Diana Gabaldon - Wikipedia

Diana Gabaldon - Wikipedia

Diana Gabaldon

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Diana Gabaldon
Diana Gabaldon (2017)
Born	January 11, 1952 (age 69) Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S.
Occupation	Novelist, professor
Period	1991–present
Genre	Speculative fiction, historical fiction, historical romance, historical mystery, historical fantasy, scientific literature
Notable works	Science Software Quarterly Outlander series Lord John series
Spouse	Doug Watkins
Children	Sam Sykes (son) 2 daughters
Website
www.dianagabaldon.com

Diana J. Gabaldon (/ˈɡæbəldoʊn/;^[1] born January 11, 1952) is an American author, known for the Outlander series of novels. Her books merge multiple genres, featuring elements of historical fiction, romance, mystery, adventure and science fiction/fantasy.^[2] A television adaptation of the Outlander novels premiered on Starz in 2014.^[3][4]

Contents

• 1Early life and education
• 2Career
  • 2.1Novels
• 3Personal life
• 4Bibliography
  • 4.1Outlander series
    • 4.1.1Main series
    • 4.1.2Short works
    • 4.1.3Related
  • 4.2Lord John series
    • 4.2.1Novellas
  • 4.3Other works
  • 4.4Scientific works
• 5Adaptations
• 6Reception and awards
• 7References
• 8External links

Early life and education[edit]

Gabaldon was born on January 11, 1952, in Scottsdale, Arizona, United States, the daughter of Jacqueline Sykes and Tony Gabaldon (1931–1998), an Arizona state senator from Flagstaff for sixteen years and later a supervisor of Coconino County.^[5][6][7] Her father was of Mexican ancestry, and her mother was of English descent.^[8][9]

Gabaldon grew up in Flagstaff, Arizona.^[8] She earned a bachelor of science in zoology from Northern Arizona University, 1970–1973; a master of science in marine biology from the University of California, San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, 1973–1975; and a PhD in behavioral ecology from Northern Arizona University, 1975–1978.^[8][10]

Career[edit]

Gabaldon was the founding editor of Science Software Quarterly in 1984 while employed at the Center for Environmental Studies at Arizona State University.^[11] During the mid-1980s, Gabaldon wrote software reviews and technical articles for computer publications, as well as popular-science articles and Disney comics.^[10] She was a professor with an expertise in scientific computation at ASU for 12 years before leaving to write full-time.^[10][12]

Novels[edit]

Gabaldon signing books at the 2017 Phoenix Comicon

In 1988, Gabaldon decided to write a novel for "practice, just to learn how", and with no intention to show it to anyone.^[13] As a research professor, she decided that a historical novel would be easiest to research and write,^[13] but she had no background in history and initially no particular time period in mind.^[8] Gabaldon happened to see a rerun episode of the Doctor Who science fiction TV series titled "The War Games."^[14] One of the Doctor's companions was a Scot from around 1745, a young man about 17 years old named Jamie McCrimmon, who provided the initial inspiration for her main male character, James Fraser, and for her novel's mid-18th century Scotland setting.^[8][13][14] Gabaldon decided to have "an Englishwoman to play-off all these kilted Scotsmen," but her female character "took over the story and began telling it herself, making smart-ass modern remarks about everything."^[13]

To explain the character's modern behavior and attitudes, Gabaldon chose to use time travel.^[13] Writing the novel at a time "when the World Wide Web didn't exist," she did her research "the old-fashioned way, by herself, through books."^[8] Later, Gabaldon posted a short excerpt of her novel on the CompuServe Literary Forum, where author John E. Stith introduced her to literary agent Perry Knowlton.^[13][15] Knowlton represented her based on an unfinished first novel, tentatively titled Cross Stitch. Her first book deal was for a trilogy, the first novel plus two then-unwritten sequels. Her U.S. publishers changed the first book's title to Outlander, but the title remained unchanged in the U.K. According to Gabaldon, her British publishers liked the title Cross Stitch, a play on "a stitch in time"; however, the American publisher said it "sounded too much like embroidery" and wanted a more "adventurous" title.^[13] When her second book was finished, Gabaldon resigned her faculty position at Arizona State University to become a full-time author.^[10]

As of 2014, the Outlander series comprises eight published novels. The ninth installment, Go Tell the Bees That I am Gone, will be published on November 23, 2021.^[16] Gabaldon also published The Exile (An Outlander Graphic Novel) in 2010. The Lord John series is a spin-off from the Outlander books, centering on a secondary character from the original series.

