What Should I Read After I Finish the Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon?

The Outlander series is a unique series of books by Diana Gabaldon that are filled with great characters, adventure, fantasy, and the romance of a lifetime.  While no books are quite like Gabaldon’s, there are some great books in similar veins that can fill your reading desires as you wait for the next book in the saga.  The following are my top picks.

1.       Into the Wilderness by Sara Donati.  I picked this novel up at a used book store at an airport while on a work related trip ten or so years ago.  I liked the premise, Elizabeth Middleton is an Englishwoman moving to the wilds of 18^th century New England to be with her family.  While there, she meets Nathanial Booner, the son of Hawkeye and Cora from Last of the Mohicans.  Elizabeth and Nathanial fall in love and work through the prejudices of the times.  Much to my surprise – Jamie and Claire Fraser make an appearance in this novel!  I had no idea when I was reading it that Claire and Jamie would be in the book until they were there.  Diana Gabaldon herself approves of this book.  I only made it to book three of this series and need to pick it back up one of these days!

2.       A Desperate Fortune by Susanna Kearsley (or anything by Susanna Kearsley).  Susanna Kearsley writes great novels that often contain a time slip or other mechanism to the past.  A

Desperate Fortune involves a codebreaker in the present day that is cracking the historical diary of Mary Dundas.  Mary is used by the Jacobites in France to help a mysterious man with an even more mysterious body guard to remain out of harm’s way.  Hugh Macpherson, the mysterious bodyguard, is a Scotsman with a deep soul.  The entire novel is a slow build to the reveal of one of the best romantic heroes I’ve read in a while.  I’ve also read Kearsley novels The Splendour Falls, The Firebird, The Shadowy Horses, Mariana, and The Rose Garden and have enjoyed them all.  I’ve read wonderful reviews of The Winter Sea, but it’s still on my wish list of books.

3.      The Greatest Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick.  There is not time travel in Elizabeth Chadwick’s

novels, unless you consider that Chadwick’s novels make you feel like you are experiencing the Middle Ages.  William Marshal is a young knight with drive, passion, and a deep loyalty.  He uses his skills to climb up the ranks at court, and meets his match when he meets young Isabelle de Claire in The Scarlet Lion.  William and Isabelle’s love faces many trials, but their love grows stronger over time.  Elizabeth Chadwick is one of the best historical fiction writers of all time, and William Marshal is one of the best romantic heroes in literature.


4.      Discovery of Witches Trilogy by Deborah Harkness.  Diana is an avid historian of alchemy

and also a witch without powers.  Matthew is a vampire.  When the two meet in London over the mysterious manuscript Ashmole 782, sparks fly.  Although vampires and witches typically don’t get along, the two find themselves drawn to each other as they continue the search for the manuscript and its hidden meaning.  In the second book of the series, Diana and Matthew time travel back to Tudor England in their quest. The three novels in this trilogy are A Discovery of Witches, Shadow of Night, and The Book of Life.



5.      The Green Darkness by Anya Seton.  I discovered Anya

Seton as a teenager around the same time I discovered Outlander.  Anya Seton did not write series, but she did write stand-alone novels that are great historical fiction, but at times contain a bit of fantasy.  Richard Marsdon marries a young American, Celia, and moves her back to his estate in England.  While there, Celia has a breakdown and a doctor forces her to relieve her past life in Tudor England with her doomed romance with Stephan the Monk.  My favorite Anya Seton novel is Katherine, a young woman who has a passionate love affair with the son of a King, John of Gaunt, whom she is not allowed to marry. Devil Water is the story of staunch Jacobites that descended from the illegitimate line of Charles II.  I sadly read these books before my blog, so the only Anya Seton review I have on here is for Smouldering Fires.



6.      Irish Lady byJeannette Baker.  Diana Gabaldon gave her approval to this novel calling it,

“Wonderful . . . it grips from the first page to the very last.”  Irish Lady is a gripping tale with intrigue, romance, historical fiction ghosts, time slips, mystery, and grand passion and is set in both the 1590’s and the 1990’s in Ireland.  I also loved the Scottish setting and time travel in Jeannette Baker’s novel, Legacy. 






7.      The Poldark Series by Winston Graham.  I am only on book two of this

series, but the entire series by Winston Graham goes through the turbulent and passionate lifetimes of the main characters, Ross and Demelza.  A TV series based on the first two books is currently airing on Masterpiece Theatre and is excellent.  Set in Cornwall after the American Revolution, Ross has discovered the woman that he loves is engaged to his cousin, but he decides to bring his estate back to life and to help the common people along the way.  Ross Poldark is another greatest romantic hero in literature.



8.      Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin.  I love the show, but haven’t read the series yet.  My husband has read this series and Outlander and he says I would be remiss if I didn’t put it on a list of good books to read if you like Outlander.

What have I missed?  What are your favorite books with great characters, romance, and or time travel that you read when you aren’t reading Outlander?

