Chronology of the Outlander series
The Outlander series includes three kinds of stories:
The Big, Enormous Books that have no discernible genre (or all of them);
The Shorter, Less Indescribable Novels that are more or less historical mysteries (though dealing also with battles, eels, and mildly deviant sexual practices);
And
The Bulges—These being short(er) pieces that fit somewhere inside the story lines of the novels, much in the nature of squirming prey swallowed by a large snake. These deal frequently—but not exclusively—with secondary characters, are prequels or sequels, and/or fill some lacuna left in the original story lines.
Now. Most of the shorter novels (so far) fit within a large lacuna left in the middle of VOYAGER, in the years between 1757 and 1761. Some of the Bulges also fall in this period; others don’t.
So, for the reader’s convenience, here is a detailed Chronology, showing the sequence of the various elements in terms of the storyline. _However, it should be noted that the shorter novels and novellas are all designed suchly that they may be read alone_, without reference either to each other or to the Big, Enormous Books—should you be in the mood for a light literary snack instead of the nine-course meal with wine-pairings and dessert trolley.
OUTLANDER (novel)—If you’ve never read any of the series, I’d suggest starting here. If you’re unsure about it, open the book anywhere and read three pages; if you can put it down again, I’ll give you a dollar. (1946/1743)
DRAGONFLY IN AMBER (novel)—It doesn’t start where you think it’s going to. And it doesn’t end how you think it’s going to, either. Just keep reading; it’ll be fine. (1968/1744-46)
VOYAGER (novel)—This won an award from EW magazine for “Best Opening Line.” (To save you having to find a copy just to read the opening, it was: “He was dead. However, his nose throbbed painfully, which he thought odd, in the circumstances.”) If you’re reading the series in order, rather than piecemeal, you do want to read this book before tackling the novellas or the Lord John novels. (1968/1766-67)
LORD JOHN AND THE HAND OF DEVILS/”Lord John and the Hellfire Club” (novella)—Just to add an extra layer of confusion, The Hand of Devils is a collection that includes three novellas. The first one, “Lord John and the Hellfire Club,” is set in London in 1757, and deals with a red-haired man who approaches Lord John Grey with an urgent plea for help, just before dying in front of him. [Originally published in the anthology Past Poisons, ed. Maxim Jakubowski, 1998.]
LORD JOHN AND THE PRIVATE MATTER (novel)—Set in London, in 1758, this is a historical mystery steeped in blood and even less-savory substances, in which Lord John meets (in short order) a valet, a traitor, an apothecary with a sure cure for syphilis, a bumptious German, and an unscrupulous merchant prince.
LORD JOHN AND THE HAND OF DEVILS/”Lord John and the Succubus” (novella)— The second novella in the Hand of Devils collection finds Lord John in Germany in 1758, having unsettling dreams about Jamie Fraser, unsettling encounters with Saxon princesses, night-hags, and a really disturbing encounter with a big, blond Hanoverian graf. [Originally published in the anthology Legends II, ed. Robert Silverberg, 2004.]
LORD JOHN AND THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE BLADE (novel)—The second full-length novel focused on Lord John (but it does include Jamie Fraser) is set in 1759, deals with a twenty-year-old family scandal, and sees Lord John engaged at close range with exploding cannon and even more dangerously explosive emotions.
LORD JOHN AND THE HAND OF DEVILS/”Lord John and the Haunted Soldier” (novella)—The third novella in this collection is set in 1759, in London and the Woolwich Arsenal. In which, Lord John faces a court of inquiry into the explosion of a cannon, and learns that there are more dangerous things in the world than gunpowder.
“The Custom of the Army” (novella)—Set in 1759. In which his lordship attends an electric-eel party in London and ends up at the Battle of Quebec. He’s just the sort of person things like that happen to. [Originally published in Warriors, eds. George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois, 2010.]
THE SCOTTISH PRISONER (novel)—This one’s set in 1760, in the Lake District, London, and Ireland. A sort of hybrid novel, it’s divided evenly between Jamie Fraser and Lord John Grey, who are recounting their different perspectives in a tale of politics, corruption, murder, opium dreams, horses, and illegitimate sons.
“Plague of Zombies” (novella)—Set in 1761, in Jamaica, when Lord John is sent in command of a battalion to put down a slave rebellion and discovers a hitherto unsuspected affinity for snakes, cockroaches, and zombies. [Originally published in Down These Strange Streets, eds. George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois, 2011.]
