OUTLANDER vs. CROSS STITCH, part 3

Here are the rest of the differences I found between OUTLANDER and CROSS STITCH.

Please note, all quotes from OUTLANDER and CROSS STITCH listed below are copyright© 1991 by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.

All page references below come from either the CROSS STITCH mass-market paperback edition, or the OUTLANDER hardcover edition.

CHAPTER 31

From the scene where Murtagh and Claire are talking over breakfast at Lallybroch:
"Did she think I might be a witch?" I asked curiously.
(OUTLANDER p. 475)
----------------------

I took a deep breath, almost fearing to ask what must come next. I had tried as hard as I could to forget those few moments near the loch, but the memory of Geillis Duncan was impossible to escape. A murderous woman, and plainly mad, but courageous nonetheless, and linked to me in a way that could not be denied, no matter what I felt for Geillis herself.
'And...Mrs. Duncan?' I asked softly. Murtagh paused for a moment, long enough to scratch one stubbled cheek, then bent his attention to mopping up the last dribble of honey on his plate with a blunt forefinger.
'Imprisoned,' he said briefly. 'Till the babe's born.'
'Imprisoned? You don't mean...not the thieves' hole?' The thought of anyone spending weeks and months in frigid darkness, let alone a pregnant woman, was appalling. The ivory bracelets clicked softly together as I clasped my hands in my lap.
Murtagh shook his head, still not looking at me.
'Nay. In the castle. Callum will keep her under ward, until the time to deliver her to the examiners.' He glanced at me then, with what might be a flicker of compassion.
'Dinna fret yourself; Mrs. Fitz will care for her--and the wean, when it's born. She'll find it a good home.'
This thought was a comfort, if a small one. I would trust Mrs. Fitz with my own wean, if I had one.
"Did she believe I was a witch--Mrs. Fitz, I mean?"
I asked curiously.
(CROSS STITCH pp. 655-56)

Almost a whole page, that doesn't appear at all in OUTLANDER. Verrry interesting! <g> But note that this version of events is contradicted by what we learn in VOYAGER, from Geillie herself, about how and where she spent the last part of her pregnancy.

Ronald MacNab arrives at Lallybroch riding a "garron" (CS p. 657), not a mule as in OUTLANDER.

This next quote makes me laugh, because I can't see the phrase "Lady of Lallybroch" without thinking of the Ladies of Lallybroch fan site.
"To be lady of a manor, or to sleep in the fields like a gypsy?" (OUTLANDER p. 480)
"To be Lady of Lallybroch, or to sleep in the fields like a gypsy?" (CS p. 661)

CHAPTER 34

Several references to Beauly have been removed or altered:
"And the winter would set in shortly, making travel to Beauly impossible"
"No, most likely northeast, toward Beauly." (OUTLANDER p. 499)

"And the winter would set in shortly, making travel impossible."
"No, most likely northeast, towards Leoch." (CS p. 687)

This next bit seems to be a follow-up to the scene I mentioned earlier, telling the story of what happened to Geillis Duncan:
"Sent to the devil in a pllar of flame, under the branches of a rowan tree."

'I thought she wasn't to...die until after the baby was born.' He glanced at me, still smiling, but I noticed the trickle of sweat making its way down the side of his neck. 'It's come. The wean was birthed afore time. Small, but a bonny boy nonetheless, strong and kicking, and yelling for the breast at once. He's his mother's eyes, the wee devil.' I thought at first this merciless recitation of detail was meant to impress me, but I was wrong. (CS p. 699)

The part in red is missing from my OUTLANDER hardcover. (But say hello to Roger's ancestor, William Buccleigh MacKenzie <g>)

CHAPTER 35

BJR's aide, Marley, is described as an "orderly" in OUTLANDER, but the word isn't used in CROSS STITCH as far as I can tell. For example:
Jamie whirled away and feinted with the stool, forcing the orderly back toward the door. (OUTLANDER p. 530)
Jamie whirled away and feinted with the stool, forcing the man back towards the door. (CS p. 730)

CHAPTER 36

Spelling purists might disagree about this next one <g>:
"two large whiskys" (CS p. 754)
"two large whiskies" (OUTLANDER p. 547)

This one, I only noticed because the word "glowing" caught my eye, and I was surprised, when I went to check, that there was indeed a difference in the text, though it wasn't what I'd thought:
"the lovely glowing Sheraton desk in the corner" (OUTLANDER p. 551)
"the lovely glowing walnut desk in the corner" (CS p. 759)

This might be British usage, but apparently a thumb doesn't count as a finger? As an American, this seems odd to me.
"All five fingers eventually lay straight as new pins" (OUTLANDER p. 554)
"All five digits eventually lay straight as new pins" (CS p. 764)

CHAPTER 37

Note the changed geographical reference:
"insure our passage across the Channel." (OUTLANDER p. 564)
"insure our passage across the North Sea." (CS p. 777)
This last one is just strange, and misses the whole point of Claire's question, IMHO:
"if he knows he's going to be seasick, why in God's name did he insist on a boat?" (OUTLANDER p. 568)
"if he knows he's going to be seasick, why in God's name did he insist on travelling to France?" (CS p. 783)

