What’s on my mind this week? The two book-ish happenings that really got me thinking in the past couple of days were:
- Finished reading Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness
- Jumped up and down after hearing that Outlander might, just might, be made into a TV series or mini-series.
… which led me to this:
Outlander vs Shadow of Night — compare and contrast!
Teensy disclaimer: I’m not taking this too seriously, and neither should you. But just for fun, I started my own little list of the various ways SON made me think of OL. (Keep up with the acronyms, OK? We’re too busy here to keep typing out the full book titles.) I started meandering down this random path early on in SON, when I began chuckling over Diana’s soul-deep shock over discovering what being a woman in the 16th century really felt like. As a historian professor, she thought she was prepared, but boy, is there a difference between knowing information and living it!
Diana’s experiences made me think immediately of Claire Beauchamp Randall of Outlander, who was rudely thrust back in time and just had to deal with it, no warning, no preparation, no nothing.
With that in mind, here goes — a quick OL/SON primer (minor spoilers, so beware!):
| Claire (Outlander) |
Diana (Shadow of Night) |
|
| Degree | MD | PhD |
| Belongs in | 1946 | 2009 |
| Travels back in time | About 200 years | About 400 years |
| Anything fishy? | Accused of being a witch | Actually is a witch |
| Challenges | Learning how to dress appropriately | Ditto |
| Learning a woman’s place | Ditto | |
| Being criticized for speaking her mind | Ditto | |
| Treated with respect by those she meets? | Relevant quote: “There seemed to be some question as whether the lady was or was not a whore.” | Relevant quote: “I had no idea there was a brothel in Woodstock that specialized in over-tall women. Most of your whores are more delicate and appealing.” |
| Love interest | Taller than average, remarkably good-looking Scot | Taller than average, remarkably good-looking vampire |
| Lover’s talents | Leader of men, warrior, has a gift for languages | Leader of men, warrior, has a gift for languages |
| Lover’s connections | Historical connections include Bonnie Prince Charlie, King Louis, Governor Tryon, and many more | Historical connections include William Raleigh, Christopher Marlowe, Queen Elizabeth, and many more |
| Royal interest | Bedded by Louis XV, King of France | Pursued by Rudolf II of Prague, Holy Roman Emperor |
| Ability to time travel | Genetic inheritance | Genetic inheritance |
| Ease of time travel | Painful and scary, but it can be done | Difficult and requires great concentration, but it can be done |
| Scary witches? | Geillis Duncan, murderous and crazy | Satu, Peter Knox, and a host of others, murderous and fanatical |
| Must stand up to | Colum MacKenzie, clan chieftain, a fearsome and exceedingly smart leader | Phillipe de Clermont, patriarch, a fearsome and exceedingly smart leader |
| Endures time displacement in order to be with the love of her life? | Anything for Jamie! | Anything for Matthew! |
There you have it in a nutshell, the trials and tribulations of Claire and Diana, two well-educated modern women who move through time, endure hardships galore and suffer countless fashion outrages, all in the name of love.
What did I miss? Add your thoughts!
PS – I seem to be formatting-challenged today. Don’t know why my cute little table has weird shading, and can’t make it go away. Yikes. Will try to be prettier next time.
Bookshelf Fantasies 