The Outlander: A Novel

By Gil Adamson

“A remarkable first novel, full of verve, beautifully written, and with all the panache of a great adventure.”
—Michael Ondaatje

In 1903 a mysterious young woman flees alone across the West, one heart-pounding step ahead of the law. At 19, Mary Boulton has just become a widow—and her husband’s killer. As bloodhounds track her frantic race toward the mountains, she is tormented by the knowledge that her two ruthless brothers-in-law are in pursuit, determined to avenge their younger brother’s death. Responding to little more than the primitive fight for life, the widow retreats ever deeper into the wilderness—and into the wilds of her own mind—encountering an unforgettable cast of eccentrics along the way.

With the stunning prose and captivating mood of great works like Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain or early Cormac McCarthy, Gil Adamson’s intoxicating debut novel is the brilliant and gripping tale of one woman’s desperate escape.
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Oct 13, 2009
• ISBN: 9780061842238

Gil Adamson

GIL ADAMSON is the critically acclaimed author of Ridgerunner, which won the Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize, was a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, and was named a best book of the year by the Globe and Mail and the CBC. Her first novel, The Outlander, won the Dashiell Hammett Prize for Literary Excellence in Crime Writing, the Amazon.ca First Novel Award, the ReLit Award, and the Drummer General’s Award. It was a finalist for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, CBC Canada Reads, and the Prix Femina in France; longlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award; and chosen as a Globe and Mail and Washington Post Top 100 Book. She is also the author of a collection of linked stories, Help Me, Jacques Cousteau, and two poetry collections, Primitive and Ashland. She lives in Toronto.

Reviews for The Outlander

[nkmunn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Thank you Type Books Toronto! This is awesome - you featured it on a table display, it caught my eye and is one of the most engaging stories and some of the best writing I have encountered in a long time ! Five heart-felt stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[copperskye · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a beautifully written story. Halfway through I wanted to know what else Gil Adamson had written and was shocked to discover it is her first novel. The setting is the Idaho/Montana wilderness of 1903 as a young widow desperately runs from her two brothers-in-law after she has murdered her husband. Details of her life and marriage emerge slowly as she meets other "Outlanders" along the way. Believable with a satisfying ending.

[tami.jeanne · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book took me months to read and I kept asking myself why I was even bothering but I made my way through it finally. The story had potential but I just felt that it could have been told with more depth. I'm glad I finished it but I won't be recommending it to my customers.

[gypsysmom_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Well, if I had read this book before the 2009 Canada Reads contest I would have had divided loyalties about which I wanted to win. As it was I had only read The Fat Woman Next Door is Pregnant and The Book of Negroes and there was no contest about which I wanted to win. I thought The Book of Negroes was a fantastic book and I was very happy when it did win the contest. But if I had read The Outlander before I would have been hard pressed to say which I liked better. They both have strong female characters and each faces horrible physical and mental challenges. And since this book is set in a part of Canada that I am very familiar with I have an immediate affinity for it.The dogs are chasing Mary Boulton, referred to most of the time as simply, "the widow". She's a nineteen year-old widow who murdered her husband with his own gun. The dogs belong to her two brothers-in-law who are bound to make her pay for her crime. She heads off into the Alberta wilderness with no idea where she's going, just that she has to keep going. And the brothers are in hot pursuit. Will they catch her? But it is not simply the chase that is so compelling, it is the author's talent in describing the Alberta wilderness with such detail and accuracy that the reader is there. Her characters, and they are characters: a whiskey brewing giant, a boxing pastor, an entrepreneurial dwarf and, a strong silent type romantic interest known as the ridgerunner, all become real and interesting and alive on the page. Despite the fact that the widow clearly did the crime, the reader can't help but come to like her and want her to evade her pursuers and attain some happiness. For a while it seems she just might do that until the town in which she eventually settles, Frank, Alberta, is devastated by a landslide, even as her pursuers close in. Let me just say that the structure of the book is such that it is almost impossible to put the book away. The chapter endings, usually, were stray threads that were not part of the main story but connected so that you just wanted to keep on reading to see how they fit into the weave of the main story. And I was so glad that the ending was such that Mary continued to be a strong woman fending for herself.

[susannelson_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A Compelling Read

[jbarringer-2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The conclusion was awfully abrupt, like the author hit a deadline and had to wrap her story up in a hurry, but until then this was a good book. I like the progression from pampered, helpless girl to skilled, self-sufficient woodswoman.

