It comes as we previously reported the publisher, Delacorte (Random House), also almost pulled the plug on the entire collection before it even got running from the ground as bosses were left puzzled as to what genre the best-seller would fall under in the market.įirst published in 1991, Gabaldon's books have raked in an estimated 25 million copies according to the latest data in 2014 so you can imagine now in 2023 that number is likely significantly higher as the avid fanbase grows. Annette Badland talks Outlander sharing what working with Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe is really like.Outlander’s Sophie Skelton recalls embarrassing Brianna Fraser wardrobe mishap.Her British publisher stayed with the original title believing it played on “a stitch in time.” Read More Related Articles Instead, Gabaldon came up with Outlander. READ MORE: Diana Gabaldon says Outlander nearly didn't reach the shelves as publisher had no idea what genre it wasīut why was the name changed? Well, according to Crime reads, the award-winning author's publisher was concerned readers would confuse the title with a book on embroidery and asked her to reconsider. Outlander, as it is known globally now, follows the story of a young Claire at the end of WWII visiting Inverness and accidentally travelling back two centuries in time where she discovers adventure and romance with the dashing Highland warrior Jamie Fraser. Would it have been as popular? Well, that could have well been the reality.ĭiana Gabaldon originally titled the historical romance franchise ' Cross Stitch' because her protagonist, WWII English nurse Claire Randall, crosses between post-WWII Inverness, Scotland, and the same locale two centuries earlier. Imagine if the global TV hit was called something else instead of Outlander.

The outlanders series