The Lord John series by Diana Gabaldon is the Outlander spin-off that most readers discover by accident, and then wish they had found sooner. It follows Lord John Grey, the English soldier, nobleman and secret gay man who first meets Jamie Fraser on the road to Prestonpans, through a run of eighteenth-century mysteries set during the Seven Years’ War.
The series is made up of three novels and six novellas, published between 1998 and 2017. The stories are shorter, tighter and more plot-driven than the main Outlander novels, and they are built as historical mysteries: a body, a secret, a conspiracy, and Lord John caught between his duty to the Crown and the private life that could see him hanged.
This guide gives the full Lord John reading order, explains where the novellas are published (which is the confusing part), shows where the books fit into the Outlander timeline, and suggests what to read next.
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Quick Series Facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Author | Diana Gabaldon |
| Number of books | 3 novels and 6 novellas |
| First story | Lord John and the Hellfire Club (1998) |
| Latest story | Besieged (2017, in Seven Stones to Stand or Fall) |
| Setting | London, Germany, the Lake District, Ireland, Quebec, Jamaica and Havana, 1756 to 1762 |
| Genre | Historical mystery, Outlander spin-off |
| Main characters | Lord John Grey, his valet Tom Byrd, his brother Hal, Jamie Fraser |
| Where it fits in Outlander | During the middle years of Voyager, while Jamie is a paroled prisoner in England |
| Status | Ongoing in principle, no new Lord John book announced |
How the Lord John Books Are Published
Before the list, a word on formats, because this is where most readers get lost. The three novels are ordinary standalone books. The six novellas first appeared in multi-author anthologies and have since been gathered into two Gabaldon collections:
- Lord John and the Hand of Devils (2007) collects “Lord John and the Hellfire Club,” “Lord John and the Succubus” and “Lord John and the Haunted Soldier.”
- Seven Stones to Stand or Fall (2017) collects “The Custom of the Army,” “A Plague of Zombies” and “Besieged,” along with four other Outlander novellas that do not center on Lord John.
So with three novels and two collections, five books on your shelf give you every Lord John story. Ebook readers can also buy The Lord John Series 4-Book Bundle, which contains the three novels and Hand of Devils, and some of the novellas are sold as single ebooks too.
Lord John Books in Publication Order
Here are all nine Lord John stories in the order they were published. For each novella, the link goes to the edition where you can read it today.
The Early Stories (1998 to 2003)
1. Lord John and the Hellfire Club (1998)
Setting: London and Medmenham Abbey, 1756
Format: Novella, first published in the anthology Past Poisons, now in Lord John and the Hand of Devils
The story that started it all. At a London gentlemen’s club, a red-haired young man named Robert Gerald approaches Major Lord John Grey with an urgent plea for help, and asks to meet him in secret that night. Before he can explain, he is killed in front of Grey and his fellow officer Harry Quarry.
Grey’s search for the killer leads him toward the Hellfire Club, the notorious society gathered around Sir Francis Dashwood, and an invitation to one of its meetings that may put his own life in danger. Gabaldon wrote it for Past Poisons, an anthology of historical crime stories in memory of Ellis Peters, and it is a compact introduction to Grey’s voice and his double life.
2. Lord John and the Private Matter (2003)
Setting: London, 1757
Format: Novel
The first full-length Lord John novel began life as a second short story that simply kept growing. It opens when Grey sees something shocking at his club, the Society for the Appreciation of the English Beefsteak, involving the man engaged to his cousin. He wants to handle it quietly, before it becomes a scandal.
Then the Crown orders him to investigate the brutal murder of a fellow soldier suspected of passing secrets. Obliged to pursue two inquiries at once, Grey is drawn into a web of betrayal that touches every level of English society, and he takes on young Tom Byrd as his valet along the way. It reached the New York Times hardcover bestseller list.
3. Lord John and the Succubus (2003)
Setting: Germany, 1757
Format: Novella, first published in the anthology Legends II, now in Lord John and the Hand of Devils
Grey is serving as English liaison to a Hanoverian regiment on campaign in Germany when the soldiers start whispering about a succubus, a night-hag that preys on men in their sleep. When a soldier turns up dead, superstition spreads through the town where the troops are quartered.
