Book Recommendations

Your Complete Guide to Reading the ‘Outlander’ Book Series in Order

Are you feeling the effects of the Droughtlander? Do you need a good book series to curl up and read? Well, if you want to keep Outlander at the top of your mind and haven’t read the books, now is the time.

Diana Gabaldon kicked off her Outlander book series all the way back in 1991 with the release of the titular novel. Over more than 30 years, she has released eight more books along with a John Grey series, novellas, and more. The bestselling author is also hard at work on the tenth Outlander novel. The eighth and final season of Outlander has wrapped filming, and the prequel series Outlander: Blood of My Blood will premiere in summer 2025.

Wondering where to begin with the Outlander universe? If you want to find out how to read all the Outlander novels and novellas (and we mean all of them) in order, Swooon has you covered. Scroll down to learn the chronological order of the Outlander literary universe. (Note: If you just want to read the main Outlander series, go for it! This is just your comprehensive reading order that includes all of Gabaldon’s work.)

1. Virgins (Novella)

This prequel novella was actually published in 2016, but it follows a young Jamie Fraser in 1740. Jamie has left Scotland with Ian Murray to become mercenaries in France. If you’re wanting to explore Jamie’s origin story before he ever met Claire, this novella is for you.

2. Outlander 

The novel that started it all. Outlander begins in 1945 with Claire Randall, newly back from war, on a second honeymoon in the Scottish Highlands. When she walks through a standing stone, she finds herself in 1743 Scotland. In the midst of the danger she’s dropped right into, she falls in love with handsome Scot Jamie Fraser and realizes she’s quite literally torn between two worlds.

3. Dragonfly in Amber 

The highly-anticipated sequel to Outlander was published in 1992. Dragonfly in Amber takes place in dual timelines. In 1968, Claire and Jamie’s daughter, Brianna, emerges as a major character, along with Roger Wakefield. In the past, Claire and Jamie go to great lengths to try and prevent the Jacobite rising.

4. A Fugitive Green (Novella)

The 2017 novella, featured in Gabaldon’s short fiction collection Seven Stones to Stand or Fall, revolves around Lord John Grey’s brother, Hal Grey, and his future wife, Minnie.

5. Voyager

The third novel in the Gabaldon’s main Outlander book series sees Claire fighting to get back to Jamie after learning he didn’t die in the Battle of Culloden. She travels back in time to reunite with him, and they set off on an adventure that takes them overseas.

6. Lord John and the Hellfire Club (Novella)

Beloved Outlander character Lord John Grey investigates a man’s death in this novella, which is featured in the Lord John and the Hand of Devils collection. Lord Grey crosses paths with Sir Francis Dashwood and gets involved in the secretive and mysterious Hellfire Club.

7. Lord John and the Private Matter (Novella)

Gabaldon published a full-length Lord John Grey novel in 2003. The book is set in 1757 London and 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,” according to Gabaldon.

8. Lord John and the Succubus (Novella)

The author has a soft spot for Lord John Grey. This novella, also included in the Lord John and the Hand of Devils collection, features Lord John in Germany in 1757.

9. Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade

Lord John gets the leading man treatment once again in Gabaldon’s second full-length novel about the character. The book, published in 2007, picks up in 1758 and revolves around family secrets. Jamie also makes an appearance!

10. Lord John and the Haunted Soldier (Novella)

You thought we were done with Lord John Grey? Think again. Like Brotherhood of the Blade, this novella is set in 1758 and follows Lord John as he investigates the explosion of a cannon. The novella is featured in the Lord John and the Hand of Devils collection.

11. The Custom of the Army (Novella)

The Custom of the Army picks up on the heels of Lord John and the Haunted Soldier. In 1759, Lord John has been promoted within His Majesty’s Army. While helping an old friend, Lord John winds up ends up at the Battle of Quebec.

12. The Scottish Prisoner

This full-length novel is set in 1760 and revolves round Lord John and Jamie. The two fan-favorite characters recount “different perspectives in a tale of politics, corruption, murder, opium dreams, horses, and illegitimate sons.”

13. A Plague of Zombies (Novella)

In 1761 Jamaica, Lord John is sent in command of a battalion to quell a slave rebellion. Along the way, he discovers an affinity for snakes, cockroaches, and zombies.

14. Besieged (Novella)

When Lord John learns that his mother is in Havana, Cuba, he rushes to rescue her before the British Navy lay siege to the city. Besieged is set in 1762 and can be read in Gabaldon’s Seven Stones to Stand or Fall collection.

15. Drums of Autumn

The fourth novel in the main Outlander series begins in 1767 with Jamie and Claire settling in the New World, specifically the mountains of North Carolina. Meanwhile, in the 20th century, Brianna sets out on a quest to find her parents.

16. The Fiery Cross

Jamie and Claire begin to prepare for the oncoming American Revolution in the fifth book in the Outlander saga. A war of that magnitude is hard for Jamie to believe at first, but Claire’s time-traveling abilities have allowed her to give Jamie key information about the troubling times ahead.

17. A Breath of Snow and Ashes

The sixth Outlander novel picks up where The Fiery Cross left off. The political turmoil in the colonies continues to increase, and we all know what’s on the horizon. Claire’s medical knowledge is both a blessing and a curse. Meanwhile, Jamie finds himself torn just as the world is on the brink of war.

18. An Echo in the Bone

The seventh novel in the series is told through several POVs: Jamie and Claire, Roger and Bree, Lord John, and Young Ian. The expansive book jumps between America, England, Scotland, and Canada as the American Revolution gets underway.

19. Written in My Own Heart’s Blood

Set in 1778, the eighth installment features Jamie returning to his loved ones after his presumed death. However, when Jamie finds Claire, he learns she’s married to someone else, among other surprises.

20. A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows (Novella)

This isn’t a Lord John Grey novella! Published in 2012, Gabaldon focuses on what happened to Roger’s parents. He was told that his mother died during the London Blitz and his father was killed in combat. In An Echo in the Bone, Roger learned that wasn’t his father’s fate. The novella reveals what really happened.

21. The Space Between (Novella)

This short story centers on Young Ian’s brother, Michael Murray, as well as Joan MacKimmie, Marsali’s younger sister. Michael and Joan get caught up in a high-stakes adventure when the time-traveling Comte St. Germain learns Joan’s in Paris. This novella can be read in Gabaldon’s Seven Stones to Stand or Fall collection.

22. Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone

Gabaldon’s ninth Outlander novel was released in 2022, more than 30 years after the first. Jamie, Claire, Brianna, and Roger have found peace in the past, but it’s now the most dangerous place to be. With the American Revolution inching closer to Fraser’s Ridge, Jamie and Claire are at risk of being torn apart once again.

For a deep-dive into the historical romance and details on the upcoming prequel, pick up a copy of TV Guide Magazine’s Outlander: Claire & Jamie’s Love Story For The Ages issue at Outlander2024.com.