Personal life[edit]

Gabaldon lives in Scottsdale, Arizona with her husband Doug Watkins, with whom she has three adult children.^[9][12] Her son, Sam Sykes, is also a fantasy writer.

Gabaldon is a Roman Catholic.^[17][18]

Bibliography[edit]

Outlander series[edit]

The Outlander series focuses on 20th-century nurse Claire Randall, who time travels to 18th-century Scotland and finds adventure and romance with the dashing James Fraser.^[2] Set in Scotland, France, the West Indies, England and North America, the novels merge multiple genres, featuring elements of historical fiction, romance, mystery, adventure and science fiction/fantasy.^[2]

Main series[edit]

• Outlander (1991) (published in the UK and Australia as Cross Stitch)
• Dragonfly in Amber (1992)
• Voyager (1993)
• Drums of Autumn (1996)
• The Fiery Cross (2001)
• A Breath of Snow and Ashes (2005)
• An Echo in the Bone (2009)
• Written in My Own Heart's Blood (2014)^[19]
• Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone (forthcoming, to be published on November 23, 2021)^[20]

Short works[edit]

• "A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows" (2010), a short story in the anthology Songs of Love and Death.^{[21][22][23][24][25]} Later collected in A Trail of Fire (2012),^[26] and Seven Stones to Stand or Fall (2017).
• The Space Between (2013), a novella in the anthology The Mad Scientist's Guide to World Domination.^[27] Later collected in A Trail of Fire (2012),^[26] and Seven Stones to Stand or Fall (2017).
• Virgins (2013), a novella in the anthology Dangerous Women,^{[28][29][30][31]} later collected in Seven Stones to Stand or Fall (2017).
• "Past Prologue" (2017), a short story written with Steve Berry and published in the anthology MatchUp. The story acts as a crossover between the Outlander franchise and Berry's Cotton Malone series, featuring the characters Cotton Malone and Jamie Fraser.
• A Fugitive Green (2017), a novella published in the Gabaldon collection Seven Stones to Stand or Fall.

Related[edit]

• The Outlandish Companion (1999), a guide to the Outlander series containing synopses, a character guide, and other notes and information; revised and updated as The Outlandish Companion (Volume One) (2015)^[32]
• The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel (2010)^[33]
• The Outlandish Companion (Volume Two) (2015)^[34][35]
• "Vengeance Is Mine", Outlander season 2 episode (June 18, 2016)^[36]
• "Journeycake", Outlander season 5 episode (May 3, 2020)^[37]

Lord John series[edit]

The Lord John series is a sequence of novels and shorter works that center on Lord John Grey, a recurring secondary character in Gabaldon's Outlander series. The spin-off series currently consists of five novellas and three novels, which all take place between 1756 and 1761, during the events of Gabaldon's Voyager.^[38][39] They can be generally categorized as historical mysteries, and the three novels are shorter and focus on fewer plot threads than the main Outlander books.^[39]

• Lord John and the Private Matter (2003), novel
• Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade (2007), novel
• The Scottish Prisoner (2011), novel

Novellas[edit]

• Lord John and the Hellfire Club (1998), novella first published in the anthology Past Poisons, edited by Maxim Jakubowski
• Lord John and the Succubus (2003), novella published in Legends II, edited by Robert Silverberg
• Lord John and the Haunted Soldier (2007), novella published in Lord John and the Hand of Devils
• Lord John and the Hand of Devils (2007), collection of three novellas (Lord John and the Hellfire Club, Lord John and the Succubus and Lord John and the Haunted Soldier)
• The Custom of the Army (2010), novella published in Warriors, edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois, and later collected in Seven Stones to Stand or Fall (2017).
• Lord John and the Plague of Zombies (2011), novella published in Down These Strange Streets, edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois, and later collected in Seven Stones to Stand or Fall (2017).
• Besieged (2017), novella published in the Gabaldon collection Seven Stones to Stand or Fall.

