How To Read The Outlander Book Series In Order
Outlander (1991) Dragonfly in Amber (1992) Voyager (1993) Drums of Autumn (1996) The Fiery Cross (2001) A Breath of Snow and Ashes (2005) An Echo in the Bone (2009) Written in My Own Heart's Blood (2014) Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone (2021)
1991's Outlander begins in 1946 with former WWII nurse Claire Randall being inadvertently transported back to the 18th century while visiting Scotland. Claire encounters her husband's ancestors and falls in with a clan of Highlanders. To protect her from Black Jack Randall, Claire is wed to Jamie Fraser, and the two eventually begin a romance as she attempts to understand her time-traveling situation.
The Outlander TV series has followed the Outlander book series order exactly, and though Outlander season 1 made book changes, it was largely faithful. If anything, the show actually fleshed out characters like Laoghaire who were less developed in the book.Dragonfly in Amber begins in 1968 as Claire and her daughter Brianna mourn the death of Claire's 20th-century husband, Frank. She visits Scotland in hopes of discovering Jamie Fraser's fate in the 18th century and recounts their time together in Paris trying to stop the Jacobite rising. Claire remembers Jamie sending her back to the 20th century on the eve of the Battle of Culloden where he will surely die.
As with the first, season 2 of Outlander copied the framework of the second novel, but tweaked details for greater effect. Gabaldon's plotting already has a cinematic approach, and it made Dragonfly in Amber's adaptation even more authentic.In Voyager, Jamie is revealed to have survived the Battle of Culloden but is on the lam as a traitor to the English crown. In 1968, Claire learns that Jamie is still alive and travels back to his time to reunite with him. The pair eventually sail for Jamaica and crash-land in the pre-Revoluntionary War colony of Georgia in the New World.
As the book's storylines began diverging, Outlander season 3 did an excellent job of balancing its threads while still being faithful to Voyager. Outlander changed for season 3, but only because it reflected Gabaldon's increasingly expanding universe within the Outlander series of books.Freshly landed in the New World, Drums of Autumn follows Claire and Jamie, along with Jamie's nephew Ian, as they attempt to make a fresh start in the colony of North Carolina. The duo must walk a fine political line between their own pasts and the brewing American Revolution.
Meanwhile, in the 1960s, Claire's daughter Brianna learns of the dark fate of her mother. The books provided a framework, and Outlander season 4 took Gabaldon's ideas and ran with them. The fourth season finally paid off the decision to keep Murtagh alive though he died in the books, and he became a central figure in the season.Further ingraining themselves in the fabric of history throughout the Outlander book series, The Fiery Cross sees Jamie, Claire, and their ever-expanding time-traveling family get involved in the late-18th century American colony upheaval.
Jamie must decide where his loyalties lie as he is pressed into North Carolina's War of Regulation. Up until Outlander season 5, the show had followed the continuity of the books. However, in order to truncate Gabaldon's massive novels, season 5 witnessed several moments that didn't occur in The Fiery Cross, but actually in the Outlander series' subsequent books. The most notable deviation was Roger and Brianna's return to the 20th century, which hadn't happened yet.Building tensions in the American colonies come to a head in A Breath of Snow and Ashes, as Jamie finally declares himself a rebel and joins the American revolutionary cause.
The Fraser clan is forced to deal with constant threats on their kin and property as the American colonies devolve into lawlessness and chaos. With several of the book's plot threads out of the way already in season 5, Outlander season 6 was only eight episodes and a much more streamlined adaptation of A Breath of Snow and Ashes. Also, the decision to carry over key moments from the sixth book into season 7 was a first for the show.Though the Outlander book series was always complex, the interweaving storylines exploded in An Echo in the Bone with the American Revolution as a backdrop.
Jamie and Claire are embroiled in the war on the opposite side of Lord John Grey and Jamie's illegitimate son William. Meanwhile, Brianna and Roger attempt to readjust to life in the 1970s after their experience in the past. Unlike previous seasons which were literal translations of the books, An Echo in the Bone joins A Breath of Snow and Ashes and the eighth book as inspiration for season 7, as the series begins to wrap up with so much more content left to cover.Written in My Own Heart's Blood takes place in the hottest days of the Revolutionary War as fighting rages up north.
Returning from abroad with Claire believing he died, Jamie shockingly discovers that she has married Lord John Grey to avoid being arrested. Meanwhile, in the 20th century, Brianna is stalked by a mysterious murderer. With Outlander season 7 split into two parts, it is likely that portions of Written in My Own Heart's Blood will be covered in the second half. Season 8 has been announced as the show's last, which leaves a lot from the Outlander book series to fit into two and a half seasons.30 years after the publication of the first installment in the Outlander book series, Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone sees the Fraser family in a state of equilibrium as they are finally united on their North Carolina homestead.
However, the Revolutionary War is quickly coming to their doorstep and threatens to shatter the fleeting happiness the family has gained. As yet, no information has come regarding how the ninth book in Gabaldon's epic series will factor into the Outlander show. It will likely be partially adapted for season 8, or it could be the framework for the final season despite the impending tenth book from the author.Lord John and the Private Matter (2003) Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade (2007) Lord John and the Hand of Devils (2007) The Scottish Prisoner (2011)
Seeing the potential in the fan-favorite supporting Outlander character of Lord John Grey from the book series, Gabaldon penned a slew of novellas and short stories involving the character which eventually grew into novels. Eschewing the sweeping romance of the Outlander series, the Lord John series casts him as a sleuth of sorts who investigates mysteries. What's more, Lord John often encounters the supernatural which is something that wasn't covered in Outlander. Though somewhat tonally disparate, the Lord John series is written with the same cinematic flare of Gabaldon's other major works and even features crossovers with Jamie Fraser.
