Is Geillis Duncan in Lord John: A Plague of Zombies?

As we get ready for the next Lord John Grey novella, we have to take stock of the location. We need to know if past Outlander characters will show up. One of those is Geillis Duncan. Will she be in A Plague of Zombies?

Usually, we wouldn’t think of Lord John Grey crossing paths with Geillis Duncan. She was presumed dead, killed in the witch trials in Cranesmuir. Well, we learned in Voyager that Geillis didn’t die after all. She managed to escape, and she set up a life in Jamaica.

That’s where we find Lord John Grey in A Plague of Zombies. He’s sent there to stop the slave rebellion. Does that mean he will cross paths with the “witch” after all?

Geillis Duncan is in A Plague of Zombies

The answer is yes. Lord John Grey comes across Geillis due to the death of her husband, Mr. Abernathy. John learns of the “convenient” death of the owner of Rose Hall, and someone suggests that he heads there to talk to the now sole owner, the widowed Mrs. Abernathy. Mrs. Abernathy happens to be the one and only Geillis Duncan.

Of course, John has no idea who Geillis was in Cranesmuir. He doesn’t realize that she has a connection to Claire and Jamie. All he knows is that she is now the owner, and she has a story about how her husband died.

Did she kill her husband? Considering we know Geillis is around later on when John becomes Governor of Jamaica, it would suggest that if she did, she was never caught. The novel gives us a look at how that storyline plays out. We know that Geillis remains the sole plantation owner for the next few years considering the timing of Claire and Jamie getting to Jamaica, so it’s also a good look at the type of hold she has on the land despite being a woman.

We also meet another character connected to Geillis in Voyager. Ishmael comes into the story to aid John in his tasks while on the island.

We start our read-through of A Plague of Zombies on Monday, Oct. 14.

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