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Lord John Grey #0.5
Hellfire
From the New York Times best-selling author of the multivolume Outlander saga comes Hellfire—a story of intrigue and mystery set in an impeccably drawn world of 18th-century London. Here is the prequel to a captivating new trilogy featuring Lord John Grey, one of the most fascinating and engaging characters to emerge from Diana Gabaldon's best-selling series.
2 pages, MP3 CD
First published January 1, 1998
52 people are currently reading
8847 people want to read
About the author
Diana Gabaldon
224 books181k followersDiana Jean Gabaldon Watkins grew up in Flagstaff, Arizona and is of Hispanic and English descent (with a dash of Native American and Sephardic Jew). She has earned three degrees: a B.S. in Zoology, a M.S. in Marine Biology, and a Ph.D in Ecology, plus an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Glasgow, for services to Scottish Literature.
She currently lives in Scottsdale, Arizona .
She currently lives in Scottsdale, Arizona .
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 303 reviews
January 22, 2016
Lord John and the Hellfire Club is the first novella in Diana Gabaldon's Lord John Grey series. I'm not sure if it's the shortest story she's ever written, but it's by far the shortest one by her I've read to date. In this novella, she's taken Lord John Grey, a popular secondary character from the Outlander series, and given him a mystery to solve, thereby turning him into an amateur sleuth, which is what I understand he'll be doing throughout the series. It takes place in London sometime after Lord John's return from his time as warden at Ardsmuir Prison where Jamie was held. Harry Quarry, the warden who preceded Lord John, is also a part of the story. He and John share a loose friendship and he's related to the murdered man.
The plot is a fairly simple and straightforward one. John is approached by a man he's barely met, asking for a clandestine meeting to discuss something of import that he can trust to no one else, but before the meeting can take place, the man is stabbed almost before John's eyes and dies in his arms. John vows to find the killer, which leads him to a surprising meeting of a secret society know at the Hellfire Club.
As usual Diana Gabaldon has done an exceptional job with her research. Hellfire Clubs actually did exist during that time period, and Sir Francis Dashwood's, the one which John attends, appears to have been the most famous. I also found it interesting to learn more about the perceptions of gay men in that era. Of course, John, out of necessity for his own safety, keeps his sexuality a closely guarded secret, but we do get hints of how he gets around the social mores of the day to engage in intimacies and how he views society's attitudes toward men like him. I felt rather bad for John, because he still pines for Jamie even though he's trying to set aside that unrequited love.
The main reason this was a four-star read for me instead of higher is that parts of the story didn't seem to flow as well as the Outlander books I've read. The details of the first chapter weren't quite gelling in my mind's eye the way this author's work usually does. I had to concentrate pretty intently to fully grasp the situation. Also, Ms. Gabaldon is a highly intelligent person, and it definitely shows in her writing. That's great, except that in this story, she uses more historically accurate language in both her dialogue and prose. This made it a bit more challenging to read, because the dialogue is unfamiliar to my modern ear, and while normally I can pick up on the meaning of unfamiliar words in context, some of the words in the prose still remained a mystery to me. Otherwise I enjoyed Lord John and the Hellfire Club. The mystery was handled well, especially for such a short format. It was a good start to the series, and I look forward to reading more about Lord John's adventures.
The plot is a fairly simple and straightforward one. John is approached by a man he's barely met, asking for a clandestine meeting to discuss something of import that he can trust to no one else, but before the meeting can take place, the man is stabbed almost before John's eyes and dies in his arms. John vows to find the killer, which leads him to a surprising meeting of a secret society know at the Hellfire Club.
As usual Diana Gabaldon has done an exceptional job with her research. Hellfire Clubs actually did exist during that time period, and Sir Francis Dashwood's, the one which John attends, appears to have been the most famous. I also found it interesting to learn more about the perceptions of gay men in that era. Of course, John, out of necessity for his own safety, keeps his sexuality a closely guarded secret, but we do get hints of how he gets around the social mores of the day to engage in intimacies and how he views society's attitudes toward men like him. I felt rather bad for John, because he still pines for Jamie even though he's trying to set aside that unrequited love.
The main reason this was a four-star read for me instead of higher is that parts of the story didn't seem to flow as well as the Outlander books I've read. The details of the first chapter weren't quite gelling in my mind's eye the way this author's work usually does. I had to concentrate pretty intently to fully grasp the situation. Also, Ms. Gabaldon is a highly intelligent person, and it definitely shows in her writing. That's great, except that in this story, she uses more historically accurate language in both her dialogue and prose. This made it a bit more challenging to read, because the dialogue is unfamiliar to my modern ear, and while normally I can pick up on the meaning of unfamiliar words in context, some of the words in the prose still remained a mystery to me. Otherwise I enjoyed Lord John and the Hellfire Club. The mystery was handled well, especially for such a short format. It was a good start to the series, and I look forward to reading more about Lord John's adventures.
