Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Favorite Secondary/Minor Characters. I’ve decided to focus on supporting character from one particular series.
Last week marked the series finale of the Outlander TV series — but the book series continues, with author Diana Gabaldon still working on book #10, A Blessing For A Warrior Going Out. There’s no release date yet — here’s hoping it’s not too far off!
I have a lot of feelings about the series finale… but putting plot aside, what stays with me is how many wonderful characters are important to the story. With Outlander on my mind, I thought I’d highlight ten favorite supporting/secondary characters from the book series. (Yes, many of these appear in the TV version as well, but often with altered storylines and/or personality traits, so I’m focusing on the books!)
My top ten are:
- Brianna Randall Fraser MacKenzie: Bree is a controversial pick — plenty of people dislike her, particularly early in the series when she’s kind of bratty and mean to Claire (and it is NOT okay to be mean to Claire). Bree really grows up (and grew on me) over the course of the series. She’s smart, she’s fierce, she’s welcomed Jamie into her life, and she’s become a terrific daughter at long last. Plus, gotta love a woman who does things like inventing matches and plumbing in her spare time.
- Roger MacKenzie: Total sweetheart and all-around wonderful soul. He’s devoted to Bree, is a man of faith, and has stuck with the Fraser clan despite truly terrible things happening to him because of his association with them
- Ian Murray (Young Ian): The little baby nephew Jamie bonded with before being sent off to prison post-Culloden grew up into a teen in need of rescue, an adopted Mohawk warrior, and a surrogate son to Jamie. Ian’s devotion to the Frasers, to his wife, and to Rollo (RIP) are lovely.
- Lord John Grey: Lord John gets his own books to star in (and they’re well worth checking out, for those who haven’t explored outside of the main Outlander volumes), but he’s also a fantastic friend to Jamie, Claire, and Brianna.
- Hal Grey, Duke of Pardloe: He doesn’t appear much in the TV version, but book readers know and love Hal for his wit, his devotion to family, and the endlessly entertaining dynamic whenever he and Claire are in the same scene.
- Fergus Fraser: From a wee French pickpocket to an American patriot of the printing press, Fergus is an excellent son to Jamie, with a lovely marriage and family. He lights up his moments on the page.
- Dougal MacKenzie: Love him or hate him, there’s no denying that he’s the catalyst for so much of what happens early in the series.
- Murtagh Fitzgibbons Fraser: While book Murtagh doesn’t last nearly as long as TV Murtagh, he’s a crucial character nonetheless. Jamie’s godfather has his back no matter what, and comes through for him in critical moments.
- Jenny Fraser Murray: I love Jenny’s fire, her devotion to her husband and children, her brother, and their home. She’s a force to be reckoned with, and is just glorious whenever she gets a moment to shine.
- Rollo, Adso, Donas, and the other animals of Outlander: I mentioned Rollo earlier in relation to Ian… but honestly, the various animals of this series deserve a shout-out of their own!
Stopping at ten means I have to omit so many others! So I’ll just a quick word of praise for all the rest of Diana Gabaldon’s amazing characters… including Marsali, Rachel, Denzel, Dottie, all the various grandchildren, William (can’t forget William!), Mother Hildegard… well, I could just go on and on until I name every single one!
If you’re an Outlander fan: who are your favorite supporting characters?
If you wrote a TTT post this week, please share your link!
Bookshelf Fantasies 