Other works[edit]

• Naked Came the Phoenix (2001), a collaboration with twelve other authors
• "Humane Killer", short story co-written with Sam Sykes, published in The Dragon Book: Magical Tales from the Masters of Modern Fantasy (2009)
• "Dirty Scottsdale", short crime story set in Phoenix, Arizona, published in Phoenix Noir (2009), a collection with fifteen other authors

Scientific works[edit]

Professor Gabaldon's research works included:

• Gabaldon, Diana J. (1979). Factors involved in nest site selection by piñon jays (Thesis). Flagstaff, AZ: Northern Arizona University. p. 241.

• About the Pinyon jay

• Clark, L.; Gabaldon, Diana J. (1979). "Nest Desertion by the Piñon Jay" (PDF). The Auk. American Ornithological Society (OUP). 96 (4): 796–798. doi:10.1093/auk/96.4.796. JSTOR 4085669. S2CID 86007311. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 1, 2016.

• Cited in Pinyon jay

• Gabaldon, Diana J. (1979). "Observation of a Possible Alternate Mode of Feeding in a Porcellanid Crab (Petrolisthes Cabrilloi Glassell, 1945) (Decapoda, Anomura)". Crustaceana. Brill. 36 (1): 110–112. doi:10.1163/156854079x00285. ISSN 0011-216X. JSTOR 20103368. S2CID 84962642.

• About Petrolisthes cabrilloi

• Montevecchi, W. A.; Ricklefs, R. E.; Kirkham, I. R.; Gabaldon, Diana (April 1, 1984). "Growth Energetics of Nestling Northern Gannets (Sula bassanus)". The Auk. American Ornithological Society (OUP). 101 (2): 334–341. doi:10.1093/auk/101.2.334. ISSN 0004-8038. S2CID 55118062.

• Cited in Northern gannet

• Gordon, M. S.; Gabaldon, Diana J.; Yip, A. Y.-w. (1985). "Exploratory observations on microhabitat selection within the intertidal zone by the Chinese mudskipper fish Periophthalmus cantonensis". Marine Biology. Springer. 85 (2): 209–215. doi:10.1007/bf00397439. ISSN 0025-3162. S2CID 83585142.

• About the New Guinea mudskipper

Adaptations[edit]

The Outlander series has been released in unabridged (read by Davina Porter) and abridged (read by Geraldine James) audiobooks. Several of the Lord John books have been released in audiobook form, read by Jeff Woodman.

A television adaptation of the Outlander series premiered on Starz in the US on August 9, 2014.^[3] Gabaldon made a cameo appearance as Iona MacTavish in the August 2014 episode "The Gathering".^[40] Gabaldon is a paid consultant for the show,^[41] and wrote the screenplay for the 2016 season 2 episode "Vengeance Is Mine".^[36]

In 2010 Gabaldon adapted the first third of Outlander into The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel, illustrated by Hoang Nguyen.^[42][43][44] The same year, a 14-song cycle based on Outlander was released under the title Outlander: The Musical.^[45][46][47]

Reception and awards[edit]

Gabaldon's Outlander won the Romance Writers of America's RITA Award for Best Romance of 1991.^[48] A Breath of Snow and Ashes (2005) debuted at #1 on The New York Times Hardcover Fiction Best-Seller List^[49][50] and won the Quill Award for Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror.^[51] In 2007, The Montreal Gazette noted that Gabaldon's books "are in demand in 24 countries in 19 languages," and that the author "continues to churn out one bestseller after another."^[10] By 2012 her novels had been published in 27 countries and 24 languages.^[5]

