# Drums of Autumn
**Drums of Autumn** is a 1996 novel by [Diana Gabaldon](https://www.edgepedia.org/diana-gabaldon), the fourth in the [Outlander](https://www.edgepedia.org/outlander-book-series) series of time-travel historical novels, which follows Claire and [Jamie Fraser](https://www.edgepedia.org/jamie-fraser-character) as they settle in colonial North Carolina while their twentieth-century daughter Brianna travels back in time to find them[1](https://dianagabaldon.com/books/chronology-of-the-outlander-series/) • [2](https://outlander.fandom.com/wiki/Drums_of_Autumn).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Series position | Fourth major novel of the Outlander series, following Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber, and Voyager[1](https://dianagabaldon.com/books/chronology-of-the-outlander-series/) |
| Publication | December 30, 1996, Delacorte Press, ISBN 0385311400[2](https://outlander.fandom.com/wiki/Drums_of_Autumn) |
| Historical setting | Begins in 1767 in the New World, in the mountains of North Carolina[1](https://dianagabaldon.com/books/chronology-of-the-outlander-series/) |
| Dual timeline | The colony of North Carolina from 1767 to 1770, alongside Inverness and Boston from 1969 to 1971[2](https://outlander.fandom.com/wiki/Drums_of_Autumn) |
| Length | 896 pages in the original hardcover[3](https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780385311403) |
| Sequel | The Fiery Cross (2001), the fifth Outlander novel[4](https://outlanderbts.com/thoughts-and-updates-on-bees-from-diana-g-me/) |
| Adaptation | Basis for season 4 of the Starz television series Outlander[5](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/a26069227/outlander-season-4-tv-show-vs-book-compared/) |
## Plot and structure
The novel continues the story of [Claire Randall](https://www.edgepedia.org/claire-fraser-character) and Jamie Fraser, whose saga began with Outlander and continued through [Dragonfly in Amber](https://www.edgepedia.org/dragonfly-in-amber) and Voyager[3](https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780385311403). It opens in 1767 in the New World, where Jamie and Claire find a foothold in the mountains of North Carolina[1](https://dianagabaldon.com/books/chronology-of-the-outlander-series/). The action runs from 1767 to 1770 in the colony of North Carolina, interwoven with a twentieth-century storyline set in [Inverness](https://www.edgepedia.org/inverness) and Boston from 1969 to 1971[2](https://outlander.fandom.com/wiki/Drums_of_Autumn).
**Brianna's quest.** The second major thread follows Jamie and Claire's daughter, Brianna Randall, who remains in the twentieth century, essentially orphaned by her mother's departure to the past. A sinister newspaper clipping suggesting her parents' fate sends her in search of them, and she travels back through time to find a father she has never met[1](https://dianagabaldon.com/books/chronology-of-the-outlander-series/) • [2](https://outlander.fandom.com/wiki/Drums_of_Autumn). Her suitor, the Scottish student Roger Wakefield, who helped Claire travel back in the earlier books, pursues her; because he knows the truth about her parents, he is able both to win her heart and to help her rejoin her loved ones in the past[6](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/diana-gabaldon/drums-of-autumn/).
## Publication and reception
The hardcover was published by Delacorte Press on December 30, 1996, at 896 pages, with a mass market paperback following in late 1997[2](https://outlander.fandom.com/wiki/Drums_of_Autumn) • [3](https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780385311403). Publishers Weekly reviewed the book on December 30, 1996, noting major promotion, featured alternate selection by the Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club, and an author tour[3](https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780385311403).
[Kirkus Reviews](https://www.edgepedia.org/kirkus-reviews), whose notice ran in the November 15, 1996 issue, was less warm, calling the book a "convoluted, long-winded tome" and a "900-page monster with far too many components," recommending it only for the author's most devoted fans[6](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/diana-gabaldon/drums-of-autumn/). The unabridged audiobook, read by Davina Porter, was released by Recorded Books on January 22, 1999, with a running time of 45 hours and 45 minutes; Kirkus praised Porter's vivid characterizations[7](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/audiobook-reviews/diana-gabaldon/drums-of-autumn/).
## Place in the series
Gabaldon's own chronology lists Drums of Autumn as the fourth of the major novels, to be read in order, between Voyager and The Fiery Cross[1](https://dianagabaldon.com/books/chronology-of-the-outlander-series/). The gap between Voyager (December 1, 1993) and Drums of Autumn (December 30, 1996) was almost exactly three years, a lag Gabaldon attributed to the sheer scale of the books, which run to roughly 400,000 words against a normal novel's 100,000 or fewer[4](https://outlanderbts.com/thoughts-and-updates-on-bees-from-diana-g-me/). The Fiery Cross followed just under five years later, on November 6, 2001[4](https://outlanderbts.com/thoughts-and-updates-on-bees-from-diana-g-me/).
## Adaptation
Season 4 of the Starz series Outlander adapts the novel. The television version makes substantial changes, most notably keeping Murtagh Fitzgibbons, Jamie's godfather, alive; in the books Murtagh dies at Culloden in 1745. The show makes him a blacksmith and leader of the North Carolina Regulators, a rebel group that in the novel is mentioned only in passing, with its real moments reserved for The Fiery Cross[5](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/a26069227/outlander-season-4-tv-show-vs-book-compared/).
## References
1. [Chronology of the Outlander Series, DianaGabaldon.com](https://dianagabaldon.com/books/chronology-of-the-outlander-series/)
2. [Drums of Autumn, Outlander Wiki (Fandom)](https://outlander.fandom.com/wiki/Drums_of_Autumn)
3. [Drums of Autumn review, Publishers Weekly](https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780385311403)
4. [Thoughts and Updates on Bees, Outlander Behind the Scenes](https://outlanderbts.com/thoughts-and-updates-on-bees-from-diana-g-me/)
5. [How Outlander Season 4 Compares to Drums of Autumn, Marie Claire](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/a26069227/outlander-season-4-tv-show-vs-book-compared/)
6. [Drums of Autumn review, Kirkus Reviews](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/diana-gabaldon/drums-of-autumn/)
7. [Drums of Autumn audiobook review, Kirkus Reviews](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/audiobook-reviews/diana-gabaldon/drums-of-autumn/)
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