Grey sets out to find a human explanation, while navigating the attentions of a young widowed princess and his own attraction to the Hanoverian officer Stephan von Namtzen. It is the most atmospheric of the early stories.
The Middle Books (2007)
4. Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade (2007)
Setting: London, Germany and the Lake District, 1758
Format: Novel
Seventeen years earlier, Grey’s father, the Duke of Pardloe, was found dead, days before he was to be accused of being a Jacobite traitor. Grey’s elder brother Hal has spent his life restoring the family name. Now, on the eve of their mother’s remarriage and the regiment’s departure for Germany, a page from their father’s lost diary surfaces, and someone clearly knows the Greys’ secrets.
Grey’s search for the truth takes him from barracks and parade grounds to the battlefield of Krefeld and the cells of Newgate. The key to it may lie with Jamie Fraser, the Jacobite prisoner who has haunted his thoughts since Culloden, and the only man Grey can trust. This is the novel that brings Jamie fully into the Lord John series, and it debuted at number one on the New York Times hardcover list.
5. Lord John and the Haunted Soldier (2007)
Setting: London and the Woolwich Arsenal, 1758
Format: Novella, written for and published only in Lord John and the Hand of Devils
A direct follow-up to Brotherhood of the Blade. Grey faces a court of inquiry into the explosion of a cannon, a disaster he survived, and finds that the question of who is to blame reaches into the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich and the ranks of His Majesty’s forces.
As he digs into the guns and the men who made them, Grey begins to suspect treason. Because the story picks up where the novel leaves off, Gabaldon held back the Hand of Devils collection until after Brotherhood of the Blade was published, so read them in that order.
The Later Books (2010 to 2017)
6. The Custom of the Army (2010)
Setting: London and Quebec, 1759
Format: Novella, first published in the anthology Warriors, now in Seven Stones to Stand or Fall
All things considered, Gabaldon writes, it was probably the fault of the electric eel. A fashionable “electric eel party” in London leads to an ill-fated duel, and the consequences send Grey across the Atlantic to join General James Wolfe’s army in Canada.
What follows is one of the series’ most vivid set pieces: Grey takes part in the British campaign against Quebec, including the night climb of the cliffs that led to the battle on the Plains of Abraham. The real surgeon John Hunter makes an appearance, and the novella shows Grey at his most soldierly.
7. A Plague of Zombies (2011)
Setting: Jamaica, 1761
Format: Novella, first published as “Lord John and the Plague of Zombies” in the anthology Down These Strange Streets, now in Seven Stones to Stand or Fall
Grey is sent to Jamaica in command of a battalion to put down a slave rebellion. He finds an island that is beautiful but faintly sinister, and a great many snakes, spiders and secrets.
When a shocking death in the governor’s house raises talk of zombies, Grey has to work out what the word really means, and how much of the danger is real. The story was nominated for an Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America, and it introduces characters who return in Besieged.
8. The Scottish Prisoner (2011)
Setting: The Lake District, London and Ireland, 1760
Format: Novel
The third novel is a true two-hander, divided between Lord John and Jamie Fraser. Jamie, a paroled prisoner of war in the Lake District, has sworn off politics and fighting, until an old comrade from the Rising, Tobias Quinn, arrives with a new Jacobite scheme involving an ancient relic meant to rally the Irish.
Meanwhile Grey has come into possession of documents that expose corruption by a British officer and hint at something more dangerous. A message in “Erse,” the Gaelic of the Highlands, sends him to Jamie for a translation, and soon the two men are unwilling companions on the road to Ireland. For Outlander readers it is the essential Lord John book, because it gives Jamie and John equal weight.
9. Besieged (2017)
Setting: Jamaica and Havana, 1762
Format: Novella, first published in Seven Stones to Stand or Fall
Grey is preparing to leave Jamaica and sail home when he learns that his mother, the Dowager Duchess of Pardloe, is in Havana as a guest of the Spanish governor. That would be fine, except that the British navy is on its way to lay siege to the city.
With his valet Tom Byrd and two companions from A Plague of Zombies, Grey sets out to bring his mother out of Cuba before the warships arrive. It is the most recent Lord John story.
