Virgins – Diana Gabaldon (2013)

Virgins is a novella by Diana Gabaldon, first published in 2013 as part of the Dangerous Women anthology edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois. Set in 1740, it is a prequel to Gabaldon’s Outlander series, providing a vivid glimpse into the youth of Jamie Fraser and his close companion Ian Murray, years before the events of Outlander unfold. This coming-of-age tale explores brotherhood, trauma, and first loves as the two young Scots find themselves in France, navigating the dangers of mercenary life.

Plot Summary

In the smoky dusk of October 1740, near the wine-wet soil of Bordeaux, a young Highlander named Jamie Fraser stumbled into a mercenary camp, bandaged and bloodied, his body shaking from wounds far deeper than the flesh. His closest friend, Ian Murray, recognized the signs at once – the hollow eyes, the trembling limbs, the blood seeping through cloth. Jamie had come too far and carried too much pain. He had lost his father, Brian Fraser, and believed it his fault. The English had taken him, flogged him at Fort William until his body broke. His father, present at the punishment, had collapsed – heart torn in grief – and died on the spot. That guilt clung to Jamie like wet linen.

Ian, sharp-eyed and loyal, kept to Jamie’s side as they joined the ragtag troop of mercenaries under Captain Richard D’Eglise – a hard man with flint in his eyes. Their new company was a gathering of drifters and outcasts – Spaniards, Frenchmen, Jews – drawn together for profit and war. Among the noise and coarse jokes, Jamie and Ian found uneasy footing, two Highlanders among strangers. Yet they bore their own weight well, taller and stronger than most, and eager to prove themselves with sword and wit alike.

Jamie, bruised but proud, wore his pain like armor. Even as his back split open beneath crusted bandages, he walked with a soldier’s pace. When bandits attacked their caravan on the road to Bèguey, Jamie fought alongside Ian, shouting the Fraser war cry into the fray. His blade moved not with anger, but with purpose – to protect, to endure, to live despite the ache clawing at his spine.

One prisoner was taken in the aftermath – a Jewish man who’d tried to steal a rug heavy with hidden value. What followed in the dark behind the trees was not justice, but cold efficiency. The captain wanted names. When none were given, the man’s death came quietly, hidden from the road, his grave marked only by two small stones laid by Jamie and Ian’s hands. They said no prayers, but remembered his name – Ephraim bar-Sefer – and later, alone by the fire, whispered it in sorrow.

As the troop reached Bordeaux, whispers of new work stirred the camp. D’Eglise had secured a delicate commission: escort a precious Torah scroll, a sum of gold, and a Jewish maiden to Paris. The scroll, ancient and embroidered in velvet and gold, would travel as part of Rebekah bat-Leah Hauberger’s dowry. She was to marry the son of the Chief Rabbi, and her grandfather, Dr. Hasdi, trusted no one but armed men to guard her path.

Rebekah was dark-eyed, clever, and calm. Jamie noticed her not for her beauty, though it was there, but for the way she saw him – not as a wounded boy or a foreign soldier, but as someone still whole beneath the bruises. When the old doctor discovered Jamie’s infected wounds, he treated them without asking. And Rebekah watched. Her hands were warm as she held his, her voice steady as she promised healing. She called him Diego, the Spanish name for James, and it stuck in his chest like a secret.

Their escort through the city streets passed without trouble, but Jamie could not shake the scent of Rebekah – rosewater and cedar – nor her voice as she spoke of dreams and fever. She touched no weapon, yet guarded his soul with more grace than steel could offer.

Back at the tavern, laughter resumed, but the air had shifted. The weight of responsibility loomed. Jamie and Ian, named as the trusted escort for the journey to Paris, understood the stakes. Gold drew blades like blood, and the Torah was more than treasure – it was faith made tangible. Jamie, still weak from his wounds, burned with the need to keep his promise to Rebekah and perhaps to himself – that he was not broken, that he was still worthy of trust.

Night fell over the city. Ian spoke softly beneath the stars, offering to help Jamie kill Captain Randall, the English officer who had ordered the floggings and taken everything from him. But Jamie, weary and trembling with fever, asked Ian for something greater – to return home one day and look after Lallybroch, to guard his sister Jenny and the land he could not yet face.

Sleep brought no peace. Dreams clawed at Jamie’s mind, but prayer became a shield. On the road the next day, he prayed aloud, counting his rosary with cracked fingers. Others joined – their Latin blending into the rhythm of boots on dirt – until the prayer became a march, and in its center, Jamie walked beside a memory of his father, felt the warmth of a hand on his shoulder, heard a voice lost to time.