Lord John and the Private Matter reached No. 8 on The New York Times Hardcover Fiction Best-Seller List in 2003.^[52] In 2007, Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade debuted at #1,^[53] and the Hand of Devils collection reached No. 24 on The New York Times Hardcover Fiction Best-Seller List.^[54] The Scottish Prisoner debuted at #6 on The New York Times E-Book Fiction Best-Seller List in 2011,^[55] and the novella A Plague of Zombies was nominated for an Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America for the “Best Short Mystery Story” the same year.^[56] Reviewing the Lord John series, Publishers Weekly said that "Gabaldon's prose is crisply elegant"^[57] and that she "brings an effusive joy to her fiction that proves infectious even for readers unfamiliar with her work or the period."^[58]

References[edit]

1. ^ "How is Gabaldon pronounced?". DianaGabaldon.com. 1990. Retrieved December 10, 2018. My name is pronounced GAB-uhl-dohn (long o).
2. ^ Jump up to:^a b c Reese, Jennifer (November 27, 2007). "Book Review: Lord John and the Hand of Devils (2007)". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 11, 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
3. ^ Jump up to:^a b Ng, Philiana (May 8, 2014). "Starz's Outlander Gets First Poster, Premiere Date". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 14, 2014.
4. ^ Hibberd, James (August 15, 2014). "Outlander renewed for second season". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
5. ^ Jump up to:^a b "From science to fiction". Northern Arizona University. May 2012. Archived from the original on November 11, 2013. Retrieved July 11, 2013.
6. ^ Moorhead, M.V. (November 30, 2000). "Science, Fiction: Historical romance novelist finds mystery in biology and literature, too". PhoenixNewTimes.com. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
7. ^ "Death Resolution: Senator Tony Gabaldon". AZleg.state.az.us. January 1998. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
8. ^ Jump up to:^{a b c d e f} Eckman-Onyskow, Bev (August 26, 2009). "Santa Fe author ready to release new book". Alamogordo Daily News. Archived from the original on November 12, 2013. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
9. ^ Jump up to:^a b "Official site: FAQ - About Diana". DianaGabaldon.com (Internet Archive). Archived from the original on October 13, 2013. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
10. ^ Jump up to:^{a b c d e} Donnell, P. (October 6, 2007). "From Academia to Steamy Fiction". The Gazette (Montreal). Archived from the original on January 21, 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
11. ^ Gabaldon, PhD, Diana J. (1984). "Editor's Note". Science Software Quarterly. John Wiley & Sons. I (5): 82, 107.
12. ^ Jump up to:^a b "Official site: Bio". DianaGabaldon.com. Archived from the original on October 4, 2013. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
13. ^ Jump up to:^{a b c d e f g} "Official site: FAQ - About the Books". DianaGabaldon.com. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
14. ^ Jump up to:^a b Gabaldon, Diana (May 11, 2010). "The "Dr. Who" Connection". DianaGabaldon.com. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
15. ^ Hemmungs Wirten, Eva (1998). "Global Infatuation: Explorations in Transnational Publishing and Texts. The Case of Harlequin Enterprises and Sweden" (PDF). Section for Sociology of Literature at the Department of Literature, Number 38. Uppsala University: 56. ISBN 91-85178-28-4. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
16. ^ "Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone". DianaGabaldon.com.
17. ^ Richards, Linda (June 1999). "Interview: Diana Gabaldon". January Magazine. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
18. ^ "Interview: Diana Gabaldon". Lightspeed. September 2014. Retrieved November 27, 2014. ...I try to avoid describing myself by any sort of label, so to speak. I'm a Roman Catholic and a Libertarian, but that's as far as I'd go in description
19. ^ "Official site: Written in My Own Heart's Blood". DianaGabaldon.com. Archived from the original on February 9, 2014. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
20. ^ "Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone". DianaGabaldon.com. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
21. ^ "Official site: "A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows"". DianaGabaldon.com. April 18, 2013. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
22. ^ DeNardo, John (January 14, 2010). "Songs of Love and Deathedited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois". SF Signal. Archived from the original on February 8, 2012. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
23. ^ Johnson, Suzanne (October 27, 2010). "Fiction Affliction: Diagnosing November Releases in Urban Fantasy & Paranormal Romance". Tor.com. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
24. ^ "Pocket Releases Songs of Love and Death". GeorgeRRMartin.com. November 24, 2010. Retrieved September 18,2014.