March 30, 2015
Interesting novella but too short, plus I didn't understand it completely. But I still definitely want to read the rest of the Lord John series.
July 2, 2022
3.75 stars. I do love LJG so much. I love how he still secretly pines after Jamie. I now know what a Hellfire Club is and leave it to Diana to paint a picture with her words. This novella was super short..like three chapters, but still was so insightful into LJG life and what it’s like being gay back then. Thank goodness for these type clubs. 🫢
July 21, 2018
Lord John and the Hellfire Club is a short story featuring Lord John Grey, a character from Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series. He was first introduced in Dragonfly in Amber. In 1786, he has returned to London from his post as Governor of Ardsmuir Prison when he encounters Harry Quarry in his club and meets Harry’s cousin by marriage, Robert Gerald. Perhaps Gerald’s flaming red hair causes Lord John to offer assistance when asked but, before it can be rendered, Gerald is murdered in front of his eyes. At a social gathering some days later, Grey meets a former acquaintance along with his influential friends and is invited to an assembly of gentlemen at the home of Sir Francis Dashwood in West Wycombe. Oblivious to the personal danger, Grey accepts: he is convinced he will find the answer to the murder among their number. A small dose of Lord John Grey that begins a series of his own.
May 23, 2015
Those readers familiar with Gabaldon's Outlander series will remember mention of Lord John Grey twice in VOYAGER. In the early portion of the novel, Grey is assigned to time overseeing things at Ardsmuir prison, where he and Jamie Fraser crossed paths. This novella is set in and around the time of Grey's period there, with loose references to Fraser and Grey's attraction to him. Grey receives word from an acquaintance that he wishes to pass along some information. However, said acquaintance is murdered before he can deliver his news. Grey takes on an 18th century Sherlock Holmes role to solve the case, which leads him to the seedy underbelly of a gentlemen's club with odd rituals. Quick witted and full of both detail and historical narration, Gabaldon does a great job for those wanting context for Grey's life and a quick read. Bring on the rest of the Grey series to better hone that context.
The Lord Grey series, which begins with this novella, is a wonderful collection best read after completing the first three Outlander novels (should the reader wish to undertake this herculean task). Grey makes an appearanc twice in VOYAGER, at very different times in the novel and time itself. A little backstory on Grey can only help the avid reader gain a better perspective and possess a more detailed knowledge of the man and his role in the larger OUTLANDER storyline. When he returns to Gabaldon's Outlander collection, any reader who has tackled the entire Grey series will be better prepared and have a stronger context for the nuances sprinkled throughout.
Kudos, Madam Gabaldon for this teaser novella. I look forward to learning a great deal more about Grey's life, his past, and his proclivities, as well as the true nature of his connection with Jamie Fraser.
Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
The Lord Grey series, which begins with this novella, is a wonderful collection best read after completing the first three Outlander novels (should the reader wish to undertake this herculean task). Grey makes an appearanc twice in VOYAGER, at very different times in the novel and time itself. A little backstory on Grey can only help the avid reader gain a better perspective and possess a more detailed knowledge of the man and his role in the larger OUTLANDER storyline. When he returns to Gabaldon's Outlander collection, any reader who has tackled the entire Grey series will be better prepared and have a stronger context for the nuances sprinkled throughout.
Kudos, Madam Gabaldon for this teaser novella. I look forward to learning a great deal more about Grey's life, his past, and his proclivities, as well as the true nature of his connection with Jamie Fraser.
Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
books-i-gave-up-on
July 27, 2017Giving up on this one for now. The audio quality on the library copy that I am trying to listen to is not good. I was having a hard time focusing on the story before the problems with the audio quality started so it is not worth fighting with. I do hope to try again at some point.
October 2, 2014
I've read 3 of the humongous books in the Outlander series so far, and because I thought Lord John was rather cute and endearing, I wanted to at least try some of the novella's and shorter novels, that take place during Jamie's stay at Helwater.
And I have to say, as far as short stories go, this was a good one. The format is usually too short for me to be enjoyable, but I enjoyed reading this action packed short little mystery, and am now even more eager to learn more about LJG, so I'll continue along this path I believe, before tackling the fourth of the huge Outlander books.
And I have to say, as far as short stories go, this was a good one. The format is usually too short for me to be enjoyable, but I enjoyed reading this action packed short little mystery, and am now even more eager to learn more about LJG, so I'll continue along this path I believe, before tackling the fourth of the huge Outlander books.
June 27, 2022
This was a short novella. I'm finding it hard to get into these Lord John's books. While it seems his main thing is to solve mysteries, these books are just hard to follow. It's a never-ending name of characters that are thrown out constantly. It's hard to draw an attachment to them.