Upcoming Lord John Books
No new Lord John novel or novella has been announced. Diana Gabaldon’s current project is the tenth main Outlander novel, A Blessing for a Warrior Going Out, which does not yet have a publication date. Gabaldon has said in the past that she would like to write more about Lord John, so the series is best seen as paused rather than finished. Lord John also plays a major role in the later main Outlander novels, so readers who want more of him will find plenty there.
Chronological Order vs Publication Order
The two orders are almost identical, because Gabaldon has mostly written the stories in the order they happen. The only difference is at the end of 2011: A Plague of Zombies came out a few weeks before The Scottish Prisoner, but it is set the year after.
Here is the chronological order, following Gabaldon’s own published chronology:
- Lord John and the Hellfire Club (1756)
- Lord John and the Private Matter (1757)
- Lord John and the Succubus (1757)
- Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade (1758)
- Lord John and the Haunted Soldier (1758)
- The Custom of the Army (1759)
- The Scottish Prisoner (1760)
- A Plague of Zombies (1761)
- Besieged (1762)
Our recommendation: read in chronological order. It costs nothing, since the difference is a single swap, and it lets the Jamaica stories run straight into each other. The one rule that matters is to read Brotherhood of the Blade before Haunted Soldier, and that holds in both orders.
Where the Lord John Books Fit in Outlander
All nine Lord John stories take place inside the third Outlander novel, Voyager, in the years when Jamie Fraser is a paroled prisoner in England, between 1756 and 1762. Gabaldon’s own advice is that you can read them at any point after Voyager.
If you are reading the whole saga, the natural place is between Voyager and Drums of Autumn. Many readers prefer to finish the main series first and come back to Lord John later, which works just as well. Grey becomes an even bigger figure in An Echo in the Bone and the books after it, and the Lord John novels deepen that later story.
Can you read Lord John without reading Outlander at all? Yes. Gabaldon designed every novel and novella to stand alone, and the mysteries are complete in themselves. You will miss some of the weight of Grey’s history with Jamie, and The Scottish Prisoner makes most sense after Voyager, but a mystery reader can start with Private Matter and follow along.
Companion Novels and Short Stories
Beyond the nine stories above, Lord John and his family turn up in other parts of Gabaldon’s work:
- “A Fugitive Green” (in Seven Stones to Stand or Fall) is set in 1744 and 1745 and follows Lord John’s elder brother Hal and the young book dealer Minnie Rennie. Lord John himself is not the lead, but it fills in the Grey family story and is a natural extra for Lord John fans.
- The main Outlander novels. Grey first appears in Dragonfly in Amber as a sixteen-year-old soldier who stumbles on Jamie and Claire on the eve of Prestonpans, and he returns as an adult in Voyager, Drums of Autumn, The Fiery Cross, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, An Echo in the Bone and the later books.
- Single ebook editions. In the US and Canada, several of the novellas are sold as standalone ebooks, which is the cheapest way to try one before buying a collection.
About the Lord John Series
Gabaldon has described Lord John as one of her “mushrooms”: a character who popped up unplanned and walked off with every scene he was in. When an editor asked her for a short story for a British crime anthology, she chose Grey because he is important to Outlander but often offstage, which left room to give him adventures of his own without disturbing the main novels.
He is also a gay man in an age when that was a capital crime. Grey is a younger son of a noble family and a career officer who loves both his family and his regiment, and discovery would destroy all of it. That constant tension is what drives the series, and it gives the mysteries an emotional edge that many historical crime novels lack.
What Makes Lord John Special
- A hero with a secret. Grey’s private life is always at risk, so every investigation is personal as well as professional.
- Real history at every turn. The stories move through the Seven Years’ War, from Krefeld to Quebec to the siege of Havana, and real figures such as General Wolfe, Sir Francis Dashwood and the surgeon John Hunter appear.
- A shorter Gabaldon. The novels are a few hundred pages rather than a thousand, with one main plot instead of many.
- The Jamie and John relationship. Readers who love the friendship in Voyager get to see it from Grey’s side.
- Wit. Grey is dry, observant and funny, and his exchanges with his valet Tom Byrd are a highlight of every book.
