18th August 2025
Hi my Lords and Ladies,
How are you all?
I am really well thank you. I have been so busy reading to combat my hip pain Honestly it’s lovely to escape into a great series. I also get to find some peace in diamonds and helping lovely Ria by getting her art out there. She is amazing. Look what she has achieved recently.
Tinker Belle – £3
Comes in a frame when brought.
Teddy Bear – £3
Comes in a frame when brought.
Garfield – £3
Comes in frame when brought.
Bead bracelet – £5
Ria has loads of these with lots of different kinds of beads. I wish I had the patience to thread them on. They make a beautiful gift for a friend or family member, absolutely for people who love colour.
The Little Mermaid – £3
Comes in a frame when brought.
The Little Mermaid key ring – £5
Perfect for lovers of The Little Mermaid.
Let’s go our little art club to a very different kind of club altogether.
Dedication
This one is a combination. I would like to thank my amazing Dad and beautiful Personal Assistant Bernie for introducing me to Outlander on telly. I think Lord John should now get his own series. There’s so much you don’t know if you just watch it.
I would also love to thank Aunty Barbara for bringing me the Outlander universe and telling me there were books before there was the series. My mind was blown. I bet she didn’t know was a spin=off!
Review – may contain spoilers
Author: Diana Gabaldon
Series: Lord John Grey
Novella title: Lord John and the Hellfire’s Club (Lord John Grey 0.5). This is a short story that was first published in a collection of other short pieces called Past Poisons that Diana Gabaldon took part in. Hellfire then was published on it’s own before being placed where I found it in a set of three narratives about Lord John Grey’s adventures pre Voyager. It comes from Lord John and the Hand of Devils.
Publishing House: Penguin Random House
Imprint: Century
Ways of reading: Hardcover/audiobook
Started reading: 15th July 2025
Finished reading: 15th July 2025
Genres: Science Fiction/Mystery
First published: 3rd January 2008
Original language: English
Number of pages: 42
Read rating: ***
Ease of read: 5/5
Enjoyment: 5/5
Would I recommend? Yes
Lord John Grey
Diana Gabaldon made me complete this novella in a day! I don’t know how she does it. She was asked to create more stories from the world of Outlander that did not involve Jamie and Claire Fraser directly. Gabaldon said that when asked to do this Lord John’s voice came to her and ‘spoke’ the loudest.
These stories are super dark and focus around the supernatural. In Lord John and the Hellfire Club Lord John is confronted with someone who has a plea for help. He is a Jamie look-a-like in terms of his hair. Robert Gerald’s death embroils him in the going-on of the Hellfire Club. John keeps dreaming about Jamie after releasing him from Ardsmuir prison.
Gerald’s hair is, ‘Not copper, not carrot: a deep red, almost rufous, with glints and streaks of cinnabar and gold.’
At times this was really hard to follow but you need to read the Lord John books and novellas to fill in the gaps for Jamie Fraser before Claire returns to him. Hellfire takes us back to 1757 London full of grit and mystery. What would you do to fight the darkness surrounding your past? Would you join a gentleman’s club to find answers to a murder? Can Lord John adjust to life in London after Ardsmiur?
I can’t wait to show you Lord John and the Private Matter. What made this hard for me to get my head around was going from Outlander which is written most of the time in the voice of Claire and the Lord John books so far are written in the third person. You can get past that though. I still enjoyed it but I don’t think I would fit into Lord John’s world.
When I see you next we will pick up a penguin and I will see you really soon.
Enjoy the last few days of the summer holidays.
Love you all.
From Hatts
Xxx
Hatty’s Reading Corner 
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