Why it's worth reading the Lord John Grey books

Not everyone is interested in the same characters. It’s why not all Outlander fans will delve into the Lord John Grey books. I do recommend giving them a read, though.

There are multiple books that cover the life of Lord John Grey. They pick up off the back of him leaving Ardmsuir Prison as governor and take him through those years when we know Claire and Jamie were separated by the stones.

There are different lengths of stories, as well. Some of the books are short stories, taking only a few hours to read. Others will take a little longer, coming in at around 300 pages. None of them are as long as the main Outlander books, and arguably this is a good thing as it keeps everything to the plot.

Learn more about Lord John Grey in these Outlander spin-off books

The benefit of the books is that fans get to learn more about one of the side characters. There’s so much about Lord John that is a question. What did he do to end up as the governor of Ardsmuir? How did his attraction to Jamie last for so long when he didn’t even like the man at first?

There are other questions that come up in the later Outlander books. In Written in My Own Heart’s Blood and Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone, we see a lot more of John and his family. We see him interact with Hal Grey, William Ransom, and a man named Percy Beauchamp, who he clearly has history with. Not a lot is explained about some of the people John knew in the past, and that’s because all the explanations are in the spin-off books.

The best way to really understand who Percy is and why John is so connected to him is by reading Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade. It’s important to delve into the books to understand Hal feeling like he needs to protect his brother. The books also help to introduce us to Minnie and the children, helping to further storylines for Dottie, Benjamin, and others in the main Outlander books.

I did find the storytelling in the later Outlander books a little harder to follow without knowing more of Lord John Grey’s story. I find the John/Percy scenes make more sense now that I know about their history. It’s somewhat of a flaw as to really feel the full impact, you need to read another book. However, it offers more in the world of Outlander to enjoy.

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