[michellebarton · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A young woman has murdered her husband and is fleeing from the law and from her vengeance-seeking brothers-in-law bent on hunting her down. Snippets of her past are revealed as she struggles to survive in the rugged mountains of the West, and the reader is provided a true feel for mountain life in the early 1900s. There are many interesting, eccentric characters she meets along the way.

[bettysunflower · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Widow Mary Boulton is the main character in this book. She was 19 years old when she married and left her father's home. Her husband was quite a bit older than Mary. Immediately after their wedding he helped Mary into their wagon and they headed for their new home in the wilderness. Other than her husbands brothers and the help there was no companionship for Mary. She was in the wilderness with only this quiet older man for company. Soon Mary is on the run and half crazy. She is now a widow and her two week old baby is dead. The author tells of Mary's struggle with reality and the harsh surrounding that she finds herself in as she runs from her brothers-in-law who are after her. It takes a while before we piece together Mary's story and find out why she is crazed. What an adventure. I found this to be a very good read, strong characters, and an interesting and believable plot.

[ajlewis2_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

First of all, this is a fantastic story about a young woman surviving and becoming stronger in the process. The setting is in rugged country of Western Canada. The people she meets along the way are very interesting in their own right. There are miners, horse thieves, people supporting the mining community such as a rather unorthodox preacher and an owner of the local store, a man living out on the land for years, Native Americans, a somewhat strange and kind lady, and more. Their daily life is there for you to see. The environment is described beautifully. The detail of every aspect of life in that place and time is there, yet it is not a detraction or boring. There is always the story moving right along. A totally remarkable book.

[timbazzett · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

My goodness, this woman Gil Adamson can spin a spell-binding, compelling hum-dinger of a yarn! She hooked me from page one of THE OUTLANDER, with her image of a black-garbed girl, initially identified only as "the widow," fleeing for her life, pursued by men and dogs across the sparsely settled wilderness of the Canadian West. The year is 1903, and we quickly learn her name is Mary Boulton, she is but nineteen years old and "Widowed by her own hand." A murder mystery then, which unfolds slowly and artfully over the next 400 pages, with a graceful and precise prose, the like of which is rarely found in contemporary fiction, although I must confess I was almost immediately reminded of another beautiful book I recently read and reviewed: Amanda Coplin's THE ORCHARDIST.There are many wonderfully quirky characters here, from a mad Royal Canadian Mountie and a pugilist preacher to a dwarf storekeeper and a hermit mountain man (the love interest). And the villains of the piece are giant red-headed twins who chase our heroine for many months across the trackless wilderness and even over the Continental Divide with a coldly fierce relentlessness that brings to mind the posse that pursued Butch and Sundance. But the best character of all is "the widow" herself, who becomes even more mysterious and mesmerizing as the story develops and we learn more of her past and what brought her to her present predicament. What we have here is a murder mystery, a suspense thriller, a love story, a little Canadian history (the "Frank Slide" figures into the story's climax and denouement rather prominently), and a very literary Western. Yeah, all those things, really! It's like Prego spaghetti sauce - it's all in there! And, speaking of Prego, there's another minor charactaer, a gigantic Italian catskinner named Giovanni, who provides moonshine to the primitive mining town of Frank.This is an adventure story extraordinaire, lemme tell ya. And the ending itself is both unexpected and perfect. I loved this book, and will recommend it highly.

[romonko · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book was recommended to me, and I was actually surprised by it. First of all, don't confuse this with the well-known time travel Outlander series written by Diana Gabaldon. This is a stand-alone novel that was actually written by a Canadian writer and she is writing about a very intriguing part of Canadian history. Most people who live in Alberta have either heard of or have visited the site of the famous Frank Slide. It is located in southwestern Alberta. It occurred in the early morning of April 29, 1903. A time when most of the citizens of the mining town of Frank were in their beds asleep. It was catastrophic and basically wiped out the little town. The slide occurred when 90 million tons of rock came rumbling down Turtle Mountain. It totally obliterated all of the eastern end of Frank.This book brings this story to life through the eyes of a quite remarkable woman by the name of Mary Boulton. Mary is on the run at the age of nineteen from her two brothers-in-law. They are after her because she killed her husband who was their brother, and they want revenge. As the story of Mary's life unfolds throughout the book we find out why Mary committed this terrible crime, and we keep rooting for her to make her escape. On the way she meets some truly wonderful characters such as the bird lady, the Ridgerunner, Bonny the reverend, and many, many more. Like Mary all of these characters are outsiders or outlanders too. And the description of the mountainous terrain in and around Banff and Turtle Mountain are incredibly vivid. This is an excellent book, and one that I have no difficulty recommending to anyone who loves historical fiction based on true events.