25. ^ Martin, George R. R. (March 31, 2010). "Not A Blog: Love. Death. Sex. Heartbreak". GRRM.livejournal.com. Archived from the original on February 14, 2015. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
26. ^ Jump up to:^a b "Official site: 'A Trail of Fir". DianaGabaldon.com. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
27. ^ "Official site: The Space Between (Novella)". DianaGabaldon.com. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
28. ^ "Official site: Virgins (Dangerous Women)". DianaGabaldon.com. December 7, 2013. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
29. ^ "Dangerous Women Arrives on Tor.com". Tor.com. July 24, 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
30. ^ "Fiction Book Review: Dangerous Women by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois". Publishers Weekly. October 7, 2013. Retrieved November 23, 2013.
31. ^ Martin, George R. R. (January 23, 2013). "Not A Blog: A Dangerous Delivery". GRRM.livejournal.com. Archived from the original on January 25, 2013. Retrieved January 23, 2013. For those who like to lose themselves in long stories, the Brandon Sanderson story, the Diana Gabaldon story, the Caroline Spector story, and my Princess and Queen are novellas.
32. ^ "Official site: The Outlandish Companion – Volume One". DianaGabaldon.com. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
33. ^ "Diana Gabaldon; The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel". Library Journal. Library Journals. 135 (11): 53. June 15, 2010 – via Gale Academic Onefile.
34. ^ "Official site: The Outlandish Companion – Volume Two". DianaGabaldon.com. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
35. ^ "The Outlandish Companion, Volume Two". Goodreads. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
36. ^ Jump up to:^a b Villarreal, Yvonne (June 9, 2016). "Outlanders' stars thrill to the writer's presence on set". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 15,2016.
37. ^ "Outlander Author Diana Gabaldon on What Claire and Jamie Would be Doing During Quarantine". May 4, 2020.
38. ^ "Official site: Lord John Grey Series". DianaGabaldon.com. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
39. ^ Jump up to:^a b "Official site: Chronology of the Outlander Series". DianaGabaldon.com. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
40. ^ Wilkinson, Amy (August 27, 2014). "First Look: Outlander author Diana Gabaldon cameos on Starz series". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
41. ^ Cordova, Randy (June 25, 2014). "Diana Gabaldon returns with newOutlander book". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
42. ^ Brienza, Casey (September 21, 2010). "The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel". GraphicNovelReporter.com. Archived from the original on September 24, 2014. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
43. ^ "Fiction Book Review: The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel". Publishers Weekly. August 23, 2010. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
44. ^ "Official site: The Exile (graphic novel)". DianaGabaldon.com. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
45. ^ "PROGRESS! OUTLANDER:The Musical now on Amazon!". DianaGabaldon.com. September 26, 2010. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
46. ^ "Outlander the Musical". DianaGabaldon.com. October 26, 2013. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
47. ^ Tube, Stage (July 16, 2012). "Stage Tube: First Listen of Jill Santoriello's Outlander Musical". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
48. ^ "RITA Awards: Past Winners". Romance Writers of America. Archived from the original on July 14, 2015. Retrieved October 31,2013.
49. ^ "Best-Seller Lists: Hardcover Fiction". The New York Times. October 16, 2005. Retrieved October 31, 2013.
50. ^ Garner, Dwight (October 16, 2005). "Inside the List". The New York Times. Retrieved October 31, 2013.
51. ^ "The Quill Book Awards: 2006". TheQuills.org. Archived from the original on January 8, 2007. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
52. ^ "BEST SELLERS: October 26, 2003". The New York Times. October 26, 2003. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
53. ^ "Best Sellers: Hardcover Fiction". The New York Times. September 16, 2007. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
54. ^ "Best Sellers: Hardcover Fiction". The New York Times. December 16, 2007. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
55. ^ "Best Sellers: E-Book Fiction". The New York Times. December 18, 2011. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
56. ^ "Official site: A Plague of Zombies". DianaGabaldon.com. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
57. ^ "Fiction Book Review: Lord John and the Private Matter". Publishers Weekly. September 15, 2003. Retrieved November 23,2013.
58. ^ "Fiction Book Review: Lord John and the Hand of Devils". Publishers Weekly. September 10, 2007. Retrieved November 23,2013.

