An Outlander Books Guide with Diana Gabaldon
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Learn about the Outlander books the Starz series is based on, with an exclusive from author Diana Gabaldon.
The Outlander TV series was an instant success. Not only does the time-traveling show feature a strong female heroine and a hunky-yet-sensitive male lead played by Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan, respectively, Outlander also boasts a compelling story, stunning filming locations and very, um, captivating love scenes.
But for many fans, 75 episodes (so far) simply isn't enough. Luckily, Outlander is based on a book series, and the books are filled with more time-traveling, romantic and saucy scenes than could fit into the TV show. “The show does a wonderful job with adapting the source material, but they have very limited space in which to tell a story—I don’t,” Outlander author Diana Gabaldon tells Parade.com. “So I have a LOT more story to tell. They can’t possibly fit more than a tenth of the material from any one book into a season, so if you feel an attachment for the characters, why not spend more time with them and find out what else they were doing?”
So in short, should fans of the series read the Outlander books? “Of course they should! Assuming that they enjoy reading to start with, and I do hope most people do,” Gabaldon says. Even if you haven’t yet checked out the TV show on starz.com, the books are a great starting point to get sucked in.
Who wrote the Outlander books?
Diana Gabaldon’s first Outlander novel was published back in 1991. She actually planned Outlander as her “practice” novel, and initially never meant to show it to anyone.
Related: 50 Surprising Outlander Facts
What is the Outlander book series about?
Although the series defies genre, Outlander could be called “historical fantasy.” Beginning after World War II, combat nurse Claire Beauchamp Randall is vacationing with her husband in the Scottish Highlands when she’s transported back in time to 1743 Scotland through an ancient stone circle. There, she meets Jamie Fraser, who helps her navigate this dangerous new (or actually, old) world and whom she finds herself drawn to.
Claire and Jamie go on to have adventures in France, the Caribbean and America, in addition to Scotland. More time-traveling occurs, as well, but we don’t want to spoil it.
How many Outlander books are there?
There are nine books so far, along with a “sub-series” focusing on the character of Lord John Grey, a graphic novel called The Exile, as well as more short stories and novellas collected in Seven Stones to Stand or Fall.
Gabaldon is currently writing the—at this point untitled—tenth and final novel in the series. She delighted fans almost a year ago by tweeting an excerpt from the book.
The Lord Grey series may also be making its way to television. “We think there’s a lot of opportunity in the Outlander universe to have story extensions or spinoffs or sequels. We continue to look at that with our partners at Sony,” Starz CEO Jeffrey Hirsch said at Outlander’s 2020 Television Critics Association panel.
Related: 50 Surprising Outlander Facts to Get You Ready
The Outlander books in order
The main Outlander book series, from first to last, is:
What does Diana Gabaldon think of the Outlander series?
Gabaldon was involved in taking the story from page to screen, and she's happy with how it's turned out, even if some aspects are slightly different. “The production people are really good about asking my opinion—I am a consultant on the show—and they do frequently pay attention to what I think. Sometimes I can persuade them to do or not do a particular thing—but not always,” she says. “The producers and writers are creative people, just as I am, and very reasonably, they want to create. I respect that, and often I like their creations a lot.”
Gabaldon knows that telling a story in different mediums requires different techniques. “Well, it’s an adaptation. Naturally, there will be changes, to make the selected pieces of the original story into something more compact, but which still carries the essence of the original,” she says. “On the whole, they do a really good job of this, but there are always going to be changes that I really like and others, you know, not so much.”
Look for a cameo of Gabaldon in the first season of Outlander, episode 104, “The Gathering.”
Related: Obsessed With Outlander? We've Rounded Up 10 New Books You'll Want to Read ASAP
Does the Outlander series follow the Outlander books?
So far, the show does follow the main plotlines of the book, although there are some smaller changes, including one character who’s kept alive in the show after he dies in the novels (Spoiler: It’s Murtagh). Some scenes were left out, some added in and some characters changed slightly—Claire’s husband, Frank, for example, was made more likable in the TV show in order to make Claire’s choice between him and Jamie more difficult.
Which changes did Gabaldon like best? “I loved the creation/alteration of Rupert and Angus, for instance,” she says of Jamie’s two friends from the earlier seasons. “These two characters do occur in the book, but only briefly, and aren’t involved in any of the main storylines. The evolution of them into an 18th century Scottish Rosencrantz and Guildenstern was brilliant, both in terms of the writing and the acting.”
As for which change she wasn’t a fan of (minor spoilers!), “I suppose the change I liked least was the climactic scene of Season 2, where Claire is obliged to leave Jamie, knowing he’s going to be killed in the next few hours at [the Battle of] Culloden,” Gabaldon says. “In the book, this scene is heart-wrenching, agonizing, erotic and full of tension—and as a last desperate gesture of need and longing, Claire urges Jamie to mark her hand with his dirk; cut deep enough to leave a scar, so she’ll have something physical left of him. He does, and makes her cut him as well, saying that at least he’ll feel her touch in his last fight.”
That’s a little more dramatic than what the show writers opted to do. “The writer thought it would be so much better for Claire instead to hand Jamie the lump of amber with a fossilized dragonfly in it that they were given as a wedding present, as a keepsake, which he can then admire for the next couple of hours before he dies,” she says.
Related: Best Outlander Episodes
Does Diana Gabaldon write for the TV show?
Not often, but she has—and in the fifth season, Gabaldon wrote episode 511. Adapting her work for television, she says, is “a lot of fun." She adds, "It’s more of a technical challenge than anything else; scriptwriting is a totally different animal than writing a novel. It’s a collective process, rather than a solitary one, and it exists on multiple levels: as concept and theme, as incidents, as conversation, as flow, as a reference to other parts of the season, and finally, as a pragmatic springboard for the actors to create their own magic.”
Why are the Outlander books so long?
It’s true that the Outlander novels aren’t known for their brevity—the shortest is over 600 pages—but that just gives readers more time to spend with Claire and Jamie. “Well, regardless of length, you read any book one word at a time,” Gabaldon reasons. “If you’re not enjoying it, you just stop. Actually, I used to offer a bet to people who picked up the book while I was sitting in a mall signing and asked me what it was about. I’d say, ‘I tell you what—pick it up, open it anywhere and read three pages. If you can put it down again, I’ll pay you a dollar.’ Never lost any money, but sold a lot of books!”
Related: Outlander-Inspired Gifts for the Sassenach in Your Life
What is Gabaldon’s favorite Outlander book?
“My favorite is always the one I’m writing—because I don’t yet know what happens in it, and it’s really exciting to find out!” she says
How many Outlander books will there be?
Gabaldon is writing the untitled 10th and final book in the series. It follows the further adventures of the Fraser family. Gabaldon's latest Outlander book dropped on Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2021, so it's available now.
Is Gabaldon on social media, so fans can find out more about the new book and when it’s out?
“They can find me on Twitter, @writer_DG, or on Facebook at facebook.com/AuthorDianaGabaldon,” she says. “Life is not long enough to do Instagram, at least not right now…”
Next up, here are the best Outlander sex scenes.
