Therefore as both a soldier and as a member of a noble family, Lord John has much to lose if the truths of his sexuality were discovered. When the reader is first introduced to Lord John, he is a sixteen year old soldier in the English army. It’s made clear to the reader that Lord John is a homosexual man although, because the series takes place in the late 1700’s, he has to be incredibly discreet about his sexuality-or be sentenced to death. Many agree that Lord John is one of the most likeable and most complex of Gabaldon’s large cast of characters in the Outlander series. Gabaldon has said that these in the “Lord John Grey series” may be written and structured a bit differently, but they are still part of the Outlander series she considers them to be less of a spin-off and more of a sub-series, taking place during the time period covered in Voyager, book three of the Outlander series. One of the recurring characters in the series is Lord John Grey, a minor character in the novels mentioned above, although he has since received his own series of novels in which he is the main character. She has since also published two more novels and a series of novellas that also center Lord John as the main character: Lord John and the Hand of Devils (a collection of novellas), Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade (a novel), “Lord John and the Custom of the Army” (a novella), The Scottish Prisoner (a novel), and “Lord John and the Plague of Zombies” (a novella).

This short story later turned into full-length novel, titled Lord John and the Private Matter.

After some consideration, she decided to write one with one of her minor characters in the Outlander series, Lord John Grey, as the main character. Several years ago, Gabaldon had the opportunity to write a short story for an anthology of historical crime stories. Gabaldon has also released a graphic novel called The Exile (2010), which is a retelling of the events in Outlander, but from two different characters’ points of view than the ones shown in Outlander. To date there are eight novels in the (main) Outlander series: Outlander (1991), Dragonfly in Amber (1992), Voyager (1993), Drums of Autumn (1996), The Fiery Cross (2001), A Breath of Snow and Ashes (2005), An Echo in the Bone (2009), and Written in My Own Heart’s Blood (2014). (where Gabaldon is from) as well as in the U.S. The series is a historical fiction tale filled with warfare, sex, time travel, honor, betrayal, and gambling that was a near immediate hit in both the U.K. Diana Gabaldon first published the Outlander series in 1991.

Dragonfly in amber hardcover