Other suggestions that I've received on this blog, Goodreads, and Facebook are as follows (I've been adding them to my "want to read" list).  Items in BOLD were mentioned by many people:
1.  The Bronze Horseman by Simmons
2.   The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
3.  Follow the River by James Alexander Thom
4.  Comanche Moon by Catherine Anderson
5.  Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel
6.  Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost
7.  Dragonblade by Kathryn Le Veque
8.  The Graham Saga by Anna Belfridge
9.  Fall of the Giants by Ken Follet
10.  The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet
11.  A Dance Through Time by Lynn Kurland
12.  Daphne Du Maurier Novels (My Favorite is Rebecca)
13.  The Innocent by Posie Graeme Evanss
14.  Through a Glass Darkly by Karleen Koen (I love this book!)
15.  Before Versailles by Karleen Koen
16.  Edward Rutherford Novels
17. Exit Unicorns by Cindy Brandner
18.  A Vision of Light by Judith Merkle Riley
19.  The Lymond Chronicles by Dorothy Dunnett
20.  The Nicholas Series by Dorothy Dunnett
21.  The King Hereafter by Dorothy Dunnett
22.  Highland Destiny by Hannah Howell
23.  Lady Julia Series by Deanna Raybourn
24.  The Welsh Trilogy by Sharon Kay Penman
25.  Awaken the Highland Warrior by Anita White Clenney
26.  The Lord John Series by Diana Gabaldon
27.  Jane Austen Novels
28.  Dalraida Series by Jules Watson
29.  The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
30.  The Spymaster Series by Joanna Bourne
31.  The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
32.  The Tea Rose Trilogy by Jennifer Donnelly
33.  Gracelyn O'Malley Trilogy by Anne Moore
34.  The Templar Knights Series by Mary Reed McCall
35.  Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale
36.  The Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning
37.  The Angelique Series by Anne and Serge Golan
38.  Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor (I love this book also!)
39.  Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
40.  North and South Trilogy by John Jakes
41.  Swan Trilogy by Celeste De Blasis
42  The Plantagenet Series by Sharon Kay Penman

Winner of Watch the Lady by Elizabeth Fremantle

The winner of one copy of Watch the Lady by Elizabeth Fremantle is Traveler.  Traveler has been notified via email and has one week to send me her mailing address after which a new winner would be selected. Congrats to Traveler!

Thank-you to all who entered the giveaway and to publisher Simon & Schuster for providing the giveaway copy.  Watch the Lady is an excellent historical fiction novel set in Elizathan England starring the little known real life figure, Penelope Devereaux.  Read my review to find out more about it.

Sad you didn't win?  Check out my sidebar to learn more about the Poldark Tour and the chance to win the grand prize!

Ross Poldark by Winston Graham Review and Giveaway!

A veteran of the Revolutionary War, Captain Ross Poldark returns home with the defeated British troops only to learn that the woman he loves is engaged to marry his cousin, his father has died, and his small estate is in disarray.  Ross decides to take control of his inheritance and bring his estate back into working order.  His disregard for the social standards of the day, leads to conflict amongst his neighbors and friends, but Ross has a moral standard of his own.  He believes in hard work, true love, and helping out his fellow man.  Ross Poldark is an intriguing man to read about and an exciting novel to read.  The cast of characters and unique story make for an enticing read. 

I absolutely loved the setting of Ross Poldark, rugged Cornwall in the copper mining district.  The Poldark family’s fortunes are from copper mining, but the copper mines on Ross Poldark’s land have long since closed. I went to college in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan at Michigan Technological University in Houghton.  This college started as a mining college for copper miners.  Copper was king in the late 1800’s and many of the most highly paid copper miners that were highly sought after were experienced miners from Cornwall.  They brought with them a bit of their customs, including eating pasties for lunch.  My own German ancestors immigrated to Houghton as part of the boom.  Although they owned a bar and made their profits off of selling alcohol to the miners.  One of my favorite classes in college was Copper Country History and I’ve been on many a copper mine tour.  When I started reading Ross Poldark and discovered that there were copper mines to be discussed, I was overjoyed.  Ross Poldark decides that perhaps he could reopen one of his mines which would not only help him, but many of the families living on his land.

I really wanted to see if one of my favorite foods, the Cornish pasty would make an appearance in the book, and much to my delight, it did on page 135.  “It was just passing the time o’day, as you might say, till Reuben seized his pasty and ran off with un.  Stealing a pasty from a boy often!”  I love how stealing a pasty is a criminal offence.

One note is I had a question on a bit of the history.  An old man states, “When I was on Lake Superior in ’69, when I was thur ‘specting for copper, there was a store that sold stuff as’d take the skin off your ‘and – “  This would be 1769 to fit the timeline of the novel, and I don’t know that the British were prospecting for copper at the time.  The copper rush wasn’t until the 1800’s after Michigan State geologist, Douglas Houghton, “discovered” the copper and published his results.  The copper had been mined by Native Americans previously and Alexander Henry, a member of the British military, had seen copper in the Upper Peninsula on his explorations in the 1700’s, but I hadn’t heard of any prospecting.  Has anyone else and this is a bit of Copper Country history that I missed?