Where to Start
For most readers the best starting point is Lord John and the Private Matter, the first novel, which introduces Grey, his family, his regiment and Tom Byrd. If you want to begin at the very start of the timeline, read “Lord John and the Hellfire Club” first in Lord John and the Hand of Devils, then come back to the novel.
Can you start elsewhere? Outlander fans who mainly want more Jamie can jump straight to The Scottish Prisoner, which works as a standalone and gives Jamie half the story. Readers who like a short taste first can try one of the single-ebook novellas, such as The Custom of the Army.
If you know you want the lot, the Lord John Series 4-Book Bundle covers the three novels and Hand of Devils in one ebook, and Seven Stones to Stand or Fall completes the set.
About the Author
Diana Gabaldon is the American author of the Outlander series, which began with Outlander in 1991 (published in the UK as Cross Stitch) and became one of the most popular historical fiction sagas ever written. Before she wrote novels she had a background in science and had scripted comics, and her books have always mixed genres freely: romance, adventure, history, time travel and, in the Lord John stories, the classic mystery.
The Lord John series was born almost by accident. Gabaldon’s second Lord John “short story” came in at around 85,000 words, and when her agents pointed out that this was the length of a normal novel, it became Lord John and the Private Matter and led to a contract for three Lord John novels. She has written the novellas in between the much longer main Outlander books.
For her full bibliography, see our Diana Gabaldon author page, and for the main saga in order, our Outlander series reading order. Gabaldon’s official website also keeps a detailed chronology of the Outlander series, including every Lord John story.
Historical Context
The Lord John stories are set during the Seven Years’ War (1756 to 1763), often called the first global war. Britain and Prussia fought France, Austria and their allies in Europe, while the same conflict was fought in North America, the Caribbean and India. Grey’s regiment serves in Germany alongside Hanoverian troops, which is why Hanoverian officers fill the early books, and the later stories follow the war to Quebec in 1759 and Havana in 1762.
Behind the war lies the aftermath of the Jacobite Rising of 1745 and the Battle of Culloden in 1746. Jacobite prisoners, suspected traitors and old loyalties drive several of the plots, and Grey’s own family carries the stain of a father accused of Jacobite sympathies. Readers who want the Rising itself will find more in our list of the best Jacobite historical fiction and our guide to Scottish historical fiction.
At home, Georgian London was a city of clubs, coffee houses and secret societies, including the Hellfire Club linked to Sir Francis Dashwood. Sex between men was a capital offence, and the hidden world of “mollies” and molly houses lived under the threat of raids and the gallows. Gabaldon uses that danger carefully: it shapes every choice Grey makes.
How accurate are the books? The main characters and mysteries are invented, but the battles, places and many of the people are real, and Gabaldon is known for detailed research into daily life, military practice and medicine. Like the main Outlander novels, the stories also allow the occasional supernatural note, so they are best read as historical fiction with a touch of the uncanny. For more novels of soldiers and campaigns, see our best military historical fiction.
Similar Series You’ll Love
Sir John Fielding mysteries by Bruce Alexander. Begin with Blind Justice. Set in London in 1768, only a few years after the Lord John stories, it follows the real blind magistrate of Bow Street, Sir John Fielding, as seen by his young assistant Jeremy Proctor. The same Georgian London of clubs, crime and class, with an investigator at its heart.
Thomas Hawkins series by Antonia Hodgson. Begin with The Devil in the Marshalsea. London, 1727: the debt-ridden Tom Hawkins lands in the Marshalsea debtors’ prison and must solve a murder there or risk becoming the next victim. A darker, earthier Georgian mystery.
Westerman and Crowther series by Imogen Robertson. Begin with Instruments of Darkness. Sussex and London in 1780, where the outspoken Harriet Westerman and the reclusive anatomist Gabriel Crowther investigate a body found on her land. The partnership of two outsiders will appeal to fans of Grey and Jamie.
Sebastian St. Cyr series by C.S. Harris. Begin with What Angels Fear. A Regency nobleman and former army officer, suspected of murder, has to clear his own name in 1811 London. Aristocratic privilege, military experience and family secrets, much like Lord John half a century later.
Shardlake series by C.J. Sansom. Begin with Dissolution. Earlier in time, but the closest match in spirit: an outsider investigator working for powerful men in a dangerous age. See our Shardlake reading order.