I'm going to continue to read them because from what I read on the author's page, these books will all tie into one of the main books where Jamie/Claire are featured. I'm just hoping these get better as they go along.
I'm going to continue to read them because from what I read on the author's page, these books will all tie into one of the main books where Jamie/Claire are featured. I'm just hoping these get better as they go along.
August 31, 2025
Author: Diana Gabaldon
Genre: Novella, Historical, Mystery
Rating: C
In "Lord John and the Hellfire Club" Lord John Grey (of the famed Outlander series) witnesses the murder of one Robert Gerald, the cousin of Grey’s friend and colleague, Harry Quarry. Even before rumours begin to circulate about Gerald’s sexuality Grey had vowed to find the murderer, a search which brings Grey to the Hellfire Club, where the story becomes more about the danger that threatens Grey’s life than discovering who murdered Gerald.
I was actually rather disappointed by this story. Going into it I understood that it was a novella and that Diana Gabaldon had never written a novella before, but this still really didn’t meet my expectations. The detail that you can expect in one of her books is still there, but because of the brevity of the story itself this actually takes away from things. When writing a novella there is a word count, and unlike in books when you can simply add pages (or divide books into two parts, à la George R.R. Martin) if you surpass that count your work is going to be cut. Thus, in order to add details Gabaldon has to take away from other elements – in this case, she deprives the plot. Everything happens too quickly and too easily, and without any real depth to it. Furthermore, the suspense of the story is somewhat diminished by the fact that this novella is a prequel of sorts; any fan of the Outlander series knows that Grey appears in books set after this novella, thus when his life is endangered there’s a large “meh” element to it. I’m not worried about whether or not Grey survives, because I know he has to. I’m not even worried about him being grievously harmed or disfigured, or even if his reputation is tarnished and his secret exposed – I know it doesn’t happen. Which is why all of that seems to be a large part of the suspense of the novella; Gabaldon wants readers to be asking what’s going to happen and if Grey is going to emerge from this story alive. She seems to almost forget that we already know the answer.
http://ishreviews.blogspot.ca/2012/06...
Genre: Novella, Historical, Mystery
Rating: C
In "Lord John and the Hellfire Club" Lord John Grey (of the famed Outlander series) witnesses the murder of one Robert Gerald, the cousin of Grey’s friend and colleague, Harry Quarry. Even before rumours begin to circulate about Gerald’s sexuality Grey had vowed to find the murderer, a search which brings Grey to the Hellfire Club, where the story becomes more about the danger that threatens Grey’s life than discovering who murdered Gerald.
I was actually rather disappointed by this story. Going into it I understood that it was a novella and that Diana Gabaldon had never written a novella before, but this still really didn’t meet my expectations. The detail that you can expect in one of her books is still there, but because of the brevity of the story itself this actually takes away from things. When writing a novella there is a word count, and unlike in books when you can simply add pages (or divide books into two parts, à la George R.R. Martin) if you surpass that count your work is going to be cut. Thus, in order to add details Gabaldon has to take away from other elements – in this case, she deprives the plot. Everything happens too quickly and too easily, and without any real depth to it. Furthermore, the suspense of the story is somewhat diminished by the fact that this novella is a prequel of sorts; any fan of the Outlander series knows that Grey appears in books set after this novella, thus when his life is endangered there’s a large “meh” element to it. I’m not worried about whether or not Grey survives, because I know he has to. I’m not even worried about him being grievously harmed or disfigured, or even if his reputation is tarnished and his secret exposed – I know it doesn’t happen. Which is why all of that seems to be a large part of the suspense of the novella; Gabaldon wants readers to be asking what’s going to happen and if Grey is going to emerge from this story alive. She seems to almost forget that we already know the answer.
http://ishreviews.blogspot.ca/2012/06...
April 21, 2017
Quaint short story introducing Lord John Grey as a main character while he investigates the death of an acquaintance. Just a very brief taster about this secondary Outlander character, interesting enough to make me want to continue reading about him, but at the same time, at this stage I still have doubts that he can sustain a whole longer book. I guess I'll find out soon enough.
July 19, 2020
It was a bit rushed, but then again it’s not surprising since it’s so short.
March 31, 2025
Short but compelling! I love Lord John, so I'll take whatever breadcrumbs Gabaldon decides to scatter.
August 1, 2020
I put off reading the Lord John material for the longest time because I wasn't sure how Gabaldon would handle writing from a strictly eighteenth-century perspective, but I have to say she did well here. I was engrossed from the very beginning and could feel and see the setting clearly. I love John's character in the Outlander books. In my opinion, he's one of the most complex in the series, despite being a relatively minor (but important) character, so it's a pleasure to read from his perspective. Although this is short (practically a miracle on Gabaldon's part), I found the story to have just the right amount of action and intrigue.