External links[edit]

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Diana Gabaldon

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Diana Gabaldon.

• Official website
• Diana Gabaldon at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Video of Diana Gabaldon speaking at 9th Annual International Scott Conference, Walter Scott: Sheriff and Outlaw – 2011 on YouTube

Quakers | "Written in My Own Hearts Blood" by Gabaldon

(6) Quakers | Facebook



James Schacht
tS9p4sohe ·



I am reading "Written in My Own Hearts Blood" by Gabaldon, the last of the Outlander series published to date. 

It has a whole group of Quakers during the Revolutionary War as central new characters, and there are serious discussions of Quaker marriage and beliefs. Along with the sex, violence and time travel. More people are going to learn about Quakers from this book and the series then from any other sources since it was published in 2014 than from all other sources.

I think the portrayals are very human, engaging and respectful, but wanted to both get people out of their Quaker comfort zone and find out what others thought. 

She writes well. Anyone willing to confess to having read it and have comments?

10You and 9 others
10 comments


Jan Tappan

Chris Heaney new book (Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone) is out November 23rd. This post is about events in the most recent book - the 8th in the series, "Written in My Own Heart's Blood". 

I think the Quakers show up toward the end of the 7th book.


Ellen Mana'ar Johnson

Jan Tappan I'm glad the next one is actually going to happen. It's been so long I've forgotten the one you mention and need to re-read. Of course the TV series covers the first few


James Schacht

Published in 2014. She's working on another one, but was so involved in the production of the series that it's a long gap. I like the Quaker characters she created, but am interested in others reactions.


Leslie Lenore Underwood


Jenny Cole

My Quaker Friend recommended the series by Diana Gaboldon which I borrowed from the library with great delight as they also feature Jacobin Scots, who are potentially my distant ancestors. Well written with complex characters.



Olga Morrill

try "Vagabond Quakers: Northern Colonies" for some 17th century history about Friends.


Nancy Overman

I read it, and I don't remember having any objections to her descriptions. I have heard Gabaldon speak; she is extremely thorough in her research. But, even if her descriptions are accurate for the time period, you are right that readers might get the …
See more


Cyndi Rains

I have throughly enjoyed the whole series. I was excited to see Quakers come into the series. I thought it was well done represented Quakers in that time period well.
Waiting for next one!!!



Kathy Merritt

Love the books and find the Quaker characters are well written.

Vagabond Quakers: Northern Colonies (The Vagabond Trilogy) (Volume 1): Morrill, Olga R.: 9780998415109: Amazon.com: Books

Vagabond Quakers: Northern Colonies (The Vagabond Trilogy) (Volume 1): Morrill, Olga R.: 9780998415109: Amazon.com: Books





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Olga R. Morrill studied theater arts and had a long and distinguished career as a librarian and storyteller. She facilitates the White Mountain Writers Group which published an anthology of their short stories and poetry called The Literary Tourist. She also wrote a weekly column for the Conway Daily Sun, “The Library Connection” for two decades.Morrill lives with her husband, Stephen, in New Hampshire’s White Mountains.