CHAPTER 38

A few very minor things in the Abbey section of the book:
"Matins" in OUTLANDER (p. 573) becomes "Prime" in CROSS STITCH (p. 790)
"broth" (OUTLANDER) becomes "soup" (CS) in at least half a dozen places that I noticed (p. 795, for example)

CHAPTER 40

"Alex" (OUTLANDER) becomes "Alick" (CS) - this becomes very obvious toward the end of the book, because Jamie's uncle Alex the abbot, and BJR's brother Alex, and Alex MacGregor, are all called "Alick" in CROSS STITCH. ("Tell me that you love me, Alick", CS p. 845, for example.)

Here's one more changed geographical reference:
"on this side of the sea" (CS p. 846)
"on this side of the channel" (OUTLANDER p. 614)

Conclusion


And so I've come to the end of the book at last. This has been a very interesting experience, reading CROSS STITCH, but I still say I like OUTLANDER better.

I hope you've found these posts helpful. If you want to see the changes I found in earlier parts of the book, look here:

OUTLANDER vs. CROSS STITCH, part 1
OUTLANDER vs. CROSS STITCH, part 2

9 comments

Cristina H said...

When I read Outlander originally, I had noticed the "Sheraton" reference & thought that it might be a mistake. Sheraton designed furniture in the late 18th century (1791-1803) and thus the piece couldn't have existed as "Sheraton" at the time.

Thanks so much for all the references, Karen. I am still awaiting my mother-in-law and my copy of Cross Stitch. Though when I asked her for it, she said "I didn't know you were interested in sewing!"

Karen Henry said...

Some of these changes do appear to have been done for legitimate reasons, but many of them are just baffling.

Karen

Sandra Gaskell said...

thanks karen, i must try to get hold of a copy of Outlander, ive got Cross Stitch. another difference i think is how claire arrived at the Stones in CS she borrowed Mrs B's bike, but in Dragonfly Roger reads in newpaper cuttings about her going missing, that her car was found but claire there was no sign of.

Pat said...

Petrol was still rationed in 1946 and not many people had cars anyway so the bike is much more likely!
As for the North Sea/Channel confusion this looks like Diana's geography again - the channel is just the bit between the south coast of England and France, if Jamie wanted to go that way he'd have had to go by road all the way to Dover (c500 miles). From Beauly it is certainly the North Sea they were crossing.
You're right - we don't count the thumb as a finger! we have 4 fingers and a thumb!
Can't understand the soup/broth one as Scottish soup is frequently broth. (I think it's broth if it has barley in it but don't quote me)

Anonymous said...

Thumbs are not fingers in the UK, so this change makes sense to me.
As does the seasickness change with insist on a boat / insist on travelling to France. Even now most people in the UK don't fly to France, so the crossing of water is implied there.
Also broth isn't used very much here at all. These make sense to me, the rest...

Some of the changes really frustrate me!! There was no need for it, but thank you very much for finding the changes. It's very interesting to read.

mmpaca said...

Very interesting to see the bit about fingers versus digits pop up here. I've just been "reading" An Echo In The Bone in audio book form. In the passage where Claire describes in detail the operation in which she removes the remains of Jamie's finger that had been so cruelly mangled back in Wentworth Castle all those years earlier, I found myself thoroughly confused when she cut the finger free and then sewed up the gap between the third and fifth fingers. Very puzzling to this British heritaged New Zealander until I figured out that Diana had counted the thumb in as Jamie's first finger :-)

GaryK said...

Karen
I am reading Cross Stitch (hardcover) while listening to Davina Porter reading Outlander in my earpiece. Originally, I thought Cross Stitch to be the manuscript or uncorrected Advance Readers Copy (ARC) and I felt special for the experience. Now that your blog has corrected my thoughts, I too am very surprised as to the significant number of changes between Cross Stitch and Outlander - sometimes a word or two but other times missing or additional sentences. I started to keep track of the changes but there are too many. I am surprised that the copy editor could do that to a writer’s work especially Diana Gabaldon’s writing.
Are the UK editions of the other Outlander books different?
I have noticed changes between “The Space Between” while reading in the UK copy of “Trail of Fire” compared to the audio read by Davina Porter.
Thank you for your effort at this blog and the LitForum

Unknown said...

Hi. It seems that we - England, have the censored version of book 1 - Outlander. A very sexy couple of pages were put on Instagram just after the raid where Jamie, Dougal and his men had to protect the wagon, rent money and the horses from the Grants. It seems us English are prudes!!! So, how do i get a copy of Outlander with no sentences, paragraphs, chapters and pages missing?

Unknown said...

Hi there. I have just read all 3 parts outlining the differences between the 2 books. After reading Cross Stitch for the 1st time 25years ago, I am only now reading all the changes that were made. I am so grateful to find out what Diana originally wrote for Outlander !! So many changes that just don't make any sense. A bit crazy.

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