Outlander Book Club: An Echo in the Bone Chapter 43 breakdown
Just the Outlander chapter
The chapter involves Bree and Roger reading a letter from Claire. Claire and Jamie are now at Fort Ticonderoga. They will be there for 23 days, and Roger works out that that is after General Burgoyne arrives. It’s Burgoyne who causes problems at the fort, and the MacKenzies just want the Frasers to get out.
Ian is away at this point, and later it comes out that he was bringing Claire some herbs. Now she’s running low on them, and she doesn’t like it. That’s not surprising considering the state of the fort. Claire has already described how bad the sanitary situation is.
Claire is also struggling with getting the fort’s doctor to listen to her. Dr. Thatcher does not believe in women doing the work of a man, and he will not allow Claire anywhere near the tools to do her job. That’s not surprising when you consider the time period. It’s that reminder that Claire is still in the past, even though Bree and Roger are back in the 20th century.
However, Claire has made a friend. She has Mrs. Raven, who Claire refers to as a “ghoul.” Mrs. Raven helps Claire treat her patients, and I think this is the only bit of a hint of how things could go. What will Mrs. Raven do?
We do find out the Hunters have arrived, and Claire can’t help but rave about Dr. John Hunter. Of course she would know who John is, and we get that hint that Claire and Denny are about to get along. Denny spoke highly of his uncle, and he’ll appreciate that someone else knows of John’s abilities.
What I really don’t understand is why Bree and Roger are so worried. Why do they get concerned about events that have already happened. It’s not like they can stop them! Plus, all they have to do is read more of the letters to find out what happened. The fact that they’ve ended up with the letters should say something.
The very end of the chapter takes us back to William. It turns out he’s found the British, and relatively easily compared to how hard it was for the Hunters to find the Contintenal Army. That’s not all too surprising when you consider there was no need for the British to hide. We meet Burgoyne, and there’s this sense that trouble is coming.