Outlander Book Club: Dragonfly in Amber Chapter 2 breakdown

Just the Outlander Book 2 chapter

We start the chapter with Roger doing his research. He’s trying to piece together what happened to the men on the list. Of course, it’s not going to be easy. The names on the list are extremely common names, which is something Roger notes in his thoughts.

In fact, when he thinks he’s found the names of the men, he realizes that he’s wrong. Those names are of different men who died at Culloden.

It turns out that Reverend Wakefield’s library of information could be just what he needs. That could hold some of the information, but he’s started with Culloden and Fort William first.

One thing that he does note, though, is that James Fraser’s name isn’t on Claire’s list. He has to wonder why that is, especially when it looks like James Fraser of Broch Turach was the captain of the small group of men, men who have been linked to Lord Lovat in their historical records despite Claire saying they weren’t from him.

This is something that does come up later in the chapter. Claire is certain that James Fraser, who we know is Jamie, died at Culloden. She’s so certain that it suggests she’s already done that research. Or maybe she just feels it in her soul. It certainly raises more questions for Roger, though.

In fact, when Roger continues his research that night, he finds papers of Claire returning “from the dead.” Or maybe she’d been “with the fairies.” Roger realizes that Claire Randall went missing for three years. She returned in 1948, but not alone. She was pregnant. This is when Roger realizes that Brianna isn’t Frank Randall’s biological daughter.

Now he feels this weight to him. But he realizes that it’s possible Claire is going to tell Brianna while in Scotland. Roger theorizes that James Fraser is the name of the man Claire had an affair with, although he doesn’t assume the Jacobite soldier for obvious reasons. He also theorizes that Craigh na Dun has something to do with it since Claire asks that Roger doesn’t take Brianna there when they’re going some research together.

It certainly leaves him with more questions than answers, and we know there’s more to come of this.