Diana Gabaldon’s bestselling book series are the inspiration behind the TV adaptation Outlander.
Outlander fans, assemble: Claire and Jamie Fraser have finally returned for the highly-anticipated seventh season of the historical fantasy drama.
The new season – which is set to be the show’s penultimate run – began with first episode A Life Well Lost on Friday 16th June, and sees the Frasers tackle the American Revolution.
The show continues to be split into two different timelines, with Jamie and Claire in the 1770s, while Brianna (Sophie Skelton), Roger (Richard Rankin) and their children have fast-forwarded into 1980s Scotland, and some fans have been quick to complain that there hasn’t been enough focus on the main duo this season.
However, this is reflective of season 7‘s source material: Diana Gabaldon’s novel An Echo in the Bone.
The first book of Gabaldon’s series – titled Outlander – was published in 1991, and was the inspiration behind Outlander season 1, with each subsequent season of Outlander also following one book in the series.
With the season 7 finale fast approaching, and season 8 in the pipeline, read on for everything you need to know about Diana Gabaldon’s acclaimed book series and how to read them in order.
Outlander books in order
1. Outlander (1991)
Originally published in the UK, New Zealand and Australia under the title “Cross Stitch”, the first book in the Outlander series follows 20th century nurse Claire Randall, who accidentally travels back in time to the 18th century while holidaying in Scotland – and eventually marries a Scottish Highlander warrior, Jamie Fraser.
Their marriage is initially one of convenience, ensuring that Claire is protected from red coat English soldiers – but the star-crossed couple soon fall for one another. Season one of the televised adaptation is based on Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander, and follows the couple on their adventures.
Fancy reading the books behind the Outlander series? You can buy the first book Outlander on Amazon.
Fancy watching Outlander season one after reading the book? Sign up for Amazon Prime for £7.99 a month with a 30-day free trial.
2. Dragonfly in Amber (1992)
The book jumps back and forth between two timelines – firstly in the 1960s, after Claire has returned to the present and emigrated to the US with her present-day husband, Frank Randall, where they both raise Brianna, Claire’s daughter by Jamie.
The second timeline is set in Paris in 1744, where Claire and Jamie seek out Charles Stuart (“Bonnie Prince Charlie”).
You can buy Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon on Amazon here.
3. Voyager (1993)
Having failed to prevent the battle of Culloden, and anticipating Jamie’s death on the battlefield, Claire returned to her own time to raise their child – but as we learn at the beginning of the third Outlander book, Voyager, “Red Jamie” survived that battle.
The third season of the Outlander television series is based on the book. You can buy Voyager by Diana Gabaldon on Amazon here.
4. Drums of Autumn (1996)
The fourth book in the Outlander book series, Drums of Autumn, sees an older Claire reunited with her Scottish warrior husband Jamie Fraser, as they set a course for their new life together in North Carolina.
However, back in the 1960s, their daughter Brianna stumbles across an artefact that may impact her beloved mother, and the father she never met, in their own time.
You can buy Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon here.
5. The Fiery Cross (2001)
In Diana Gabaldon’s The Fiery Cross, Brianna and her betrothed, Roger Mackenzie, finally marry and settle at Fraser’s Ridge in the 1770s, alongside Brianna’s mother, Claire, and her birth father, Jamie Fraser.
However, Claire, Brianna, and Roger can all foresee the American Revolution – and the longer they stay in the past, the greater the rebellions around them grow.
You can buy The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon on Amazon here.
6. A Breath of Snow and Ashes (2005)
The sixth book in the Outlander series, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, sees Claire and her Scottish Highlander husband attempt to protect Fraser’s Ridge from unrest beyond their control – while Jamie is torn between the love for his men and for freedom, and his former oath to the British crown.
You can buy A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon on Amazon here.
7. An Echo in the Bone (2009)
Diana Gabaldon’s seventh Outlander book An Echo in the Bone, published in 2009, returns us back to the 20th century, where Brianna, Roger, and their son Jem are living at the ancestral seat of the Frasers: Lallybroch.
However, their tranquility is soon interrupted by an unexpected time traveller – and news that could threaten young Jem.
In the past, we also become better acquainted with Lord William Ellesmere – raised by beloved character Lord John Grey, but in reality the illegitimate son of “Red Jamie”.
You can buy An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon on Amazon here.
8. Written in My Own Heart’s Blood (2014)
The eighth instalment in the Outlander novel series, Diana Gabaldon’s Written in My Own Heart’s Blood, takes a dramatic turn as Jamie is presumed lost at sea.
Claire is forced to marry Lord John Grey for protection – and in the meantime, events are leading up to the historic battle of the American Revolutionary War: the Battle of Monmouth in 1778.
You can buy Written in My Own Heart’s Blood by Diana Gabaldon on Amazon here.
9. Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone (2021)
The latest instalment in the book series is titled Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone.
Gabaldon’s own synopsis of the novel on her website reads: “The past may seem the safest place to be… But it is the most dangerous time to be alive… Jamie Fraser and Claire Randall were torn apart by the Jacobite Rising in 1743, and it took them twenty years to find each other again. Now the American Revolution threatens to do the same.”
You can buy Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon on Amazon here.
Outlander is available to stream on Starz in the US and on Lionsgate+ in the UK. You can buy Diana Gabaldon’s books on Amazon.