DRUMS OF AUTUMN (novel)—This one begins in 1766, in the New World, where Jamie and Claire find a foothold in the mountains of North Carolina, and their daughter, Brianna, finds a whole lot of things she didn’t expect, when a sinister newspaper clipping sends her in search of her parents. (1968-1969/1766-67)
THE FIERY CROSS (novel)—The historical background to this one is the War of the Regulation in North Carolina (1767-1768), which was more or less a dress rehearsal for the oncoming Revolution. In which Jamie Fraser becomes a reluctant Rebel, his wife, Claire, becomes a conjure-woman and runs into a ghost. Something Much Worse happens to Brianna’s husband, Roger, but I’m not telling you what. This won several awards for “Best Last Line,” but I’m not telling you that, either. (Mid-1760s)
A BREATH OF SNOW AND ASHES (novel)—Winner of the 2006 Corine International Prize for Fiction, and a Quill Award (this book beat novels by both George R. R. Martin and Stephen King, which I thought Very Entertaining Indeed). All the books have an internal “shape” that I see while I’m writing them. This one looks like the Hokusai print titled “The Great Wave Off Kanagawa.” Think tsunami—two of them. (Early to mid-1770s/1970-71)
AN ECHO IN THE BONE (novel)—Set in America, London, Canada, and Scotland. The book’s cover image reflects the internal shape of the novel: a caltrop. That’s an ancient military weapon that looks like a child’s jack with sharp points; the Romans used them to deter elephants, and the Highway Patrol still uses them to stop fleeing perps in cars. This book has four major story lines: Jamie and Claire; Roger and Brianna (and family); Lord John and William; and Young Ian, all intersecting in the nexus of the American Revolution—and all of them with sharp points. (1777-1778/1972)
WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART’S BLOOD (novel)—The eighth of the Big Enormous Books, this will probably be published in 2013. It begins where An Echo in the Bone leaves off, in the summer of 1778 (and the autumn of 1973—or possibly 1974, I forget exactly).
“A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows” (short story (no, really, it is))— Set (mostly) in 1941–43, this is the story of What Really Happened to Roger MacKenzie’s parents. [Originally published in the anthology Songs of Love and Death, eds. George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois, 2010.]
“The Space Between” (novella)—Set in 1778, mostly in Paris, this novella deals with Michael Murray (Young Ian’s elder brother), Joan MacKimmie (Marsali’s younger sister), the Comte St. Germain (who is Not Dead After All), Mother Hildegarde, and a few other persons of interest. The space between what? It depends who you’re talking to. [To be published in early 2013 in the anthology The Mad Scientist’s Guide to World Dominiation, ed. John Joseph Adams.]
“Virgins” (novella)—Set in 1740, in France. In which Jamie Fraser (aged nineteen) and his friend Ian Murray (aged twenty) become young mercenaries. [To be published in late 2012, in the anthology Dangerous Women, eds. George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois.]
NOW REMEMBER . . .
You can read the short novels and novellas by themselves, or in any order you like. I would recommend reading the Big, Enormous Books in order, though.
P.S. There are a couple of other books to note here, though they don’t fit conveniently into the Chronology above:
THE EXILE (graphic novel) – written by me, and illustrated by the delightful artist Hoang Nguyen, this is OUTLANDER from Jamie’s point of view. Since there are lots of things that Claire (the outlander) didn’t see, didn’t understand, or was purposely left out of, this book shows you some of what she missed.
THE OUTLANDISH COMPANION – This is a non-fiction book, supplying background, trivia, commentary and general Stuff on the first four novels of the series. There are detailed synopses (for those who don’t want to re-read the whole series when a new book comes out, but would like to refresh their memories), articles on how I work, do research, develop characters, etc., a detailed bibliography of the main references I used while writing the first four books, a Cast of Characters listing—in case you don’t recall immediately who someone is—a Gaelic pronunciation guide and glossary, appendices on Poetry and Quotations used in the books, and so on. [There is a second COMPANION in the works, this one meant to cover the next four books in the main series, as well as the shorter novels and stories listed above. With luck, this will be out shortly after WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART’S BLOOD is published.]
These books are so fantastic. I’ve recommended them to a a handful of people and almost all have fallen in love with the series. My best friend and I even have certain”Jamie sayings” and people have no clue what we are talking about. Cannot wait to read the newest book, just finished Scottish Prisoner. Oh and I love Lord John…seriously I find him so fascinating.
