Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone

Content Warning: The source material discusses sexual assault and violence against women, and it contains historically inaccurate depictions of Indigenous Americans.

The Soul of a Rebel: The Scottish Roots of the American Revolution is a historical text Brianna brings to 1779 from 1980. The book was written by Brianna’s stepfather, Frank Randall, and published shortly before his death in 1968. The book most notably describes the Battle of Kings Mountain, a battle that will take place less than 10 miles from Fraser’s Ridge in October 1780. Although Jamie is not initially interested in having anything to do with Frank Randall or his writing because of his jealousy that Claire was married to Frank before him, Jamie does pick up the book and read it. When he learns that Frank wrote that Jamie would die at the Battle of Kings Mountain, Jamie struggles to believe it.

The book, The Soul of a Rebel, becomes symbolic of Jamie’s imagined feud with Frank Randall over their shared affections for Claire. Jamie has established himself on many occasions to be a highly jealous man; therefore, he dislikes any discussion of Frank Randall because it is a reminder that Claire spent more than 20 years of her life married to Frank. Up until this point, Jamie didn’t even know what Frank looked like until he saw his picture on the back of the book. At the same time, Jamie struggles to believe Frank was a good man based on his familial connection to Jonathan Randall, the British soldier who was obsessed with Jamie and tortured him in Wentworth Prison. Therefore, when he reads that he is meant to die at the Battle of Kings Mountain, Jamie wants to believe Frank wrote this out of a sense of revenge against Jamie, not because it is actual fact. Yet Frank’s words are accurate, and they give Jamie a chance to prepare himself for the moment of his death while giving Claire reason to follow Jamie onto the battlefield and save him.