[bookishjojo · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

From Adamson's web site: "Set in 1903, Adamson's compelling debut tells the wintry tale of 19-year-old Mary Boulton (“widowed by her own hand”) and her frantic odyssey across Idaho and Montana. The details of Boulton’s sad past—an unhappy marriage, a dead child, crippling depression—slowly emerge as she reluctantly ventures into the mountains, struggling to put distance between herself and her two vicious brothers-in-law, who track her like prey in retaliation for her killing of their kin. Boulton’s journey and ultimate liberation—made all the more captivating by the delirium that runs in the recesses of her mind—speaks to the resilience of the female spirit in the early part of the last century. Lean prose, full-bodied characterization, memorable settings and scenes of hardship all lift this book above the pack."I was throughly into this story. I really liked the character Mary Boulton and found her determination and strength amazing.

[djfifitrix · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a great read, I couldn't put this book down!Without giving too much of the plot away, you are with the protagonist Mary throughout the story whilst she is on the run after murdering her husband. The descriptions of the woodland and the scenery, plus the town she stays in, are wonderful, capturing all the detail and atmosphere that you expect travelling with a frightened young woman on her own. The characters are very believable too. Highly recomended, will no doubt pass on to others and read it again myself!

[cynthia stout · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a well written and easy read. I would like to read more of these characters. I hope to see a another book like this.

[bookczuk · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book really made me think a lot, especially about all the things females had to take care of, ie hygiene, when trekking out west back in the day.

[theeclecticreview · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is not to be confused with Diane Gabaldon's Outlander. In fact Adamson's The Outlander is an amazing and interesting adventure into the Canadian wilderness by newly widowed Mary Boulton who is running from her brothers-in-law because she killed her cruel and unfaithful husband. See my complete review at The Eclectic Review

[carlathelibrarian · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read this book as a monthly read for one of the groups I am in on Goodreads. I probably would not have read it otherwise, but I am glad I did. This book takes place in the Canadian Wilderness and the descriptive language is beautiful. It moves slowly in parts, but it is captivating.

A young woman, referred to in the story as "The Widow" has killed her husband. She flees across the Canadian wilderness pursued by her massive twin brothers-in-law, who are bent on bringing her to justice. As she fights for her survival, the widow is tormented by "uninvited memories" of her life and unhappy marriage. She meets many characters throughout her travels who are quite unique and interesting in their own right. Will she get captures? Does she find love? What happens to her during this difficult journey? An interesting and soulful book.

[eye_gee-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

10 out of 10. Great writing, great characters, great story, completely original. The pace changes about 2/3 of the way into the book. That was the point when I went from liking it to loving it. I was fortunate to have a copy that included, at the end, an interview between the author and Michael Ondatje which was wonderful.

[bettesbooks · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Turn of the 20th century novel of a woman running from her brothers-in-law for having murdered her husband. She heads thru Idaho and Montana then north into the cold of Alberta, Canada. Different from my typical reading but I enjoyed it.

[Dr. Kelis Berry · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wonderful! I would love to see a movie made from this.

[maggieflo_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This novel is set in the mountains of Alberta in 1903 or thereabouts. It follows the trail of Mary Boulton who has killed her husband John with a shotgun. She is escaping from her brothers-in-law who want to bring her to justice. Mary is referred to as the widow throughout the story as we learn of her family background: a widowed father consumed with grief, a grandmother with odd superstitions and quirks, a lonely home life and a naivety that persuades her that a marriage to John Boulton would be a good idea. John and Mary travel from Toronto (???) to Alberta to homestead and neither is prepared for the harsh reality of this lifestyle. Hardship, neglect, infidelity, and the death of an infant son push Mary over the edge.We follow her and her flashbacks and thoughts as she wanders through the wilderness alone, unarmed, unskilled and helped by strangers along the way, in particular a recluse, Bill Moreland.This is a very good story, excellent character development, plot, dialogue, scenery and some history surrounding the area of Frank Alberta.

[brokentune · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

“Drop it. She’s done. Who knows who they were. Who knows where they took her. And even if you knew”— he spread his small hands out —“what could you do? Are you Sam Steele?” The two of them drunk for two days, until the Ridgerunner could drink no more, and merely sat holding his head. Then a long, sorry, sober night during which the dwarf had chattered to stave off his companion’s unnerving silence, telling story after story, every one about her. Wondering at the particulars of her past, the whiff of crime, her dreadful pursuers, recounting the incredible fact of her firing upon them. Questions that were unanswered and unanswerable. It had been a wake.

I wish there was a better start to the new year, but this is the first book I finished and it was disappointing.