I've seen other reviewers remark that they are unsure what the point of this story is. I have two answers to that. First, a story doesn't have to have a "point," other than being a tale to read. Second, I think it serves to introduce us to John as a protagonist. It alludes to the dangers he would face were his homosexuality to be revealed, and it gives us a glimpse into what his life is like after Ardsmuir. I'm definitely interested in continuing on with the rest of his books and novellas after reading this one.
I've seen other reviewers remark that they are unsure what the point of this story is. I have two answers to that. First, a story doesn't have to have a "point," other than being a tale to read. Second, I think it serves to introduce us to John as a protagonist. It alludes to the dangers he would face were his homosexuality to be revealed, and it gives us a glimpse into what his life is like after Ardsmuir. I'm definitely interested in continuing on with the rest of his books and novellas after reading this one.
July 5, 2017
This is a short novella introducing Lord John Grey as a main character. Lord john is first introduced in the Outlander series in Dragonfly in Amber as an impetuous teen. In Voyager Lord John ends up the eventual friend of Jamie Fraser and is an interesting character.
Lord John witnesses the murder of one Robert Gerald, the cousin of Grey’s friend and colleague, Harry Quarry. Grey had vowed to find the murderer, a search which brings Grey to the Hellfire Club, where he must protect his life.
Sometimes the story felt a little rushed and a little hard to follow but overall it was entertaining and really helped set the scene to this new series.
https://www.auniversaltruth.com/?p=617
Lord John witnesses the murder of one Robert Gerald, the cousin of Grey’s friend and colleague, Harry Quarry. Grey had vowed to find the murderer, a search which brings Grey to the Hellfire Club, where he must protect his life.
Sometimes the story felt a little rushed and a little hard to follow but overall it was entertaining and really helped set the scene to this new series.
https://www.auniversaltruth.com/?p=617
March 1, 2012
I liked it, thought Diana was expermenting a little, putting it out there. Great guy Lord John is, and I am very interested in where he (& Diana) might take us. A lot more learning for our favorite author, keeping up with what was going on in England (& Americia) during this time period. Please keep them coming, I love learning about all of these things too...
March 4, 2015
I really like Lord John Grey so I thought I would check out some of his spin-off stories. This is the first I've read and was pretty interesting, very mysterious. Also, his pining over Jamie is so easy to sympathize with.
3.5 stars
3.5 stars
April 13, 2015
Fun novella in the Lord John Grey series by this author of my much-loved Outlander series. She is gifted in bringing 18th and 19th century alive...language, politics, daily experiences and mores. Sometimes quite uncomfortable but always enlightening.
March 25, 2015
i found it kind of boring. didn't keep my interest nearly as much as the outlander series
August 8, 2017
I love Lord John.
December 8, 2022
As with some Lord John stories this one is a little dry to begin with, but heats up fast. In more ways than one!
September 9, 2018
I’m not really sure what to think about this story. It was not bad and an interesting introduction to Lord John but the point behind the story is not quite clear to me. Hope the full books are better. Outlander is amazing so I was surprised by this short story.
January 7, 2020
Wanted to try a Galbadon. This was short and available, but possibly not the best place to start. Some good moments— heated and spooky— but also melodramatic. Could be enticed to try more if it’s not just pining and martyrdom. I may spoil myself to find out; we’ll see.
October 24, 2023
I never thought I’d be saying that one of Diana Gabaldon’s books was too short 🤣 I know this was just a novella, so it’s not even really a fair complaint. It just wasn’t long enough for me to develop enough interest in the characters or plot (other than John, of course). It was a nice little mystery (quite disturbing actually), but nothing “wow” like everything else I’ve read of Gabaldon’s.
September 2, 2018
That was wild and confusing... And I definitely want to come back for more!
March 31, 2021
Quick read- think I am more interested in the Outlander books - so far not finding the short stories hold my interest as much. However, I am going to read the Order List I was given - and there as quite a bit to read off-topic between books 3 and 4.
December 27, 2024
this was a bit of requisite reading but I'm convinced it'll be worth my while
January 22, 2025
Dodatek do dodatku, bo w bardzo dużym uproszczeniu, tym dokładnie jest ten tom. Historia bardzo krótka i prosta. Niewiele z niej można wyciągnąć. Przeważnie części 0.5 nie czytam przed pierwszą, więc charakter głównego bohatera już znałam.
Taki średniak.
Taki średniak.
May 3, 2025
i did not like it that much as a short story it reads like the first chapter of something not a short story. So I'm confused. but at least I read it
February 13, 2026
John Grey Novella
May 19, 2024
Lord John and a murder mystery? Say less.
This made my heart happy and I’m glad to know the show didn’t drastically change him
This made my heart happy and I’m glad to know the show didn’t drastically change him
Displaying 1 - 30 of 303 reviews