Lord John Grey gets ready to leave Jamaica in Besieged Section 1. However, it takes an unexpected turn.
We start Besieged in our Outlander Book Club. This is currently the last of the Lord John Grey novellas, although we hope that there will be more in the future.
I wasn’t sure how to break this one down, as it is one long part of Seven Stones to Stand Or Fall, a series of novellas and short stories by Diana Gabaldon, similarly to some of the other Lord John Grey novellas. I decided in a series of sections where there is a bit of a break in the story, and to break up the pages in as much of an even way as possible.
Breaking down Besieged Section 1
We open with Lord John Grey and Tom Byrd discussing their plans as they get ready for Lord John Grey to leave Jamaica. Since A Plague of Zombies, he has been Acting Governor in the colony and he’s ready to pass on the task to someone else.
We’re reminded of all the bugs that are around, with John and Tom discussing their options for oils to avoid for the journey. I always got from the description of the book that John was heading straight for England, but that’s not the case. He’s preparing to go to Charlestown.
However, all of that is thrown off when General Stanley shows up. John initially isn’t sure which General Stanley Tom means, and then he’s reminded of his mother’s husband. John likes his stepfather, and that’s got nothing to do with his relationship with Percy Wainwright.
Stanley shares that John’s mother, Benedicta, is in Havana. Malcolm Stubbs is a diplomat there, and he wanted Olivia and his children to arrive once he was settled. John is told all about the second child Malcolm and Olivia had—and we’re reminded of John Cinnamon, Malcolm’s illegitimate child from A Custom of the Army. We also learn that Olivia is pregnant with a third child.
Benedicta was going to help Olivia get settled and then join Stanley in Savannah afterward. John has to be caught up because he’s forgotten a lot of things that have been said to him off-book. This is really a way for us to learn about the events off-page while John was dealing with “zombies.”
The British Navy is on the way to Havana to lay siege, and Stanley is worried that Benedicta and Olivia won’t be safe. John knows that he needs to go there to help them get out of the country. If they remain, they could either end up being Spanish hostages or die in the crossfire. Stanley doesn’t care much about Olivia, but he loves Benedicta. Of course, John won’t leave Olivia behind.
Could this section be used in an adaptation?
I always like to focus on the possibility of a Lord John Grey spin-off series happening. With that in mind, I like to look at whether a section or chapter could be used. In this case, we would need to see Besieged Section 1 be used in a series.
This sets up everything in the story. It tells us where John is now, it reminds us of John’s family, and it sets up the story for John to head to Havana. Without all of this, nothing else would make sense.
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