The mission loomed closer. D’Eglise, proud and sharp-suited, prepared his best men. The Torah, wrapped in velvet and gold bells, shimmered under sunlight. Rebekah stood beside it, watching the men who would carry her future across France. Jamie stood straighter, pain forgotten in her gaze. They were mercenaries, yes, but in that moment, they were more.

A young man, newly scarred, stood not for coin but for duty. And beside him, his friend, always ready with a quip or a blow, stood for loyalty. Together, they carried more than gold or sacred scrolls. They bore the weight of promises – to family, to friends, to themselves.

The road stretched ahead, long and winding, but they would walk it. With prayer and steel, with sore backs and stubborn hearts, they would carry Rebekah, her dowry, and their own fragile hopes through the dust and dusk of a dangerous world.

Main Characters

• Jamie Fraser
  At eighteen, Jamie is tall, red-haired, and striking—qualities that mask his fresh wounds, both physical and emotional. Flogged nearly to death by the English, and grieving the sudden loss of his father, Jamie is a proud, intelligent, and deeply wounded young man. His experience has left him physically scarred and emotionally raw, but his sense of loyalty and personal honor remain unbroken. He is literate, fluent in multiple languages including French and Hebrew, and despite his trauma, is trying to find a purpose in his exile from Scotland.

• Ian Murray
  Jamie’s best friend and steadfast companion, Ian is a few years older, steady, kind, and protective. With a dry wit and strong moral compass, Ian serves as Jamie’s anchor, helping him through grief, pain, and new responsibilities. Ian left home to avoid the quiet life of farming, seeking something more in the wider world, though it’s clear his heart remains tied to Scotland and his family.

• Rebekah bat-Leah Hauberger
  A young Jewish woman of intelligence and warmth, Rebekah is the granddaughter of a wealthy Bordeaux physician. Betrothed to a rabbi’s son, she’s poised and gentle, yet curious about the world and intrigued by Jamie. Her brief connection with Jamie introduces a stirring of mutual affection that is bittersweet, tender, and quietly powerful.

• Captain Richard D’Eglise
  The hard-edged leader of the mercenary band Jamie and Ian join, D’Eglise is pragmatic, disciplined, and morally ambiguous. Though he values loyalty and control, he isn’t above torture or manipulation to achieve his ends. He sees value in Jamie and Ian’s strength and education, making them part of his inner circle.

Theme

• Brotherhood and Loyalty
  Central to the story is the unbreakable bond between Jamie and Ian. Their mutual protection, honesty, and banter provide emotional ballast in a dangerous world. The novella emphasizes how male friendship, especially under pressure, becomes a sanctuary.

• Coming of Age and Lost Innocence
  Both Jamie and Ian are still virgins—symbolically and literally. The novella tracks their passage from youth into the complexities of adult life: violence, love, grief, and sexuality. Jamie’s wounds, both external and internal, serve as markers of this painful maturation.

• Trauma and Healing
  Jamie’s trauma from his father’s death and his brutal flogging at the hands of Captain Randall is palpable. The novella doesn’t shy away from showing how trauma lingers and shapes a person. Yet through care—especially from Ian and Rebekah—Jamie begins a slow, tentative healing process.

• Cultural Identity and Outsiderness
  As Highlanders in France and as mercenaries in a mixed troop of Jews, Spaniards, and Frenchmen, Jamie and Ian are always outsiders. The narrative explores the tension between cultural identity, exile, and how one carves a space in a foreign land.

• Faith and Morality
  Catholic rituals, Jewish customs, and individual prayer all form a spiritual undercurrent in the novella. Jamie clings to prayer for peace and connection to his dead father, while moral ambiguity surrounds mercenary life, forcing both boys to question what is right.

Writing Style and Tone

Diana Gabaldon’s prose in Virgins is immersive, lyrical, and emotionally rich. She seamlessly blends historical detail with modern sensibility, capturing the period’s language and setting while maintaining narrative clarity for the contemporary reader. Her dialogue crackles with authenticity, especially between Jamie and Ian, whose conversations are peppered with Gaelic, French, and dry humor. She demonstrates a masterful ability to render physical and emotional pain without melodrama, making her characters deeply human.

The tone oscillates between dark realism and wistful tenderness. There are brutal scenes of violence, including the aftermath of torture and a disturbing interrogation, yet Gabaldon balances these with moments of levity, camaraderie, and introspection. The novella is imbued with a sense of transition—both personal and historical—conveying the fragility of youth on the cusp of irreversible change.