A
Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows by Diana Gabaldon
Available
for the first time as an exclusive eBook in this original Outlander novella,
Diana Gabaldon reveals what really happened to Roger MacKenzie Wakefield’s
parents. Orphaned during World War II, Roger believed that his mother died
during the London Blitz, and that his father, an RAF pilot, was killed in
combat. But in An Echo in the Bone, Roger
discovers that this may not be the whole story. Now, in “A Leaf on the Wind of
All Hallows,” readers finally learn the truth.
Published & Release Date:
Random House, December 3, 2012
Time
and setting: World War II England
Genre:
Historical Romance/Time-Travel
Heat
Level: 1
Reviewer rating: 5 Gold Crowns
Vikki’s Musings
When I discovered this novella that explains more of
Roger MacKenzie’s parents, I could not wait to read it. Roger is one of my
favorite characters from the Outlander
series. I found this tale enthralling. There is a sweet romance in it showing a
brief glimpse of the love between Jerry MacKenzie and his ‘Dolly’. While this
is primarily in Jerry’s point of view, since it depicts his adventure, there is
a scene, involving Dolly and Frank Randall, which is in her POV. Yes, I did
mention Frank Randall, Claire Randall’s first husband.
Jerry meets with Captain Frank Randall and is given
a new covert mission to fly over the Nazi camps in Poland and take photographs
of the atrocities that are happening there. Before he leaves for this dangerous
assignment, he is able to visit his wife and young son, and there is a tender, playful
scene between the couple, that touches my heart.
While practicing for his upcoming mission, he is flying
over Northumberland when his plane experiences difficulties and he has to make
a crash landing. When he regains consciousness, he finds himself lying in mud
and grass. He has clearly been thrown from his plane. Darkness is starting to
fall with mist swirling around him. Staggering to his feet, an attack of
vertigo has him reeling, “but to his right he made out two or three large,
bulky shapes, standing upright”.
As he draws closer, he realizes they are huge
stones. He leans against one of them to get his bearings; outside the ring of
stones he sees what must be his plane. Then a terrible ringing in his ears and
intense pain in his head causes him to black out again. When he awakens, it is
now dark. He looks around for his plane, but all he finds is the thick meadow
grass. Thus begins his travel back to a time where the speech is unintelligible
and obviously not the England he knew. During a misadventure with several men
in odd looking short pants, they take his jacket and dog tags and throw him
into a ravine.
The story then jumps to two year later in London,
when Dolly receives a visit from Captain Frank Randall. He has brought her a
little box, inside is a MID oakleaf cluster, awarded posthumously for her husband’s
bravery and sacrifice. She does not want it and rages at the captain, who
handles it stoically. The pain Dolly feels is palpable and brought tears to my
eyes. After she has her tirade, she calms down, they have tea and then she
shows him to the door. Captain Randall tells her, “The bravest are surely those
who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike,
and yet notwithstanding, go out to meet it. He did that, every day, for a long
time.”
Then Dolly replies, “You sent him, though,” she
said, her voice as low as his. “You did.”
Then the door closes and the captain is gone.
Then the story takes me back to Northumbria and
Jerry’s continued misadventures. I will leave it at that because I do not want
to give you any spoilers. Even though this is a short novella, it still has the
excellent character development that I always expect from Ms. Gabaldon. While
this story does not have a happy ending, it does give me the chance to get to
know Roger’s parents, to see the love and honor that made Jerry a man that
Roger could be proud of. This is a book you will want to read if you are a fan
of the Outlander series. Happy reading!
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