We find out how the paper got the wrong date in Outlander Book 6, Epilogue 2
After finding out the fire happened 11 months after the newspaper date, we find out what went on in Outlander Book 6, Epilogue 2. It’s time to understand the mistake.
It’s actually a very easy mistake. It all comes down to the printer not even caring about getting the news right. He thinks it’s best to change the month than to change everything about a page. I’d love to know if Jamie would agree with this considering he worked as a printer. I’d also love to know Fergus’s thoughts on the matter.
The chapter itself doesn’t offer too much in the way of pushing the story forward. It doesn’t give us too much to work with in An Echo in the Bone, but there is a tiny bit of foreshadowing. After all, who wrote about it and said that Claire and Jamie had died?
Will it appear in the TV series? This is something I’m not too sure about. To be honest, with the way the show changed the paper’s date, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was completely skipped over. I’ll get to my thoughts on that in the adaptation section.
Let’s dive into A Breath of Snow and Ashes Epilogue 2.
Just the Outlander chapter
The chapter starts at the printer. We’re back in North Carolina in 1776, and it’s all about the Big House fire. We finally get to understand the reason behind the misprint. Did something in history change?
Well, it turns out that the printer got it knowingly wrong. In fact, the printer didn’t even care about getting it right. The printer’s apprentice, Sampson, decides that the obituary will make a good write-up with a piece about General Washington’s address. The piece about Washington doesn’t fill the page, so rather than have a blank spot, Sampson thinks the obituary is perfect.
But it’s old news. Printer Amos Crupp is confused about this. Why would they print old news? Sampson explains that the entire page is in Baskerville 12-point, and it turns out the stencil for December is missing. Instead of dealing with that, Sampson thought January 1776 would work as a date. Amos doesn’t really care; it’s not like anyone from the fire is alive now. Why would they care?
Finally, a mystery has been solved. We still don’t know who shared the news, since it only came from a “subscriber,” but the mystery behind the date finally makes sense. This was a printer error on purpose. It would cost less to print the wrong date on the obituary than change the font of the address.
Foreshadowing in the Outlander chapter
The foreshadowing in this is the “subscriber.” It’s clear that there is still something to come up when it comes to An Echo in the Bone. We need to know who shared the details that Claire and Jamie were dead. After all, we all know that wasn’t true. With the Bugs being kicked off the Ridge by this point, was it them?
We learn that it was Tom Christie. He’d assumed the worst, but why would he share that Claire and Jamie had no children? Something doesn’t make sense.
Adapting A Breath of Snow and Ashes chapter
The series likely won’t include this storyline. Claire and Jamie haven’t really focused on why the date could be wrong. Plus, in the series, there isn’t a year. The year was smudged, and that’s all really just been put down to the printer not really caring enough. We don’t really need to understand this mystery.
There are a lot of other things to focus on from An Echo in the Bone. Do we really need to see that a printer chose to print the wrong date because of a problem with the font? I just don’t think it’s important enough.
What did you spot while reading A Breath of Snow and Ashes Epilogue 2? Let us know in the comments below.
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