Lord John Grey (character)
| Lord John Grey | |
|---|---|
| Outlander and Lord John series character | |
Oscar Kennedy as William Grey (2016)
|
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| First appearance |
Novel: Dragonfly in Amber (1992) Television: Outlander "Je Suis Prest" (2016) |
| Created by | Diana Gabaldon |
| Portrayed by | Oscar Kennedy Outlander (2016) |
| Information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Officer, British Army |
| Title | Lord |
| Relatives |
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| Nationality | British |
Lord John William Grey is a fictional character created by Diana Gabaldon. He is a recurring secondary character in Gabaldon's Outlander series of novels, and the main character of the Lord John series of historical mystery novels and novellas. Secretly homosexual "in a time when that particular predilection could get one hanged", the character has been called "one of the most complex and interesting" of the hundreds of characters in Gabaldon's Outlander novels.
Grey first appears in the second Outlander novel Dragonfly in Amber (1992) as a sixteen-year-old English soldier who chances upon Jamie and Claire Fraser on the eve of the Battle of Prestonpans. Recognizing Jamie as a wanted rebel and presuming Claire to be his prisoner, Grey attempts to save her. Using the threat of harm to Claire, Jamie tricks Grey into revealing information about the nearby British forces, and spares the boy's life.
In Voyager (1994), a mortally injured Jamie is saved from execution as a traitor after the Battle of Culloden in 1746 by Harold Grey, Earl of Melton, as repayment for sparing the younger Grey. Jamie is sent home to Lallybroch to die, but recovers, and goes into hiding. Years later in 1753 he allows himself to be caught, and is placed in Ardsmuir Prison. An adult Lord John Grey is named the new governor of the prison in 1755, and the two form an awkward friendship, which is complicated by Grey's unrequited attraction to Jamie. Grey eventually paroles Jamie at Helwater, the country estate of the Dunsany family, in 1756. Jamie secretly fathers a son with Geneva Dunsany named William, who is raised as the son of Geneva's husband, Lord Ellesmere, after Geneva and Ellesmere's deaths. Jamie decides to leave Helwater in 1764 as the boy's resemblance to him becomes increasingly apparent, and Grey becomes William's stepfather by marrying the boy's aunt and guardian, Isobel Dunsany. A grateful Jamie offers himself to Grey, who declines, but Jamie kisses him. Years later, Grey and Jamie are reunited in Jamaica, where Grey is serving as governor.
The character makes subsequent appearances in Drums of Autumn (1997), A Breath of Snow and Ashes (2005), An Echo in the Bone (2009), and Written in My Own Heart's Blood (2014), as well as in The Fiery Cross (2001) by way of a series of letters to Jamie and his family.
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