As we get closer to Outlander: Blood of My Blood on STARZ, there are a lot of questions about whether this new series will be a book. We’re used to the books being adapted into the show, after all.
Well, there is some good and (potentially) bad news for fans. Yes, there will be an Outlander prequel novel by Diana Gabaldon. No, it won’t be exactly the same as the TV series.
Diana Gabaldon is working on an Outlander prequel story
Gabaldon, who brought Claire and Jamie’s love story to life with her Outlander series, is working on a prequel novel. At the moment, it’s titled Blood of My Blood, which is where the title of the TV series came from. She has already started working on some of it, but the 10th and final book in the Outlander saga took over and that’s the one she’s mostly working on right now.
However, she knows what the prequel story is about. It’s focused on Ellen MacKenzie and Brian Fraser, set in the early 1700s to cover their love story. We already know a little bit about it, but there are some elements still to be told. After all, what made Ellen potentially find herself outcast from her family for love?
The book will be nothing like Outlander: Blood of My Blood
The prequel novel will not feature some characters who will be in Outlander: Blood of My Blood. We will not get to meet Claire’s parents in the novel, as Gabaldon has routinely said that she is not interested in the two of them. She views them as mundane characters, and she doesn’t think they’ve time-traveled at all.
There will also be no time travel in the novel. This is focused on the story that leads to The Gathering in 1715.
Yes, the TV show will include Henry Beachamp and Julia Moriston, and yes, they time travel in the series. There are elements that have been created purely for the TV series, and that’s going to be the fun part. It allows the TV show to be its own entity, which also helps because it’s coming out first.
As for when the Outlander prequel book will be released, that’s anybody’s guess at this point. As mentioned, Gabaldon is working on the 10th Outlander book right now. While she has a few sections of Blood of My Blood written, she’s not started working fully on it, so we could have to wait a few years.
Outlander: Blood of My Blood will premiere on STARZ on Friday, Aug. 8.
Stay up to date with the latest Outlander news with Claire and Jamie.