There’s nothing better than losing yourself in a great summer series. I found Outlander after my second child was born—exhausted by the endless demands of a newborn, the idea of escaping to 18th-century Scotland was too tempting to resist. Based on Diana Gabaldon’s novels, the show follows Claire Randall (Caitríona Balfe), a spirited nurse who steps into an ancient stone circle and is swept back in time from 1946 to 1743. There, she meets the ultimate romantic hero: Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan), a Highland lord with the physique of a Greek god and a heart just as noble.

I wasn’t the only one obsessed with Jamie. My friend Torri thinks he set the standard for today’s “romantasy” heroes—characters like Rhysand from A Court of Thorns and Roses or Xaden Riorson from Fourth Wing. “He ticks every box—strong, protective, yet deeply respectful of his partner’s independence. He was the original,” she says. Another friend, Val, who fell in love with the books back in 1998, recalls: “I adored the mix of romance and history—and, of course, Jamie Fraser. I got at least four friends hooked on the series. One even threw the second book at me, joking, ‘Where’s the next one?!’”

We’d gather at Scottish pubs in New York’s East Village to dissect the latest twists and debate whether Heughan and Balfe had real-life chemistry. Val even traveled to Scotland after the show premiered in 2014, snapping photos of kilted bagpipers and visiting Fort William—the site of Jamie’s brutal flogging by Captain “Black Jack” Randall—hoping to find her own Highland warrior.

Other fans went on Outlander-themed tours, encouraged by Scotland’s tourism slogan: “Give in to your kilty pleasures.” (With the show’s eighth and final season coming next year, a prequel series, Outlander: Blood of My Blood, premieres on Starz this August.)

But was there ever a real Jamie Fraser? Not exactly. Gabaldon was inspired by a Doctor Who rerun featuring a kilted character named Jamie McCrimmon, then stumbled upon Eric Linklater’s The Prince in the Heather, which tells of 19 Jacobite officers who hid after the 1746 Battle of Culloden. Eighteen died—only one, a Fraser, survived. And so, the legend of Jamie was born.

In the series, Jamie is born at Lallybroch, his family’s (fictional) Highland estate, to Ellen MacKenzie and Brian Fraser. The two eloped and hid until Ellen’s pregnancy forced her brothers to accept the marriage—they’d wanted her to wed a Grant, naturally.

The real Frasers trace their roots to 1160, with Hugh Fraser becoming the first Lord Lovat around 1460. More diplomats than warriors, they married strategically and ruled peacefully—until the Jacobite uprisings dragged them into a doomed fight to restore the Stuart monarchy. After the Scots’ defeat at Culloden, Britain banned tartans and suppressed Gaelic, driving many Highlanders to America.

Some Frasers paid dearly for rebellion, like Simon Fraser, the 11th Lord Lovat (1667–1747), the last man beheaded in Britain. Legend says the phrase “laughing your head off” came from his amused reaction to a collapsing spectator stand at his execution.

Jamie might have admired Brigadier Simon “Shimi” Fraser, the 15th Lord Lovat (1911–1995), who led commandos onto Normandy’s beaches on D-Day—with his personal bagpiper in tow. Churchill called him “the handsomest man to slit a throat,” a line that could’ve fit Jamie just as well.Here’s a more natural and fluent version of your text:

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Hitler once placed a 100,000-mark bounty on his head.

Shimi Fraser on the set of the 1962 war film The Longest Day, where he was played by Peter Lawford.
(Photo: Getty Images)

Today’s clan chief, Simon Fraser, the 16th Lord Lovat, inherited his title at 18. Now 46, he was educated at Harrow and the University of Edinburgh before working in finance. In 2016, he married Petra Palumbo—daughter of Peter Palumbo, Baron Palumbo—and the couple now lives in Beauly, Scotland, where Petra is a well-known housewares designer.

(Photo: Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat, and Petra Palumbo leaving St. Stephen Walbrook church in London on their wedding day. Getty Images)

Speaking over email recently, Fraser admitted that after Outlander aired, he noticed growing interest in the Highlands—especially in Clan Fraser. While he appreciates the enthusiasm (and romance) of visitors making the trip to Beauly, he jokes, “It does get a little awkward explaining that Lallybroch and the Standing Stones aren’t real.”

Even so, the Fraser legacy remains strong. Russell Crowe, who recently learned of his own Fraser ancestry, wore a Fraser tartan tie to Wimbledon—borrowed from his friend Simon. (“He’s very proud of his roots,” Simon says.)

As for his own children, Fraser hopes they’ll embrace their heritage as they grow. “I want them to feel connected to our Highland community, to have that sense of belonging,” he says. And if Outlander helps strengthen their ties to the clan? Even better.

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This version keeps the original meaning while making the language smoother and more conversational. Let me know if you’d like any further refinements!