Outlander Book Club: The Scottish Prisoner Chapter 34 breakdown

John is healed enough to walk to Hal’s library in The Scottish Prisoner Chapter 34. From there, John and Jamie are able to have a discussion.

This is a short chapter that focuses on things that are coming up. We’re caught up with a few events, while also finding out how John and Hal are trying to put things right for Jamie after treating him so poorly.

There are some hints in this chapter about decisions that Jamie could have made without Claire’s warning. It reminds John that maybe he can’t fully trust Jamie.

Breaking down The Scottish Prisoner Chapter 34

After eating and enjoying the visit from his nephews, John feels a little more revived. He tests his injured leg and realizes that it’s fine to walk to the library on. Jamie is in there, opening the door for a conversation between the two of them.

John learns that Jamie carried him to the cab. He wishes that he was awake for that, and I can see why. Wouldn’t you wish you could be awake to remember being carried by a man you admire? We’re reminded that John continues to be ruled by his feelings.

The conversation moves on to Jamie sharing that Hal has offered to pay him enough to help support his family and tenants in Scotland. This is a great way to understand why Lallybroch was able to survive the destruction that Culloden left behind while others couldn’t. Sure, Jenny knew to plant potatoes, but Jamie was also able to help.

We then learn about where we are in the court martial trial. There have been arrests made from the Wild Hunt poem, and John worries about Jamie if he needs to testify. Jamie makes it clear that he doesn’t know where Quinn is, but if he did, he wouldn’t tell anyone. In fact, he would send a message of warning to Quinn because they were friends once.

This makes John realize that he can’t quite trust Jamie. It’s also a great foreshadow of the side of the war Jamie would eventually be on in America. I do have to wonder if he would have fought with the Jacobites had he not had Claire’s warning that things would fail after Culloden.

Could this chapter be used in a TV adaptation?

This is one of those chapters that catches us up on a few things, but we wouldn’t really need it in the show if The Scottish Prisoner was adapted. There are other ways to catch us up with this information, such as actually showing us it.

The real part that we need is when Jamie tells John that he and Quinn were friends once. We need to see that doubt cross John’s mind, and we need to see that Jamie will always be loyal to those he cares about. It just doesn’t always look like loyalty. He’s a fair man.

Let us know what you spotted in this chapter via Facebook and Twitter