Lord John and the Private Matter

by Diana Gabaldon | Mystery & Thrillers |
ISBN: 0385337477 Global Overview for this book
Registered by wingGoryDetailswing of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 11/1/2003
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9 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by wingGoryDetailswing from Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Saturday, November 1, 2003
[Oddly enough, the cover-pic looks blue, while the cover of my book appears to be purple. Ah, well.] This book is another of the many that I acquired because of BookCrossing; I happened to see a pre-publication copy of this book on somebody's bookshelf, was intrigued by the title, and learned that the character had appeared in several of the books in the "Outlander" series, so I had to get hold of those volumes first. After reading "Voyager" I decided that Lord John (a young British officer who has the bad luck to fall in love with the utterly unavailable Jamie Fraser) was my favorite character, so I immediately ordered this - and while I've barely started it, I'm finding it very enjoyable indeed.

I gather that ardent fans of Jamie and Claire from the "Outlander" series may not be as thrilled with this book, as (a) Jamie and Claire aren't in it {grin}, and (b) it's much more a detective story than the lush romantic adventures of the other books (though a romantic scene or two manage to creep in - I won't say between whom!). I'm finding that I like it better than Gabaldon's more sprawling novels; there's a lot of period detail here, and some wonderful you-are-there stuff (including lots of humor, as when Lord John finds himself trying to defend a corpse from two bereaved women, each determined to bury the body in her own chosen way, and each with a mob to back her up).

To be continued...

Journal Entry 2 by wingGoryDetailswing from Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Thursday, January 8, 2004
It's not the book's fault that it's taken me so long to finish it, but for some reason all these other books kept shoving in front, and Lord John was much too polite to do anything about it {grin}.

The mysteries - there are several - turn out to have somewhat unexpected but quite satisfactory resolutions, and Lord John acquits himself admirably, with the aid of his new valet, Tom Byrd, and other friends, some of whom have also appeared in the "Outlander" books. [Another Lord John story is out now, as part of the "Legends II" anthology, and I believe one more novel is planned but I'm not positive about that. I'll be checking them out, in any case...]

*** Update: I've had a query or two as to whether this book is part of the "Outlander" series proper; I'd have to say no, as it focuses on the activities of Lord John (and a few minor characters) during the time when Jamie was working as a groom at Helwater, and does not deal with Jamie, Claire, their families, or time travel at all. [Well, there are a few passing references to Jamie or to red-haired men in general; if you're an "Outlander" fan you'll pick up on these, if not they'll just seem vaguely uninteresting. ;-)]

*** Still later update: I acquired the audio version of this via Audible.com, read by Jeff Woodman, and enjoyed it even more than when I first read it; it's a very nice audio rendition.

Journal Entry 3 by wingGoryDetailswing from Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Thursday, January 8, 2004
I've had a few requests for this, so I'm offering it in a bookring. It's a hardcover, not nearly as massive as Gabaldon's typical novels but still heftier than a paperback. [I should also mention that there's a binding flaw in this one, and a few of the pages near the end had to be taped back in; the book's still quite readable, but if this sort of thing bothers you then be warned. ;-)]

When you receive the book, please journal it, and PM the next person in line for their address so you'll have it ready when you've finished the book. [Note: even if you've sent books to that person before, please PM them before mailing this one, to confirm that the address is correct and that they're able to take on a bookring book at this time.] Try and read the book promptly; I don't have a hard and fast time limit here, but if you don't think you'll be able to get to the book within, say, a month of receiving it, I'd appreciate it if you'd post an update either as a journal entry or in your profile, by way of indicating you haven't forgotten about the book completely {grin}. When you're ready to pass the book along, please make another journal entry stating where you've sent it, and set the status code to "traveling". And I hope everybody enjoys the book!

Mailing order:

dragonfly4 (Quebec)
rubyjules (Vermont)
Neena11 (Saskatchewan)
tho (Portugal)
Mytilus (UK) [was Mytilusgirl]
stardustnf (Newfoundland)
mpmarus (Alabama)
morpha (Oregon) [Asked to be skipped - had already read the book]

*** Thanks to all who participated in this bookring - which, as I don't need the book back now, has become a ray. Hope whoever gets the book next enjoys it!

Journal Entry 4 by wingGoryDetailswing from Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Wednesday, January 14, 2004
Controlled release:

I've sent this to dragonfly4 in Quebec to kick off the bookring. Hope you enjoy it!

Journal Entry 5 by dragonfly4 on Sunday, January 25, 2004
The book arrived on Friday. Thanks GoryDetails. I'm about 1/3 of the way through another book and will get to this one next.

Journal Entry 6 by dragonfly4 on Thursday, February 19, 2004
I really enjoyed this book. It was like Outlander lite. Lots of Gabaldon's usual unique characters, vivid details and sexual references! I had read the Outlander seires so long ago though, that I barely remember the part that Lord John played. Gabaldon makes several references to their relationship and assumes that you are familiar with what happened, and I found that a bit frustrating. A great read overall though. Thanks Gory-Details!

The book was mailed off to rubyjules on Tuesday.