Diana, no dollar need here. I’m on my second run through of the Big, Enormous Books since I discovered “Outlander” back in May. I’ve also read and fell in love with The Scottish Prisoner. Next on my “To Read” list is the Lord John series while I’m impatiently waiting for MOBY to be released.
Thank you so much for the chron. It’s proved very helpful to me.
Diana, will you ever publish all of the novellas in one volume? It would make it so much easier to have them on the bookshelves, along with the rest of my ” Outlander” collection, for easy access ( Or as my husband often put it: “Are you reading those books AGAIN? “)
Dear Sally–
Well, they’ll all be published in book form, eventually. Might take more than one volume, though. [g]
–Diana
Diana: I’ve had the luxury of reading all seven books over the last several weeks. I’m almost embarrassed to say I now feel desolate without “los Jaime’s” but that is how powerful your writing is and how adept you are at making your characters real. Obviously, I anxiouly await the the next book.
Meanwhile I started obsessing about the character Bobel, who beat Claire and broke her nose. Please tell me
the book, and the chapter in that book, where we first encounter him. I want to know why he hates Claire and Jamie so badly.
Jamie and Clair encounter Boble at a gathering. He is there as a thief taker and Jamie comes to the rescue of his intended victim. Sport is made of Boble which he later takes out on Clair. Am away from home and can’t give you the exact chapter. Go to Amazon and do a search of The Fiery Cross. Boble only appears in this incident and you’ll find him with no trouble.
Jerry – Thanks for steering me to the right novel. I did go to Amazon but other than being able to type in the name of the novel and get a synopis and reader’s remarks, I didn’t find anything that
led me directly to Bobel. If all else fails, I guess I can always re-read the section on the Gathering of The Clan. I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU TAKING THE TIME TO ANSWER MY QUERY.
“The Outlandish Companion” also has a couple of great recipes that Diana thoughtfully shared with readers. I’ve tried them – my copy of the book has the “cookery” handprints on it to prove it – and they are very good!
I saw the Outlander books in the library for years, but was put off by the mixing of genres – time travel (sci fi) and historical novel?? But one day about a year and a half ago I couldn’t find anything else to listen to (I am big into audio books) and so I picked up part 1 of Outlander. Well, the rest is history – that and the rest of the series is about all I listened to last year. When I ran out of the Outlander books, I needed something, and there was Lord John, thank goodness! I was bereft for a while a few weeks later when those were done. But, mirabile dictu, then the Scottish Prisoner was released and that got me through the holidays.
All I can say is that it is a good thing I didn’t start reading them until there were quite a few to read – no years long delays between them! That and I think I owe Diana a dollar!
THANK YOU Diana! Just finished Echo in the Bone! Wow! Hurry up and Help Jem!! Its killing me! (No pressure here lol!) Yours is the only series I’ve ever read more than twice…it will never hit the Garage Sale Stack! I get so immersed in your work, I find myself referring to my cat as “Yon wee Cheetie!”
And then I had to laugh at myself!
God Bless! and Good Writing!
I am what some people (my friends and family) call a real live book worm. I ‘eat’ my way through vast quantities of written word, and leave a pile of limp, discarded books in my wake. I have no book shelves in my house, simply because I have never really found anything that I would keep around and read again…until about 3 months ago when I came across Outlander. I became so absorbed that my poor husband actually had to ask me not to read at the dinner table, which would cause me to have a conniption should him or one of my children try do that! Being a faster then average reader, I managed to devour the entire Outlander series…AND the Lord John’s…..in about 2 weeks. My husband and children cheered…and then I started them all over again! LOL I am now on my third read through, and still I have not tired of them. Lord knows what will happen when MOBY is done and I have nothing new within my sights to look forward to…I may go absolutely crazy! In the meantime, I’ve decided to turn my collection of Diana Gabaldon’s into a complete hard cover collection, and I’m going to make my husband build me a book shelf to hold them.
Thank you SO much for the listing. Turns out I “only” owned 12 (all the biggies but only a few of the Lord John books) Am in the process of remedying that situation pronto. This will make it so much easier to wait for works in progress.
Hello! Cannot thank you enough for the gift of Jamie and Claire! But, I have read all the big books and am now reading Scottish Prisoner and am starting to get my timeline/characters mixed up. Can you please come up with or point me in the direction of someone’s detailed chronology/character list and plot summary? I know there is outlandish companion but does that go into chronology for the plot? If not, I will probably go page by page of everything Outlander and write it all down myself
Jessica, I will answer for Diana because I don’t want her to pull any of her hair out. (She gets a lot of repeat questions)
If you will click on the tiny left-most flag on the homepage of this blog, above her name, I think you will find what you are looking for.
