The Outlander Series 7-Book Bundle (636 page)

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Authors: Diana Gabaldon

BOOK: The Outlander Series 7-Book Bundle

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This book is for my Sister, Theresa Gabaldon,
with whom I told the first Stories.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author’s profound thanks to …

… my editor, Jackie Cantor, always the book’s champion above all.

… my agent, Russ Galen, who’s always on my side, with shield and lance.

… Stacey Sakal, Tom Leddy, and the other wonderful Production people who have sacrificed their time, talent, and mental health to the production of this book.

… Kathy Lord, that rarest and most delightful of creatures, an excellent copy editor.

… Virginia Norey, the book’s designer
(aka Book Goddess),
who somehow managed to fit the Whole Thing between two covers and make it look great.

… Irwyn Applebaum and Nita Taublib, publisher and deputy publisher, who came to the party, and brought their stuff.

… Rob Hunter and Rosemary Tolman, for unpublished information on the War of the Regulation and their very colorful and interesting ancestors, James Hunter and Hermon Husband.
(No, I don’t make all these people up; just some of them.)

… Beth and Matthew Shope, and Liz Gaspar, for information on North Carolina Quaker history and beliefs.
(And we do note as a matter of strict accuracy that Hermon Husband was not technically a Quaker at the time of this story, having been put out of the local Meeting for being too inflammatory.)

… Bev LaFlamme, Carol Krenz, and their
(respectively)
French and French-Canadian husbands
(who no doubt wonder just what sort of friends their wives have, anyway)
, for expert opinions on the subtleties of French bowel movements, and help with Very Picturesque French idioms.

… Roger H.P. Coleman, R.W. Odlin, Ron Parker, Ann Chapman, Dick Lodge, Olan Watkins, and many members of the Compuserve Masonic Forum for information on Freemasonry and Irregular Lodges, circa 1755
(which was a good bit prior to the establishment of the Scottish Rite, so let’s not bother writing me about that, shall we?)

… Karen Watson and Ron Parker, for advice on WWII London Tube Stations—with which I proceeded to take minor technical liberties.

… Steven Lopata, Hall Elliott, Arnold Wagner, R.G. Schmidt, and Mike Jones, honorable warriors all, for useful discussions of how men think and behave, before, during, and after battle.

… R.G. Schmidt and several other nice persons whose names I unfortunately forgot to write down, who contributed bits and pieces of helpful information regarding Cherokee belief, language, and custom.
(The bear-hunting chant ending with “Yoho!” is a matter of historical record. There are lots of things I couldn’t make up if I tried.)

… the Chemodurow family, for generously allowing me to take liberties with their personae, in portraying them as Russian swineherds.
(Russian boars really were imported into North Carolina for hunting in the18th century. This may have something to do with the popularity of barbecue in the South.)

… Laura Bailey, for invaluable advice and commentary on 18th century costume and customs—most of which I paid careful attention to.

… Susan Martin, Beth Shope, and Margaret Campbell, for expert opinions on the flora, fauna, geography, weather, and mental climate of North Carolina
(and all of whom wish to note that only a barbarian would put tomatoes in barbecue sauce)
. Aberrations in these aspects of the story are a result of inadvertence, literary license, and/or pigheadedness on the part of the author.

… Janet McConnaughey, Varda Amir-Orrel, Kim Laird, Elise Skidmore, Bill Williams, Arlene McCrea, Lynne Sears Williams, Babs Whelton, Joyce McGowan, and the dozens of other kind and helpful people of the Compuserve Writers Forum, who will answer any silly question at the drop of a hat, especially if it has anything to do with maiming, murder, disease, quilting, or sex.

… Dr. Ellen Mandell, for technical advice on how to hang someone, then cut his throat, and not kill him in the process. Any errors in the execution of this advice are mine.

… Piper Fahrney, for his excellent descriptions of what it feels like to be taught to fight with a sword.

… David Cheifetz, for dragon-slaying.

… Iain MacKinnon Taylor, for his invaluable help with Gaelic translations, and his lovely suggestions for Jamie’s bonfire speech.

… Karl Hagen, for advice on Latin grammar, and to Barbara Schnell, for Latin and German bits, to say nothing of her stunning translations of the novels into German.

… Julie Weathers, my late father-in-law, Max Watkins, and Lucas, for help with the horses.

… the Ladies of Lallybroch, for their enthusiastic and continuing moral support, including the thoughtful international assortment of toilet paper.

… the several hundred people who have kindly and voluntarily sent me interesting information on everything from the development and uses of penicillin to the playing of bodhrans, the distribution of red spruce, and the way possum tastes
(I’m told it’s greasy, in case you were wondering)
.

… and to my husband, Doug Watkins, for the last line of the book.

—Diana Gabaldon
www.dianagabaldon.com

A BREATH OF SNOW AND ASHES

A Delacorte Press Book / October 2005

Published by Bantam Dell

A Division of Random House, Inc.

New York, New York

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Delacorte Press is a registered trademark of Random House, Inc., and the colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data on file with the publisher.

www.bantamdell.com

eISBN: 978-0-440-33565-8

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Contents

Master - Table of Contents

A Breath of Snow and Ashes