Outlander Book Club: Book 2, Chapter 3 breakdown

Just the Outlander chapter

We start off with Claire and Brianna heading around some of the shops in Inverness. Claire thinks about how the Highlands became a destination for English tourists thanks to Queen Victoria. The area was finally considered “safe,” and it’s led to many of the touristy items throughout the shops.

There’s one item that stands out for me. Claire notes how the depiction of the Loch Ness Monster is inaccurate. When I first read this chapter, I’d forgotten about the part in the first Outlander novel where Claire sees the Loch Ness Monster for herself. This part didn’t make too much sense and I didn’t appreciate the connection. This time, I certainly have!

I also find some of the comments about telling if something is real or not. Claire comments that something more than £100 is likely real. Reading it in 2020, I come to wish that the value of money was still on the lower side. Inflation has a lot to answer for!

Also, the £1 note stands out. This is older money. I grew up without £1 notes, but my mom still had one in her purse and would show me it. It’s been switched for the coin now.

We do get to see Claire and Brianna connect during the trip around Scotland. Claire notes how Bree is still easily persuaded by chocolate, which gets Bree into the tea shop (yes, there are plenty of them around!) after spotting Roger’s car at the train car park. This is her chance to head up to the manse without Roger being around.

Brianna is clearly used to Claire’s memory. She doesn’t bat an eyelid that Claire has forgotten to mail something to the hospital. Of course, that’s just a story Claire is telling, but Bree doesn’t seem to mind at all. Obviously, we only see it from Claire’s view, which leads to many of the limitations I notice in first-person POV stories. I would love to see the trip to Scotland from Bree’s POV.

We don’t get to know why Claire wanted to go to the manse, exactly. She wants to speak to Fiona about Mrs. Graham, but it’s not clear why just yet.

Finally, Bree and Roger are heading to Culloden for the day. Claire knows she can’t face Culloden Battlefield, which isn’t surprising considering everything she lived through. So, she fakes an illness and sends Bree on her way.

Claire has candy bars and a mystery novel to keep her company since she knows Mrs. Thomas will likely snitch without realizing. However, I’m assuming Claire brought Hershey bars from the States with her. The UK is only just starting to see Hershey bars in specialist stores. They wouldn’t have been around in the 60s in Inverness! It would have been Cadbury’s.