Love the Outlander Series. Can’t wait until Written In My Own Hearts Blood is publised. Trying to delay the end of An Echo in the Bone (but can’t put it down). Don’t know how you do it, but keep them coming. Wonderful series!!!!! Trying to get all friends and family reading them. So far 3 members are in like me. Thanks
I love and adore Jamie and Claire. They are as real to me as anyone I’ve ever known. Diana, you are a very gifted channel. I’ve just finished the Out lander serries. And lamenting that fact! I will now go on to the Lord Grey books. Thank you, Thank You for sharing your gift with the world. In loving Spirit, Raine
I just thought I’d mention that the actress, Lisa Kudrow, mentioned in this week’s People magazine that she’s reading “Outlander”.
How curious to see this in Manga style! I see your style evolving with every publication Ms Diana.
Thank you for this. I am re-reading the Outlander books since it has been awhile and well they are my favorite books. Now i can read them all in this order
Been lookin at outlander series for awhile ……was given Scottish prisoner as a gift …..where should I start…chronological order please I m so confused
Dear Mary–
Ummm….is this post NOT a chronological listing of the series? [puzzled look]
–Diana
P.S. I’d start with OUTLANDER if I were you. You _can_ read SCOTTISH PRISONER as a stand-alone book, but it will have a good deal more depth if you read the first three books of the main series–OUTLANDER, DRAGONFLY IN AMBER, and VOYAGER, first.
Greetings from Australia! I have just finished reading all seven Outlander books for the second time. At the same time I am researching my family history. My ancestors came from the Isle of Skye, and some of them were MacLeods. I was chuffed when you mention MacLeod of Skeabost in one of your books, as that is the area where my ancestors lived. As you will know the Isle of Skye is in Inverness and I was fascinated to read your history of the area. I visited the Culloden Site in 1988 and could kick myself for not valueing what I was seeing. I saw many standing stones on Skye too, including those that are sited above the dead instead of headstones. I love the history, the time travel, the romance and the way you describe the sex. It is so beautifully written. My only beef is if I was Claire, I couldn’t help myself, I would have to tell everyone I was from the future! She is so much more sensible than I would be! I would have been burned at the stake! I am looking forward to the next book coming out this year! Keep up the good work Diana!
Dear Diana,
Thanks for the chronology. I am putting my books back on the shelf and decided to put them in order within a series. I first read Outlander while working in Turkey, 1995 -1999, when a lady co-worker lent me her copy after we had a discussion about time travel. I am heavily into Science Fiction and have been since I was a teen, with collections of Asimov, Heinlein and others (currently collecting David Weber’s Honor Harrington series). Writing a good series requires the stories to be consistent in their framework or you will only read 1 and not collect them. The hardest to write is where you mix genres, especially history. Great job so far and I find I am also missing some parts for this collection, both C and J and Lord John. Some of what I have is autographed, thank you Poisoned Pen. I still want to get one signed in person, but so far haven’t made it to a venue in my area when you are scheduled to be there. Might have to visit AZ during one of your appearances close to home.
I am obviously late to the game in discovering the “Echo” publication & have ordered it for immediate consumption. My delight in reading The Outlander series is only equaled by my enthusiasm for the current Downton Abbey Masterpiece Theatre drama. When I finished “A breath of Snow & Ashes” several years ago, I cried. I wept with sadness over the end of a relationship I had cherished. I wept with joy for the incredible composition of words that went into this unforgettable saga. Finally, I wept for the relief I felt in Claire’s last written words to her daughter. “……we are alive.” This series has a life of its own. It is so strong in every category/genre of writing: sci-fi, romance, history, drama, intrigue, occult….it has it all! It is mesmerizing! I so look forward to “Echo” and appreciate the compendium list provided so I can catch up on those entries I missed. Thank you Diana, for continuing the series that has won my heart!
I don’t think I have ever been this intrigued with a series of books. I am currently on the 4th book in the Outlander series, “The Drums Of Autumn.” I am listening to the audio books, because if I tried to sit and read them I would never accomplish anything else. Whenever I am listening to the books, I am so totally “there” that I can almost see Jamie and Claire before my eyes. The writing is phenomenal.
Thank you Ms. Gabaldon for your excellent work. You have brought a great deal of enjoyment to boring chores like washing dishes, mopping, watering the lawn, cooking dinner, etc. because that is when I listen!