Poldark series by Winston Graham. Begin with Ross Poldark. For the Georgian world outside London, Ross Poldark comes home to Cornwall from the American war in 1783. Less mystery, more family saga, but the same era and the same mix of soldiering and society. See our Poldark reading order.
For many more period mysteries, browse our list of the best historical mystery fiction.
Adaptations
None of the Lord John books has been adapted for the screen, but the character has a big role in the Starz TV series Outlander. Oscar Kennedy played the young Grey in season two (2016), adapting his first appearance in Dragonfly in Amber. David Berry took over as the adult Lord John from season three in 2017, which adapts Voyager, and appeared through season five before returning in season seven.
Viewers who met Grey on screen will find the books give him far more space, following his own cases, career and private life through the years of the Seven Years’ War.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Lord John books are there?
There are nine Lord John stories: three novels (Lord John and the Private Matter, Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade and The Scottish Prisoner) and six novellas. The novellas are collected in Lord John and the Hand of Devils and Seven Stones to Stand or Fall.
What order should I read the Lord John books in?
Read them in chronological order: Hellfire Club, Private Matter, Succubus, Brotherhood of the Blade, Haunted Soldier, The Custom of the Army, The Scottish Prisoner, A Plague of Zombies and Besieged. This is the same as publication order except that A Plague of Zombies was published a few weeks before The Scottish Prisoner.
Where do the Lord John books fit in the Outlander series?
All of them take place during the third Outlander novel, Voyager, between 1756 and 1762, while Jamie Fraser is a paroled prisoner in England. Diana Gabaldon suggests reading them at any point after Voyager.
Do I need to read Outlander before Lord John?
No. Every Lord John novel and novella is written to stand alone as a mystery. Reading Outlander up to Voyager first adds depth to Grey’s history with Jamie Fraser, especially in The Scottish Prisoner, but it is not required.
What is the Lord John series about?
It follows Lord John Grey, an English nobleman and army officer, as he solves crimes and uncovers conspiracies during the Seven Years’ War. Grey is gay at a time when that was a capital crime, and protecting his secret while serving his family and regiment shapes every story.
Which book should I start with?
Most readers should start with Lord John and the Private Matter, the first novel. Outlander fans who mainly want more of Jamie Fraser can start with The Scottish Prisoner, which works on its own.
Where can I find the Lord John novellas?
Lord John and the Hellfire Club, Lord John and the Succubus and Lord John and the Haunted Soldier are collected in Lord John and the Hand of Devils. The Custom of the Army, A Plague of Zombies and Besieged are in Seven Stones to Stand or Fall. Some are also sold as single ebooks in the US and Canada.
Will there be more Lord John books?
No new Lord John book has been announced. Diana Gabaldon is working on the tenth main Outlander novel, A Blessing for a Warrior Going Out, and has said in the past that she would like to write more about Lord John.
Is Lord John Grey a real historical person?
No. Lord John and his family are fictional, but they move among real people and events, including General James Wolfe at Quebec, Sir Francis Dashwood and the surgeon John Hunter.
Are the Lord John books historically accurate?
The mysteries and main characters are invented, but the settings, battles and many details of Georgian life are carefully researched. Like the main Outlander books, a few stories include supernatural or uncanny elements.
Are the Lord John books suitable for younger readers?
They are written for adults. The books include violence, murder, some sexual content and frank treatment of eighteenth-century attitudes, so they suit adult and mature older teen readers.
Are the Lord John books available as audiobooks?
Yes. The novels and the collections are available as audiobooks as well as in print and as ebooks, and several have been narrated by Jeff Woodman.
Is there a Lord John TV series?
No. The Lord John books have not been adapted, but Lord John Grey appears in the Starz series Outlander, played by Oscar Kennedy as a young man in season two and by David Berry as an adult from season three.
Conclusion
The Lord John series is the perfect bridge for Outlander readers waiting for the next big book, and a satisfying set of Georgian mysteries in its own right. Start with Lord John and the Private Matter, keep Lord John and the Hand of Devils close for the early novellas, save The Scottish Prisoner for when you want Jamie and John together, and finish with Seven Stones to Stand or Fall.
Nine stories, five books, and a hero many readers end up loving as much as Jamie Fraser.