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Canadian West

by Janette Oke

The Canadian West series by Janette Oke has 6 known books (6 published). It is best read in publication order, starting with When Calls the Heart (1983).

Books
6 known books (6 novels)
Published
6
First published
1983
Status
completed
Shelved under
Literary Fiction
Start here: When Calls the Heart (1983) — then read straight through in publication order.
Book one
Cover of When Calls the Heart
When Calls the Heart (1983)

Reading order

The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.

  1. When Calls the Heart

    Novel
    When Calls the Heart opens Canadian West in 1983 at 226 pages, introducing Elizabeth Thatcher, a well-to-do young schoolteacher from the East who takes a post in a rough Canadian frontier settlement and falls for Wynn Delaney, a North-West Mounted Police officer. It later lent its title and premise to the Hallmark Channel series of the same name, which quickly diverges into its own separate storyline.
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  2. When Comes the Spring

    Novel
    At 255 pages, When Comes the Spring was published in 1985, the second book in Canadian West, continuing Elizabeth Thatcher's courtship with Wynn Delaney as she adjusts from Eastern comfort to frontier hardship.
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  3. When Breaks the Dawn

    Novel
    When Breaks the Dawn (1985) follows When Comes the Spring in Canadian West and precedes When Hope Springs New, continuing Elizabeth and Wynn's early married life in the rough Canadian frontier settlement.
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  4. When Hope Springs New

    Novel
    At 288 pages, When Hope Springs New was published in 1986, the fourth book in Canadian West and the close of the original mid-1980s run before Janette Oke returned to the family's story more than a decade later.
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  5. Beyond the Gathering Storm

    Novel
    Between When Hope Springs New and When Tomorrow Comes, Canadian West continued in 1999 with Beyond the Gathering Storm, picking Elizabeth and Wynn's story up more than a decade after the original four books ended and carrying the family further into the settling of the Canadian West.
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  6. When Tomorrow Comes

    Novel
    Published in 2000, When Tomorrow Comes closes out Canadian West at 349 pages, following Beyond the Gathering Storm to complete the six-book saga of Elizabeth and Wynn Delaney and, eventually, their children.
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Key facts about the Canadian West series

Our list has 6 books in the Canadian West series. Since all 6 are out now, you can read the whole list today.

Start with When Calls the Heart, since it opens the publication order in 1983. When Comes the Spring is book 2, from 1985. When Breaks the Dawn is book 3, from 1985.

When Hope Springs New is book 4, from 1986. Beyond the Gathering Storm is book 5, from 1999. When Tomorrow Comes is book 6, from 2000.

The list keeps the books in date order, while each title links to its own page. Each book page shows its dates and editions. Since the catalogue marks the series as complete, we list no next book.

The books came out between 1983 and 2000, while their length runs from 226 to 349 pages. That is a run of 17 years.

Janette Oke has 48 books on our list. Additionally, they write Love Comes Softly, Seasons of the Heart and Women of the West, plus 5 more series. We shelve the books under inspirational fiction.

About the Canadian West series

Canadian West follows Elizabeth Thatcher, a well-to-do young schoolteacher from the East who takes a post in a rough Canadian frontier settlement and falls for Wynn Delaney, a North-West Mounted Police officer stationed there. The first four books, published in the mid-1980s, cover their courtship, marriage, and early life together as Elizabeth adjusts from Eastern comfort to frontier hardship; Oke returned to the series more than a decade later with two further volumes carrying the couple, and eventually their children, further into the settling of the Canadian West.

The series became the basis for the long-running Hallmark Channel television series When Calls the Heart, which took the first book's title and premise and then developed into its own extensive original story beyond what Oke wrote -- making the books and the show two related but separately unfolding tellings of the same starting point.

Frequently asked questions

Is Canadian West the same as the TV show When Calls the Heart?

They share a title and starting premise, but the Hallmark Channel series quickly diverges into its own original storyline; the books and show are not a direct adaptation of one another.

How many books are in the Canadian West series?

Six, published in two groups: four books from 1983-1986, then two more in 1999-2000.

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