‘Outlander’ Book 9: Diana Gabaldon Announces a Publishing Date For ‘Don’t Tell the Bees…’!
Outlander fans have just gotten some news they’ve been waiting years to hear. The ninth book in Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series has a release date. Titled Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone, the novel will be in stores before the end of 2021.
‘Outlander’ fandom has grown exponentially since the last book
Fans of the novels know that it’s been seven years since the release of book eight in Gabaldon’s series. Titled Written In My Own Heart’s Blood, the eighth book came out just after the season 1 premiere of Outlander on Starz.
Since then, the TV show has grown the Outlander fandom exponentially. With millions of new fans all over the world, they immediately started asking when the next book would be in stores.
Gabaldon has been teasing fans for months that the book was close to being finished. It finally happened in March 2021.
“YES! BEES is FINISHED!! (No, I have no idea when the pub date is–the publisher decides that.)” Gabaldon tweeted on March 27.
Penguin Random House releases the cover art and summary
Less than a month after Gabaldon’s tweet, her publisher has revealed when the ninth book will be released. They also gave fans a peek at the UK cover art, plus an enticing summary that reveals Jamie and Claire Fraser will be reunited with their daughter Brianna, her husband Roger, and their children.
“The past may seem the safest place to be… but it is the most dangerous time to be alive…” the summary begins. “Jamie Fraser and Claire Randall were torn apart by the Jacobite Rising in 1743, and it took them twenty years to find each other again. Now the American Revolution threatens to do the same. It is 1779 and Claire and Jamie are at last reunited with their daughter, Brianna, her husband, Roger, and their children on Fraser’s Ridge. Having the family together is a dream the Frasers had thought impossible.”
The new ‘Outlander’ novel will feature ‘tension in the colonies’
As fans should expect, that “impossible” dream may be short lived. The book’s synopsis continues, by revealing that people in the North Carolina backcountry are feeling the effects of war.
“Tensions in the Colonies are great and local feelings run hot enough to boil Hell’s tea-kettle. Jamie knows loyalties among his tenants are split and it won’t be long until the war is on his doorstep,” the synopsis reads.
Brianna and Roger also have their own worries that prompted their escape from the 20th century. Sometimes, the couple questions whether risking the disease, starvation, and impending war in the 1700s is the safest choice for their family.
William Ransom and Lord John Grey’s story continues
The synopsis also reveals that young William Ransom is “coming to terms with the discovery of his true father’s identity, and thus his own.” In book eight, Lord John Grey will have “reconciliations to make” and “dangers to meet” on his son’s behalf, as well as his own.
“Meanwhile, the Revolutionary War creeps ever closer to Fraser’s Ridge. And with the family finally together, Jamie and Claire have more at stake than ever before,” the synopsis concludes.
When will ‘Outlander’ be in stores?
According to a statement from Gabaldon and Penguin Random House, Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone will hit bookstores on November 23, 2021.
“I’m honestly and truly THRILLED to announce that We. Have. A. PUB DATE!! for BEES!” Gabaldon said in a statement. “So looking forward to sharing this book with you all!”
Gabaldon has been quite secretive about the book’s details. But, she did reveal on her website that the title comes from a “very old Celtic custom.” The author explained that the custom suggests “you always tell the bees when someone is born, dies, comes or goes – because if you don’t keep them informed, they’ll fly away.”
Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone is now available for preorder.
