Lord John and the Hellfire Club is a short story by Diana Gabaldon that was originally published in Past Poisons (an anthology, ed. Maxim Jakubowski) in 1998. Chronologically, it is the first story in the Lord John Series. In 2007, it was published with two other Lord John novellas in the collection Lord John and the Hand of Devils.
Plot
It is the autumn of 1756, and Lord John Grey, lately returned from his exile in the north of Scotland, is reacquainting himself with the hustle and bustle of London society when he witnesses the murder of an recent acquaintance. With the perpetrator in the wind, and slanderous accusations against the deceased borne on the tide of gossip, Grey finds himself drawn into Sir Francis Dashwood's notorious Hellfire Club in search of answers. Grey also encounters a man from his past, one George Everett, whose knowledge of Grey's own dangerous secret is deeply unsettling.
Characters
- Lord John Grey
- Harry Quarry
- Robert Gerald, junior secretary to the prime minister
- G. Bubb-Dodington
- Jamie Fraser (mentioned only)
- Sir Richard Joffrey
- Lady Lucinda Joffrey
- George Everett
- Sir Francis Dashwood
- John Wilkes
- Mr. Churchill
- Paul Whitehead
- Lady Fitzwalter
- Earl of Sandwich
- Mr. Justice Margrave
Additional Book Covers
