Have you ever wondered what your ancestors were really like? I'm sure there are photos and stories of weddings and family gatherings and such, but there are some things that we may never truly know. I'm not talking about your great aunt whom some of your family had actually met, I mean more, say 200 years ago.
In the Starz hit TV show based on the novel Outlander, Frank Randall has set out to do just that. Now, the show actually has very little to do with Frank Randall, it actually follows his wife, Claire. On their second honeymoon in 1945, right after they both were sent home from fighting in the British Army in the second World War, the couple traveled to Scotland to discover more about Frank's lineage. In his research, Frank finds much about his ancestor, the British Army Captain Johnathan Randall, also known as Black Jack Randall. Throughout the show, we find rather quickly that he more than earns this title.
How do we find this out, you may ask? Well, it is difficult to fully know people just by doing research, but by going back in time and actually meeting them, one can see them in action. This is what happens to Claire, accidentally of course. She finds this circle of stones, kind of like Stonehenge but without the stones laid across the tops, and with the help of fairy magic, she travels back in time to the year 1743. She is taken in by the clan MacKenzie, but not before having a rough encounter with Black Jack Randall. Claire was an army nurse in the war, and her healing abilities gain her a good reputation with the clan members, but she is "English in a place that's not a pretty thing to be" and they do not fully trust her. See, the British were occupying Scotland at this time, and what Claire knew, but the locals obviously didn't, was that eventually the British would win and the Highlander way of life would be snuffed out.
Claire finds friends, such as the very kind Mrs. Fitzgibbons and the "strapping red-haired man" Jaime who make her time as prisoner/guest at the MacKenzie castle bearable. However, she does not forget about the possibility of getting back to the stone circle to return to her own time and husband who shares a striking resemblance with his ancestor Black Jack Randall (they are played by the same actor).
In the rolling hills of the beautifully green Scotland, Outlander tells a tale of love and adventure and is such a fantastic show, I think I just may have to read the book!
