Outlander is
a Television show that began airing in August of 2014 on the STARZ
broadcast network. It is work of fiction based upon historical events
in Scotland in 1743 and the years following. The stories for the show
are drawn from novels written by Diana Gabaldon (The Outlander Series).
The main character is an American woman who served as a battle-field nurse during World War II (1945) - Claire Randall. She is cast back in time from a stone hinge that she stumbles into in the hills of Scotland (Inverness) while on a romantic trip after the war with her husband, Frank Randall.
She appears as a stranger (an Outlander) in Scotland's war-torn past, during the Jacobite uprisings. The Jacobites were a group of Scottish and English rebels during this time frame, who fought to restore James VII of Scotland (James II of England - a Catholic) and his Stuart descendants to the throne of Scotland and England.
Claire falls in with the MacKenzie Clan as they fight and flee the pursuit of British Redcoats - and there she meets a rebel leader named Jamie Fraser. He fights alongside his uncles Colum and Dougal MacKenzie in a fugitive rebel band.
Claire and Jamie marry in an act that saves him from execution, but they fall in love, and the rest of the story is about their romantic and sometimes tragic lives together.
The story and its drama are exceptional, the romance is soupy, the violence and the morality (or rather immorality) that is often portrayed sometimes make the tale difficult for me to watch, but the historical accuracy of the background and foundation is a superb quality of the show.
The places, castles, battles and many of the families, clans and customs are taken right out of the historical records. The actors are even required often to speak the Scottish Gaelic language for effect. Costuming, clothing, furnishings, and weaponry are all 100% authentic-looking.
Though Claire and Jamie were never real people, and time travel is not possible -- the viewer (or reader) is taken back in a very real way to 1743 Scotland.
And though Bains are not mentioned (that I have heard, at least) in the story line, we were joined by marriage in real life to the MacKenzies and the Frasers. (See Outlander: Our Scottish Clan).
Alexander Bane 2nd Laird (Lord) of Tulloch Castle was married to Agnes Fraser (his
second wife), who was the daughter of James Fraser. She was also the
niece of Hugh Fraser, 5th Lord Lovat (a family title granted by the King
of England).
Duncan Bane 3rd Laird of Tulloch Castle was married to Isabel MacKenzie (his second wife) who was the daughter of Alexander MacKenzie II of Fairburn.
John Bane 4th Laird of Tulloch Castle was married to Elizabeth MacKenzie daughter of Roderick MacKenzie I.
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