Not that the book was a total waste of time but the story was just bland - especially after having read Alias Grace, The Tenderness of Wolves, and The Silence of the North.

This book follows the story of Mary Boulton ("the widow"), a nineteen year old woman who is on the run after killing her husband. This is not a spoiler, by the way. This is given away within the first few pages of the book (and it's all over the blurb, too).

Now, given that we already know why "the widow" is on the run and there is not much mystery to her story, I expected the book to come up with another element that would keep me guessing what happens next or how certain characters would interact or develop. Apparently that was too much to ask.

I really liked the main character Mary, the widow, but there wasn't much of a journey of discovery with her or any of the other characters. It did not help that it was quite hard to get close to any of the characters because the author decided to be quirky and instead of referring to them by name referred to the characters mostly by their description or some other form of label which somewhat reduced the characters to just that preconception which was implied by the label.

So, we have "the widow", the "dwarf", the "old woman", the "Ridgerunner", etc.

This did not work for me. It made the book read like it was still a draft and the characters still needed a lot of work before they could gain any depth.

The other elements that did not work for me was that, while the "widow" was on the run, there was no contemplation on her part about where she was running to or how she would escape prosecution by the "twins". She's on the run but seems get caught up in every encounter she makes. How is this being on the run?

The second issue I have with the book is that it quickly turns into a romance, which is quite far fetched in the first place and actually distracts from what could have been an interesting book.

[librarycin · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

3.75 starsIt's 1903 and “the widow” is running from something or someone. She makes her way to the foothills of the Canadian Rockies where she tries to hide from whatever/whoever is pursuing her. I could probably say a bit more to summarize, as the back of the book has slightly more info, but I'll leave it at that. This was pretty good. I did find the sections of the book when she was with someone to be more interesting than when she was on her own (at those times, there seemed to mostly be description). There was one question I had that was never answered. I also would have liked an author's note with more info on the Frank Slide. I know about it, but not details, so I “had” to look it up after I finished.

[ldvoorberg · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An amazing first novel. The book flap compares the author to Guy Vanderhaeghe, and that is accurate, but it is great in its own right.

Mary Boulton has killed her husband and is on the run from his brothers who seek justice. It's 1903 somewhere in the midwest. Mary wanders on her own, out-paces death more than once, and meets interesting characters along the way.

The writing is excellent -- descriptions that are concise yet informative, well-crafted dialogue, seamless transitions to flashbacks that wonderfully pull the reader along in acquaintance with Mary and slowly unwind her story while always moving the main narration forward. Quality fiction all around. Awesome!

[lindap69 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The characters and plot made this a page-turner, the language made it one to savor - loved it.

[readermom68 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I didn't care for this story. I can't really say why, it just wasn't my thing.

[tamara.murray · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is going to be one of those books that I like more as time passes and I mull it over. I didn't expect the Canadian history that was included, but it made me love it even more. There were many occurrences that I was able to predict throughout the book, but I think it was more due to the author's foreshadowing rather than it actually being predictable. I love a story that transports me to a time or place that is totally different from my own life, which is why I enjoy historical fiction.

[jlhorn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Not a real page-turner, but one of the best books I have read in five years (maybe more). The language makes you sit back in wonder from time to time, and the characters are just as amazing. I kept trying to decide if I should empathize with the widow, and by the time that the explanation of the circumstances of the murder came around, I couldn't not like her.

[raidergirl3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The lady on the cover, a widow by her own hand (I love that phrase!) is being chased across the wild west of Canada in 1903 by her (ex) twin brothers in law. There certainly wasn't a lot of support for women in those days for marriage counselling or post-partum depression. Not a lot of options for women.This is part adventure, part history of mining and the west, and a beautiful love story. The widow, who barely gets a name, spends most of the book learning about herself. An ignored child of her widowed father, married off to the first guy who comes along, and then isolated and treated like a slave, she never really had a moment to be herself, by herself, until she is on the lam and living in the wild. She meets some helpful men along the way.I could see this done as a movie, with lots of suspense and action and a love story that I really enjoyed. The last sentence was the only part that disappointed me, but I'll read that the way I'd like to, and then it becomes a great book.

[terribooks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

At first I didn't like this book. I was frustrated by not being given much in terms of who, where, when and what. You have stick with it as the events and "the widow's" reflections on them begin to reveal why she killed her husband, why she is running away into the mountains. The descriptions of the mountain wilderness and the mining town are gorgeous -- very visual and full-bodied. By halfway through, I was hooked. I loved the ending, which I thought exactly made sense for the characters we came to know in the book.