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Outlander reading order

Outlander is a long, ongoing series of historical novels that mix romance, adventure and time travel. Here are the nine main novels published as of November 1, 2026, in the order they came out.

Where to start

Start with Outlander, the first novel. The books follow one continuing story across decades, so each one picks up from the last and gives away what came before.

The series is written for adults and includes sexual content, sexual violence and war, so look at a content guide if that matters to you.

Publication order

Read them in the order they were published. The author is still writing the series, so this covers the nine main novels out as of November 1, 2026, and leaves out the Lord John novels, the novellas and the story collections set in the same world.

  1. Outlander

    Diana Gabaldon

    A nurse home from World War II steps through a standing stone in the Scottish Highlands and finds herself in the year 1743.

    Book 1 of 9, published 1991.

  2. Dragonfly in Amber

    Diana Gabaldon

    The second book carries the story to France and its royal court, as a rebellion against the crown draws closer.

    Book 2 of 9, published 1992.

  3. Voyager

    Diana Gabaldon

    The third book follows the characters from Scotland out to sea, and on to the islands of the Caribbean.

    Book 3 of 9, published 1993.

  4. Drums of Autumn

    Diana Gabaldon

    The fourth book crosses the Atlantic to the American colonies, where new settlers try to make a home in the wilderness.

    Book 4 of 9, published 1996.

  5. The Fiery Cross

    Diana Gabaldon

    The fifth book follows a community in the North Carolina backcountry as tension with the crown rises in the 1770s.

    Book 5 of 9, published 2001.

  6. A Breath of Snow and Ashes

    Diana Gabaldon

    The sixth book stays in the same backcountry as the colony slides toward open rebellion and loyalties are tested.

    Book 6 of 9, published 2005.

  7. An Echo in the Bone

    Diana Gabaldon

    The seventh book follows characters into the American Revolution, in places far apart on both sides of the Atlantic.

    Book 7 of 9, published 2009.

  8. Written in My Own Heart's Blood

    Diana Gabaldon

    The eighth book carries the characters through the war itself, as the fighting reaches the people they care about.

    Book 8 of 9, published 2014.

  9. Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone

    Diana Gabaldon

    The ninth novel, and the latest as of November 1, 2026, carries the story on from the eighth.

    Book 9 of 9, published 2021.

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