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The ''Lord John'' series is a sequence of historical mystery novels and shorter works written by Diana Gabaldon that center on Lord John Grey, a recurring secondary character in the author's ''Outlander'' series. Secretly homosexual "in a time when that particular predilection could get one hanged," the character has been called "one of the most complex and interesting" of the hundreds of characters in Gabaldon's ''Outlander'' novels. Starting with the 1998 novella ''Lord John and the Hellfire Club'', the ''Lord John'' spin-off series currently consists of five novellas and three novels. ==Origins== Gabaldon introduced Grey in the second ''Outlander'' novel ''Dragonfly in Amber'' (1992) as a sixteen-year-old English soldier who chances upon Jamie and Claire Fraser on the eve of the Battle of Prestonpans. The character returned in ''Voyager'' (1993) and ''Drums of Autumn'' (1996). When Gabaldon was invited to write a short story for the 1998 British anthology ''Past Poisons: An Ellis Peters Memorial Anthology of Historical Crime'', she was interested in the challenge of writing a shorter work but hesitant to use any of the main characters from the ''Outlander'' series for fear of creating "a stumbling block in the growth of the next novel."〔 The Lord Grey character came to mind. That first ''Lord John'' story became ''Lord John and the Hellfire Club'' (1998); it was well-received and Gabaldon decided that she would write more Grey-centric tales in her spare time.〔〔 Her next attempt was a larger manuscript that secured the author a deal for three full Grey novels: ''Lord John and the Private Matter'' (2003), ''Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade'' (2007) and ''The Scottish Prisoner'' (2011).〔〔 Gabaldon would also write four additional ''Lord John'' novellas between 2003 and 2011.〔 Meanwhile, the character of Grey appeared in the ''Outlander'' novels ''A Breath of Snow and Ashes'' (2005) and ''An Echo in the Bone'' (2009), as well as in ''The Fiery Cross'' (2001) by way of a series of letters to Jamie and his family. Lord John Grey himself has been called one of Gabaldon's "most complex and interesting" ''Outlander'' characters.〔 ''Publishers Weekly'' notes Grey to be "a competent and likable sleuth" and a " soldier-hero with secrets of his own." Comfortable with his sexuality but necessarily "discreet", Grey navigates mystery and intrigue "with characteristic élan, intelligence, and fortitude, assisted by jeweled goblets of wine and meaningful glances from fetching men." To date, the ''Lord John'' works all take place between 1756 and 1761, during the events of Gabaldon's ''Voyager''.〔 They can be generally categorized as historical mysteries, and the three novels are shorter and focus on fewer plot threads than the main ''Outlander'' books.〔 Several of the ''Lord John'' books have been released in audiobook form, read by Jeff Woodman. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Lord John series」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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