Outlander Book Club: The Fiery Cross Chapter 36 breakdown

Just the Outlander chapter

The chapter starts with Claire making penicillin. She’s managed to create the exact mold spores she needs and knows the foods that will help in the future. We get to know a little bit of the process to make the penicillin from the spores, and Claire has to hope that it all works for her upcoming surgery.

That surgery? She needs to remove the tonsils from the Beardsley twins. Josiah goes first, with Lizzy remaining to support him. We get that sense that she’s willing to make herself uncomfortable for the sake of others, showing off her good heart.

The penicillin isn’t injected, which Jamie brings up considering what happened to him back in Voyager. Claire points out that she’s not trying to cure an infection with this penicillin, which the Beardsley twins drink as a broth. She’s trying to prevent an infection from happening after the surgery.

The surgery for both boys goes well. She manages to remove the tonsils with minimal bleeding, and we’re left to believe that the two will recover well. However, Keziah Beardsley faints after his surgery.

We end the chapter with a lot of positivity. The Beardsley twins see that Claire really is a skilled healer, and Claire has her penicillin now. She can do something to help the people on the Ridge, even if it isn’t exactly what she would have in the 1960s. It’s just a start.