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5.0 out of 5 stars tidal movements—a very partial list at best. And MsReviewed in the United States on July 16, 2018
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What impressed me most about Vagabond Quakers was how much at home the author is in this 17th-century world, and how wide-ranging the research must have been to get her there. Clothing, speech, customs, transportation, seasonal variations, food, geography, politics, medicines and medical treatment, ecclesiastical matters, trades, legal and illegal punishments, domestic architecture, furniture, familial arrangements, history and government, amusements, delivery and care of babies, ship and boat architecture, trade routes, local botany, Native American culture and language, tidal movements—a very partial list at best. And Ms. Morrill wears all that learning lightly and gracefully.

Other accomplishments in the novel that were equally challenging, equally impressive: a huge cast of characters, the major ones realized in memorable depth; a complex and compelling plot; a clean, uncluttered narrative style throughout; the authenticity of the dialogue; and the effective use of contrast.

The plot, of unfailing interest before, grows gripping as soon as the three Quakers approach falling into vindictive Puritan hands. We see it coming with dread, having learned to care for the women warmly by then, and to understand the deep faith that moves them. Similarly, we learn a great deal about what motivates the Puritan community, and why the mild Quakers were such a threat to the constrained puritanical life. Not the least of the many gifts of this remarkable novel is its furnishing a deeper understanding of not only the Quakers but also the Puritans and their beliefs that were so instrumental, through migrations out of New England westward in the 17th and 18th centuries, in forming the moral code of early America.

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Bob and Peg
5.0 out of 5 stars Time Travel to the 17th Century New HampshireReviewed in the United States on June 28, 2021
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Have you ever wished for a book that placed you in the lives of our first settlers in
the 1630’s? I have ancestors in that group, who left England with some urgency to
begin a new life in this wild and uncivilized country. Research has given us some of
their names and some history has been written. I believe that Olga Morrill in this
first book of her Trilogy allowed me to live that experience more than anything I
have ever read on the subject. The author, through deep research and believable
characters, invited me into that period of history and extended the permission to
stay.
These first settlers had to provide themselves shelter, to create a dependable source
of food, to form a safe and lawful community for their families, and to be free to
worship God as they chose. The chapters of this book not only places you in the lives
of the few chosen ones, the leaders and those that govern; but also in the lives of the
governed, the Puritans, those of the Church of England, and the non-believers. You
are able to feel what they are feeling.
In the 1650’s people began to listen to the missionaries of the Society of Friends
(Quakers) traveling through their villages giving testimony. Their peaceful and
charitable works were disparaged as heresy, since the Society of Friends introduced
a belief in a personal connection to God, eliminating Puritan ministers and their
taxes. Of course, troubles would soon follow.
You will learn a great deal from this book about our New England history: Boston,
early New Hampshire and Maine. You will also have a better understanding of the
Society of Friends and the reasons for the wording of our U.S. Constitution. There is
a surprising resemblance to some of their issues and of some of our contemporary
issues when one’s government and one’s religion are combined.
I, personally, am very grateful that this is book 1 of a Trilogy: there will soon be a
second book, Vagabond Quakers: the Southern Colonies; and a third book, the David
Thompson Story (the first settler in the Dover Neck, Cocheco River, New
Hampshire).


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Jo Ann Butler
5.0 out of 5 stars Vagabond Quakers - heart-rending and vividReviewed in the United States on January 17, 2018

Few Americans enjoy contemplating their own history, even as fiction. Most American historical fiction is about the Revolutionary or Civil War, or more recent times readers can easily relate to. What about 17th century New England, when the first colonies were carved from raw wilderness? The region’s history is ripe with conflict and compromise between Puritan and non-Puritan colonies, Indian genocide, and the tragic heroism of Quakers combating Puritan intolerance with civil disobedience. Nevertheless, apart from witchcraft stories, colonial New England novels are rare. What’s a reader hungry for fiction about early America to do?

I decided to write my own, and my Scandalous Life series explores the formation of Rhode Island by rebellious Puritan siftings, the struggles of a young woman trapped in a disastrous marriage, and the Quakers’ brave challenge of brutal Puritan laws through civil disobedience.

