Outlander Book Club: An Echo in the Bone Chapter 23 breakdown

William realizes Denys Randall-Isaacs is up to something in Outlander Book 7, Chapter 23

The time has come to meet Denys Randall-Isaacs in Outlander Book 7, Chapter 23. It’s clear immediately that he is the son of Mary Hawkins, but how much does he know?

I love this chapter for bringing the son of Jamie Fraser in a storyline that involves the “son” of Black Jack Randall. Denys believes that he is Jack’s son. Remember that Mary and Jack married, but Mary was already pregnant with Alex Randall’s child. The marriage was purely to protect Mary financially, and nobody can find out the truth.

There are some who question whether Denys knows the full truth, but I don’t think he does. If he did, there would have likely been something somewhere that meant Frank would have found out the truth. Mary would have kept the secret for as long as she lived, knowing that it was the only way to keep her son safe. It’s very much like everyone allowing William to believe that he is the son of Lord Ellesmere and not the son of Jamie.

I do see a little bit of foreshadowing in this chapter. I’ll get to that in the relevant section. When it comes to the adaptation, I hope that we see this play out. It’s clear that Denys is up to something, and I would love to see the next generation of Fraser and Randall on their journeys, especially as they are currently on the same side.

Let’s dive into An Echo in the Bone Chapter 23.