Does anybody else have the problem of the game crashing after going through the "Notes" section of the journal?
I've re-installed the game and the file integrity check passes, but when I am flipping through the pages of the journal and I get to the second page of the notes section, the text in the journal disappears and then the game & DOS Box close automatically. Obviously I can just try to avoid the notes section, but I would like to see if there is an actual fix.

try running the game as administrator to see if that helps.
(or install the game in a different location than c:\program files)

You could send a ticket into GOG Support and see if they know about this issue and if they can help.

I've done both of those.

I wonder if getting a save file from another person and loading that game would help??