Outlander Book Club: What is Lord John and the Scottish Prisoner about?

We will start Lord John and the Scottish Prisoner next week. It’s the next book in the Lord John Grey series, and a favorite for many. After all, it does include Jamie Fraser.

Before you delve into the book, you’ll want to know when it takes place and what to expect. Let’s break down what this third Lord John Grey novel (the others are short stories and novellas) is about.

We’ll start the read-through on Monday, July 29.

Lord John and the Scottish Prisoner synopsis

The book takes place in 1760. We’re now 14 years on from when the Battle of Culloden took place, but Jamie Fraser is still a paroled prisoner at Helwater, in the Lake District. You may want to read Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade first, as there were events in that book that come up in this one.

The novel gives us the viewpoints of both Lord John and Jamie Fraser. It’s very different to the rest of the Lord John Grey books, as they are all told from John’s point of view only.

John ends up with some papers that reveal a damning case of murder and corruption. They are against a British officer, and John needs to get to the bottom of it. This takes Jamie on the road to Ireland, and he is not alone.

You see, he needs the help of one Jamie Fraser. Jamie is currently focusing on watching the son he can never claim as his own grow up. However, he is also damned by dreams of people he lost, including Claire. He is surprised to find out that he is to head to Ireland with John, and it’s clear that this is where the men’s relationship changes to the one we come to know in the main Outlander books.