Journal Entry 7 by rubyjules from Clifton Park, New York USA on Monday, February 23, 2004
I got this today. It's next on my list after I finish my other bookring book.

Journal Entry 8 by rubyjules from Clifton Park, New York USA on Sunday, March 7, 2004
Another true Gabaldon book! I just love the way she writes. I wasn't sure if I would like this book as much as the Jamie/Claire ones, but it was very good. Lord John is an interesting character, to say the least! Thank you GoryDetails, for this wonderful ring!

Journal Entry 9 by rubyjules at on Sunday, March 7, 2004
Released on Saturday, March 06, 2004 at Mailed to another bookcrosser as a bookring in Melfort, Saskatchewan Controlled Releases.

In the mail to Neena11. Enjoy!

Journal Entry 10 by Neena11 from Melfort, Saskatchewan Canada on Wednesday, March 17, 2004
Picked this up in the mail today. Thanks rubyjules! I'm working on a bookring already, but I love Diana Gabaldon, so I'm sure I'll get to it quickly. :)

Journal Entry 11 by Neena11 at on Monday, March 29, 2004
Released on Monday, March 29, 2004 at Mailed to another bookcrosser in Melfort, Saskatchewan Controlled Releases.

I loved this book. I don't remember paying a lot of attention to Lord John in her other books, but I will pay more attention when I re-read them. I am sending the book on it's way to tho in Portugal. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. :)

Journal Entry 12 by tho on Sunday, June 13, 2004
Received on Friday - I love the Outlander series and I'm curious to read this book. I read the short story on Legends II, also featuring Lord John, and although not my favourite, it was a nice read.
Will definitely read this soon, since my list of current bookrings/rays is quite small (an unusual situation ;-)

Journal Entry 13 by tho on Tuesday, June 15, 2004
Managed to read this book sooner than I expected :-) It was a fun read - I didn't pay much attention to Lord John while reading the Outlander series (Claire and Jamie steal the show ... always :-) but I enjoyed knowing more about this character.

Will be mailed to mytilusgirl today.

Journal Entry 14 by Mytilus from Plymouth, Devon United Kingdom on Friday, June 25, 2004
This arrived today.
I'll be starting this tonight.

Thanks Gorydetails and tho!

Journal Entry 15 by Mytilus from Plymouth, Devon United Kingdom on Monday, June 28, 2004
Like a couple of readers before me, it has been quite some time since I read the Outlander series. I remembered how much I enjoyed the style and content of writing which was solely why I put my name down for this series. And how pleased am I that I did? Well, really rather a lot, actually.

I think it's Gabaldon's easy going style coupled with her attention to detail, as well as the immensely pleasant Lord John that makes this book so enjoyable. I don't know what the others preceding me are doing, but *I'm* heading to Amazon to order the rest!

Thank you GoryDetails and tho!

Oh, and I dropped the book in the post to stardustnf at lunchtime today.

Journal Entry 16 by stardustnf from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Canada on Monday, August 30, 2004
Received this one in the mail this morning....what a happy surprise!! Had completely forgotten it was coming, as the poor thing has been travelling to me ever since June 28th. The Outlander series has made me a huge Gabaldon fan, and I'm sure this book won't disappoint. Will read as quickly as I can and then get it on to the next in line. Thanks for your generosity in sharing this one with the rest of us, GoryDetails!

Journal Entry 17 by stardustnf from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Canada on Thursday, June 23, 2005
As I suspected, this book certainly didn't disappoint. I really enjoyed the storyline, and it gave further insight into the character of Lord John. I wouldn't mind seeing more books centering on this character.

This book is now on it's way to mpmarus....my deepest apologies for keeping it so long. My financial situation has been pretty dire for the past few months and hasn't allowed me to afford postage for bookcrossing. My thanks again to gorydetails for sharing this book!

Journal Entry 18 by mpmarus from Citronelle, Alabama USA on Tuesday, July 5, 2005
Received this bookring copy and another copy of the same book on the same day! So I'm gonna pass this on to the next person in the ring...

Released 18 yrs ago (9/9/2005 UTC) at USPS By Media Mail in -- Paperbackswap.com, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- USA

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:


Journal Entry 20 by mpmarus from Citronelle, Alabama USA on Thursday, September 8, 2005
Just clarifying - I was at the end of the ring and the originator asked me to just pass the book on. The reader at PBS knows it is a BookCrossing book and is OK with that (and is really looking forward to reading the book!)

Journal Entry 21 by wingAnonymousFinderwing on Saturday, September 17, 2005
I acquired the book through PaperBackSwap.com, on a lucky afternoon, when I was browsing the Web site. I've wanted to read this for several years, and I was delighted to see it pop up. Usually it would go to someone on a waiting list, but apparently all the waiting people were waiting for a paperback edition. They forgot it was out in hardcover. So I am thrilled to have it. I'll make an entry when I have finished reading it. And, since I respect the fact that this is a BookCrossing book, I will probably release it again, even though it apparently has "reached the end of the ring."

CAUGHT IN MOUNT VERNON NY USA

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