Outlander Book Club: The Scottish Prisoner Chapter 18 breakdown

Quinn is back in The Scottish Prisoner Chapter 18, but the focus is on Tom Byrd’s discussion of choice. It’s all about dueling.

When the topic of Jamie’s last duel comes up, it brings some bad memories. We see John step in to protect Jamie from those memories. After all, Lord John Grey notices things and he knows that there is something in Jamie’s past that is dark and hideous.

Quinn doesn’t get to be a part of the conversation, and that’s probably the way it should be.

Breaking down The Scottish Prisoner Chapter 18

We learn that Quinn needs to be with Lord John Grey and Jamie. He’s the one who knows the way to Inchcleraun. Tom is with them now, as well.

The topic of dueling comes up thanks to a book that Tom had brought along the journey for John. This leads to John daydreaming about dueling with Siverly, but Tom interrupts it all with discussions of last duels. He knows about Jamie dueling with “some Englishman” in France, leading to Jamie being imprisoned in the Bastile.

Jamie’s face goes dark, and Lord John Grey senses that this isn’t a story to share. So, he decides to share his own story of when he dueled Nicholls in The Custom of the Army, leading to the man’s death. Well, it wasn’t John who killed the man, but he thought he did for a while.

This is when Quinn joins the conversation. When John mentions the name Dr. Hunter, Quinn shares that the man has the nickname “The Body Snatcher.” This is when he shares his fear of being kidnapped and anatomized like a criminal.

While Jamie and Quinn joke a little, John thinks about Ardsmuir and the way John and Jamie would discuss French novels. He misses the easiness of their relationship in Ardsmuir. Was it all that easy for Jamie, though?

As Tom whistles a tune, the topic of the anti-Catholic feelings around come up. Quinn notes that Jamie wouldn’t recognize the tune as he doesn’t hear music. So, he would only hear the words. This tells John that Quin and Jamie know each other, and now John realizes that he and Jamie no longer have the honesty they once had.

Could the chapter be used in a TV adaptation?

Some of this chapter would certainly be needed in the TV series when it comes to Quinn’s knowledge of Jamie. The problem is the TV series hasn’t set up Jamie’s inability to hear music. So, if The Scottish Prisoner was used as a TV series, something else would be needed to show that Quinn and Jamie have a history.

A lot of this chapter doesn’t really connect to the plot, though. It’s great to have to show the journey to the abbey, but it’s not completely necessary. So, if there wasn’t that much time available to tell the whole story, I could see this chapter being missed.

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