Outlander Book Club: Drums of Autumn Chapter 18 breakdown

Roger proposes to Brianna in Outlander Book 4, Chapter 18

Part Six comes to an end with Outlander Book 4, Chapter 18. We also see Brianna and Roger’s relationship almost come to an end.

This is one of those chapters filled with emotion and explanation. We learn so much about Brianna and her experiences growing up through one conversation with Roger, and it’s an essential part of the story.

We haven’t spent a lot of time in Brianna’s head up to this point. We also saw the story pretty much skip over her whole life up to after Frank’s death. The stories we’re told are about Claire’s life with Brianna and not actually about Bree. So, getting a chance to learn a little more about her is always a good thing, especially what she’s witnessed growing up.

It’s not surprising that the chapter was used on the TV show. It had to be. However, the timing and placement of the conversation was different. The ending was also slightly different, leading to more angst and drama between the couple than necessarily needed to be there.

That being said, it does foreshadow a few things that are to come. It also makes it clear that while Brianna is Claire’s daughter, she is not Claire.

It’s a relatively short chapter coming in at around 30 minutes. One of my complaints is that we don’t spend enough time with Brianna and Roger, and I would love a novella for the two of them to explain a few of the gaps in their stories leading up to 1968.

Let’s dive into Drums of Autumn Chapter 18.