Outlander Book Club: What is Besieged about?

Besieged is the last of the Lord John Grey books published so far. It was published in 2011, and it brings us up to 1762 in the world of Outlander. There is still much more of John’s story to tell, but Diana Gabaldon hasn’t gotten to it yet.

We will eventually start reading this in our Outlander Book Club. However, we want time, and we don’t have that this month with Outlander season 7B premiering. So, we’ll wait until the Outlander season 7 finale airs in January.

That doesn’t stop us from getting prepared for the next book in Lord John’s story. We’re taking a look at the plot of Besieged.

What Besieged is about

This novel is set in 1762. It picks up some time after A Plague of Zombies, and we learn that John has been acting as the Governor of Jamaica since the events of that book. I did wonder at the end of the book about who would become the governor as A Plague of Zombies left so much unanswered.

John is getting ready to return home, but that trip is delayed. There’s a siege on Havana, Cuba threatened, and John is needed there. Not only is there a siege, but John’s mother and cousin are in Havana. It’s actually his cousin’s husband who seems to be threatening this siege, and that’s putting Benedicta and Olivia at risk. John will do everything he can to protect his mother, cousin, and his cousin’s children.

This novella does bring some heartbreak for John. After all, we can’t always have a happy ending. It’s not always possible to see everyone survive, and not all men are made like John Grey. This novel is important for the later Outlander books, so it’s certainly worth reading it if you got confused a little by some of the Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone storylines, especially when it comes to John Cinnamon.

Stay up to date with the latest Outlander news and more with Claire and Jamie.