Olga Morrill’s riveting and heart-rending "Vagabond Quakers" takes up the thread. King Charles II, horrified by the execution of Mary Dyer in 1660, forbade further hangings. New England’s Puritans revive an old English barbarity in its place – the Whip and Cart Act. The law calls for Quakers who refuse to stay out of Massachusetts to be tied to the tail of a cart, stripped to the waist, and whipped out of the colony – given 10 lashes in three towns as they walk, or are dragged, to the wilderness beyond Massachusetts’ border.

In 1662 Mary Tomkins and Alice Ambrose, English Quaker missionaries, arrive in Dover (then Massachusetts’ northernmost town). They are banished, and yet they return. In court, they meet an ambitious, steel-willed magistrate, Richard Walderne, who is determined to make an example of them. Along with the fragile Anne Coleman, the missionaries are sentenced to be lashed not just in three towns, but in every town between Dover and Dedham – 11 towns spread over 80 miles. If the three women can survive 110 stripes from a three-lashed whip, being dragged through December snows when they can no longer walk will surely prove fatal. A sympathetic official discharges them after ‘only’ two whippings, but Mary and Alice return to Dover as soon as they can travel. Now, Walderne and his cronies are bent on ensuring that this defiance will be their last act.

I just love this story! Ms. Morrill has long experience as a storyteller and columnist, her smooth prose paints a vivid picture with the best of ‘em, and her research is impeccable.

Readers must pay heed to the chapter headings, for "Vagabond Quakers" traces both Richard Walderne’s, and Mary and Alice’s lives. Her scenes switch in time as much as 25 years, but lead inexorably to the fateful meeting of these strong-willed foes.

"Vagabond Quakers" ends with its characters in in flux, but this is the first volume in The Vagabond Trilogy. Ms. Morrill is taking a long view, and her next work will shift the scene to Rhode Island, where my own works take place. I look very much forward to what comes next.

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What a fantastic book! Beautifully written and revealing the depth and struggle of a little known piece of New England history.

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Dawn Farnham

Feb 05, 2019Dawn Farnham rated it it was amazing

This historical novel provides unexpected benefits to readers who have not previously thought deeply enough about American history to see beyond the textbook generalizations and glorifications, which may constitute all we know (or think we know) of our past. Although at first I found the narrative structure with its two different timelines somewhat difficult to follow, the story itself was gripping. Most fascinating to me was the portrayal of the early English Puritan leaders of New England as more ruthless and intolerant than they were Christian, with the clergymen outraged that their income through tithes might be threatened by Quakers who believed that that the clergy were unnecessary for Christians to practice their religion. The Puritan clerics in the theocracy of the Massachusetts Bay Colony are more devoted to exercising their power and securing their finances than to teaching the gospel, nor do they appear to live by the teachings of Christ.

The 1635 sailing of the ship “The James” from England to Boston, described early in Vagabond Quakers as the means by which Richard Walderne, a historical character significant throughout the novel, arrived in America, was of particular interest to me when I learned from family genealogy that my own ancestor, Ralph Farnham (along with his brother), had arrived in 1635 on that same ship. Since the ship was transporting Puritans (mostly men) for their physical labor to expand the existing settlements, reading this novel told me some things about my ancestor that I had not known.

The intolerance of the Puritan clergymen and the harsh physical punishments (including death) which they inflicted on Quakers for having somewhat different beliefs make them extremely unappealing to this reader. While I learned more about my Puritan ancestor and some of the other people on “The James,” I prefer to imagine that my ancestor was not one of those who persecuted people of different beliefs. On a lighter note, a pleasant fact revealed in my family’s genealogy is that two descendants of the people on “The James” in 1635, Emma Gertrude Tibbetts and Adelbert William Farnham, were married 257 years later in my hometown of Belgrade, Maine.

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Judith W Heald

Dec 05, 2019Judith W Heald rated it it was amazing

Great read.

Fiction, but historically quite accurate, reminding us of some of the trials our ancestors and ancestresses endured so we could have religious freedom. Frightening to br reminded of how cruel we can be, and what some do who claim to be moral!!