothers are bearing down on Mary when the novel explodes, literally, and we lose one of the novel's most lovable characters. Now we need to know if the brothers will ultimately track Mary down, and if “The Ridgerunner” and Mary will ever find each other again.
At the beginning of the novel Mary is running for her life after murdering her husband. We don't know why, but eventually it becomes clear that he was a philandering creep who treated her like a slave. Mary is only twenty and she had no say so in the marriage. This is 1903 Canada after all. There's no such thing as romantic love, at least not when the parents are involved in selecting a mate. She's just lost her baby which may have contributed to her mental instability.
Anyway, she heads into the mountains, taking solace in a lonely church, where an old lady has pity on her and takes her into her home. Meanwhile her husband's twin brothers are hot on her trail. When they get too close she is forced to steal a horse and head into the hills. She's starving when she meets “The Ridgerunner”; he's been on his own for eight years. He says he'll never leave, but he eventually does anyway, regretting it almost immediately.
Mary meets Henry, a Crow Indian, whose wife recommends she head for the coal mining town of Frank where she should search out Reverend Bonnycastle who will take care of her. Reverend “Bonny” is only one of the many eccentrics who appear in this novel which will remind you more than a little of Charles Frazier's COLD MOUNTAIN. There's a dwarf named McEchern who owns the general store in Frank. There's a human bloodhound who's helping the brothers track Mary. There's a lunatic who attended the same military school as Bonny. For some reason he's still in the RCMP, but he's allowed to leave whenever he feels the need to be rejuvenated by going to see his friend Bonny.
The brothers are bearing down on Mary when the novel explodes, literally, and we lose one of the novel's most lovable characters. Now we need to know if the brothers will ultimately track Mary down, and if “The Ridgerunner” and Mary will ever find each other again.
