Gabaldon's Outlander is a literary gem because it incorporates appealing, in-depth history, action-adventure, and time-travel elements with romance at its core. Although quite lengthy at over eight hundred pages, it is extremely engaging and hard to put down. Readers will be rapt in finding out whether the heroine, Claire Randall stays behind in 1743 Scotland or if she makes it back to 1945.
Summary:
In 1945, nurse Claire Randall is spending time with her husband in the midst of the history-ridden Scotland, when suddenly she finds herself thrust back in time to the year 1743. Very familiar to Scottish lore and history compliments of her 1945 historian husband Frank, Claire realizes she faces trials and tribulations in surviving the country's version of itself in 1743.
On her journey, Claire befriends and falls in love with young warrior Jamie Fraser, who is the polar opposite of Frank Randall. Struggling to uphold her values and keep her sanity, Claire must decide between trying to find a way back to her intellectual husband in 1945, or succumb to staying in 1743 Scotland with her fierce, yet passionate lover Jamie.