Books That Fans of Outlander Will Love

The Clan of The Cave Bear, by Jean M. Auel
This engrossing coming-of-age story is set during the dawn of modern man. Like Claire, the protagonist is a resourceful outsider. Plus, with five epic-length novels, this series will keep you entertained for quite some time as you nurse the Outlander-shaped hole in your heart.

Human Croquet, by Kate Atkinson
Literary time travel at its sexy best! This earlier novel by the renowned Atkinson, author of the brilliant Life After Life, centers on the mysterious family Fairfax, chronicling all the leaps in their history from the 16th century onwards. You’ll encounter loads of secrets and more than one curse in this entertaining story.

A Year and a Day, by Virginia Henley
A warrior named Lynx proposes a “hand-fasting” to a willful Scottish lady (as one does). This ritual means they can have relations for a year, and any child born of their union is considered legitimate. It’s like a romantic comedy—only the stakes are much higher, and the meet-cute involves a forced marriage.

Sushi For Beginners, by Marian Keyes
A cosmopolitan magazine editor in London is banished to Dublin to launch a new magazine. The only saving grace is her handsome new boss, Jack Devine. If you like Claire Randall, you’ll love the female characters in this smart, sexy modern romp. Also, nobody writes a love scene like Keyes.

The Pride of Lions, by Marsha Canham
This steamy read takes place at the same time Claire and Jamie are getting ready for the Jacobite revolution, and also features an English lady and a Scottish man. But in this case our couple is thrown together in a decidedly less dignified manner: our hero “wins” our heroine in a bet. I may have yelled “shenanigans!” roughly 800 times while poring over this one—but trust me, that’s a good thing.

The Perilous Gard, by Elizabeth Marie Pope
This YA throwback is all about earnestness, sighs, and youthful pining. It’s set in Elizabethan England and centers on a woman who must travel from the castle where she’s being held captive to the world of the fairies in order to rescue the man she loves. It’s deeply touching and lovely, with more than a hint of pure magic.

To Tame a Wild Heart, by Tracey Fobes
As in Outlander, our protagonist, Sarah, is a healer—only her powers just might be supernatural! And, there are fairies! The story is roughly a Scottish Cinderella, with a few love scenes added for good measure. Sarah’s true father (who may be a wealthy Duke) encourages her to join society, where she (naturally) meets a wild heart in need of taming.

Into the Wilderness, by Sara Donati
Though it lacks the time-cross’d lovers angle, this series, set in the late 1700s, tells an equally enrapturing story of love and adventure between an upper-class English woman and a fearsome, fearless frontiersman who has chosen to live as a Native American, for which the Mohawk people have named him “Between-Two-Lives.”
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