Excitement among Outlander fans is buildings as the time-travelling extravaganza moves towards its conclusion, on screen at least. The second part of series seven will air from November with season eight set to be the last time we see Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe as Jamie and Claire Fraser.
While the prequel series Blood Of My Blood will be a treat for fans, it is unlikely to gain the sort of following the original series has. Based on the books by Diana Gabaldon, Outlander merges fantasy and history with the fictional characters interacting with those based on real people.
But one of those true-life character might have an even stranger backstory than the fiction. The mysterious Comte de Saint Germain appeared in season two of Outlander, becoming an enemy of Claire and Jamie.
Played by Stanley Weber, he is a time-traveller like Claire and she suspects him of an attempt on her life. Jamie is forced to go into business with him before he is poisoned by Master Raymond.
The real-life Comte de Saint Germain was equally as mysterious as the one depicted in the novels and on screen. AEuropean adventurer, with an interest in science, alchemy and the arts, his real name, as well as his origins, is actually unknown and he could have been born anytime between 1691 and 1712 – at least if you don’t believe his claims to be 500 years old.
He composed music and claimed to be the son of Francis II Rákóczi, the Prince of Transylvania, with his true identity kept hidden to protect him from Habsburg persecution. There is little to back this story up, but historians have not ruled it out given St Germain’s wealth and education.
Said to have been educated in Italy, he wound a web of falsehoods, half-truths and tall tales to conceal his true identity. The mystery did not hamper him socially and he rubbed shoulders with the likes of Casanova, Mozart and Voltaire, who dubbed him the ‘Wonderman’.
Spending time in England, France and the Netherlands, St Germain tried to broker a peace between Britain and France in the Seven Years War and was trusted enough by Louis XV of France to be employed for diplomatic missions. He spent his latter years in the Duchy of Schleswig in modern-day Germany where he died in 1784, his age unknown for sure although he had claimed to be 88 in when he arrived there in 1779.