I also enjoyed how the book takes a hard look at social mores.  Society likes to gossip about Ross Poldark and believe the worst of him even when it’s not true.  There were many times that people would make an assumption about Ross and condemn him only to discuss how they had done something like that in their youth or had their own problems with women, alcohol, and gambling.  The hypocrisy of it all was humorous.  I loved how Ross couldn’t care less on what people thought of him.  One line I love about the hypocrisy was as follows:  “It’s the way of the world, my dear.  A gentleman may get drunk so long as he carries his drink decent, or slips beneath the table with it.  But when a man has been sent to prison for what Blamey did, then the world is not at all prepared to forgive and forget, despite the religion is prescribes to.”

Winston Graham has wonderful descriptive language in the book and a sense of romance beneath the adventure.  One of my favorite quotes was of Ross viewing Elizabeth at her wedding, “Elizabeth’s veil of old lace blew in billows about her figure making her seem unsubstantial and ethereal; she might have been one of the smaller clouds that had lost its way and been caught up in the human procession.” 

I also liked this quote from Ross to Elizabeth:  “It isn’t very pretty to have been made a fool of by one’s own feelings,” he said.  “To take childish promises and build a - a castle of them.”

I have been enjoying Poldark on Masterpiece theatre and the series does a wonderful job of bringing the book to life.  It is very true to the book.  I love that these new Sourcebook versions of the books in the series have pictures of the characters from the series on the cover.  I also thought the group reading guide at the end had some great questions for discussion.

Overall, Ross Poldark is an excellent book full of romance, adventure, and accurate depictions of the fallibilities of the human race.  I loved it and discovering a great new series.

Book Source:  Review copy from Sourcebooks as part of the Poldark Tour.  Thank-you for putting this together Laurel Ann!  

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

Grand Giveaway Contest

Win One of Three Fabulous Prizes

In celebration of the re-release of Ross Poldark and Demelza, Sourcebooks Landmark is offering three chances to win copies of the books or a grand prize, an Anglophile-themed gift package.

Two lucky winners will each receive one trade paperback copy of Ross Poldark and Demelza, and one grand prize winner will receive a prize package containing the following items:

(2 ) Old Britain Castles Pink Pottery Mugs by Johnson Brothers

(1) Twelve-inch Old Britain Castles Pink Pottery Plater by Johnson Brothersr

(1) London Telephone Box Tin of Ahmad English Breakfast Tea

(1) Jar of Mrs. Bridges Marmalade

(1) Package of Duchy Originals Organic Oaten Biscuits

(2) Packets of Blue Boy Cornflower Seeds by Renee's Garden Heirloom (1) Trade Paperback Copy of Ross Poldark & Demelza, by Winston Graham

To enter the giveaway contest simply leave a comment on any or all of the blog stops on the Ross Poldark Blog Tour starting July 06, 2015 through 11:59 pm PT, August 10, 2015. Winners will be drawn at random from all of the entrants and announced on the Buzz at Sourcebooks blog on August 13, 2015. Winners have until August 20, 2015 to claim their prize. The giveaway contest is open to US residents and the prizes will be shipped to US addresses. Good luck to all!

THE ROSS POLDARK BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE:

July 06           My Jane Austen Book Club (Preview)

July 07           Booktalk & More (Excerpt)                                   

July 08           Reading, Writing, Working, Playing (Review)

July 09           vvb32 Reads (Preview)

July 10           The Paige Turner (Review)                                 

July 10           My Kids Led Me Back To P & P (Excerpt)                                

July 11           Austenprose (Review)                                          

July 12           Laura's Reviews (Preview)                                                          

July 13           Peeking Between the Pages (Review)                         

July 13           Reflections of a Book Addict (Preview)         

                                      

July 14           Living Read Girl (Review)                        

July 15           Confessions of a Book Addict (Review)

July 16           vvb32 Reads (Review)                 

July 17           Paige Turner (Review)                             

July 18           Truth, Beauty, Freedom & Books (Preview)                           

July 19           Marie Antoinette’s Gossip Guide (Excerpt)                             

July 20           Laura's Reviews (Review)                                   

July 20           The Calico Critic (Review)                                               

July 21           So Little Time…So Much to Read (Excerpt)

July 21           Poof Books (Excerpt)                                            

July 22           Babblings of a Bookworm (Review)

July 23           Austenprose (Review)                                          

July 24           Peeking Between the Pages (Review) 

July 25           My Love for Jane Austen (Excerpt)

July 25           Living Read Girl (Review)

July 26           Delighted Reader (Review)

July 27           My Jane Austen Book Club (Review)

July 27           Austenesque Reviews (Review)

July 27           Laura's Reviews (Review)

July 28           She Is Too Fond Of Books (Review)

July 29           English Historical Fiction Authors (Preview)                         

July 30           vvb32 Reads (Review)

July 30           Babblings of a Bookworm (Review)

July 31           CozyNookBks (Excerpt)                                       

Aug 01           The Calico Critic (Review)

Aug 01           More Agreeably Engaged (Review)

Aug 02           Scuffed Slippers Wormy Books (Review)

Aug 03           Romantic Historical Reviews (Review)

Aug 03           Psychotic State Book Reviews (Review)