John Buchan
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A Lodge in the Wilderness
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First published in 1906, "A Lodge in the Wilderness" is a political novel by the Scottish author John Buchan. The novel relates an imagined conference arranged by a multi-millionaire, Francis Carey, to discuss Empire. The guests are contemporary figures from the upper and professional classes, nine men and nine women who have in common superb articulateness, wide experience, and an interest in understanding how Empire might be a positive influence. Buchan uses the opportunity to set out a variety of views on political and social issues, and to play Devil’s Advocate.
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Huntingtower
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Huntingtower is a novel written by John Buchan, first published in 1922. The novel is set in Scotland and follows the adventures of three young men who become involved in a plot to rescue a Russian nobleman from his Bolshevik captors.The main character, Dickson McCunn, is a retired Glasgow grocer who decides to spend his retirement years traveling around Scotland. During one of his journeys, he stumbles upon a group of Russian revolutionaries who are attempting to kidnap a Russian nobleman, Prince Michael, who has been imprisoned in Scotland. McCunn, along with two other young men, goes on a mission to rescue Prince Michael and thwart the revolutionaries" plans.The novel is known for its vivid descriptions of the Scottish countryside and its use of Scottish dialect. It is also notable for its portrayal of the Russian Revolution and its aftermath, as well as its exploration of themes such as loyalty, adventure, and honor."Huntingtower" is the first book in Buchan"s "Dickson McCunn" series, which also includes "Castle Gay" and "The House of the Four Winds." Buchan is also known for his famous spy thriller, "The Thirty-Nine Steps."John Buchan (1875-1940) was a Scottish novelist, historian, and politician, best known for his thrillers and adventure novels. He was born in Perth, Scotland, and later studied at Oxford University. After working in various fields, including law and journalism, Buchan began writing fiction in the early 20th century.Buchan"s most famous work is the novel "The Thirty-Nine Steps" which was published in 1915 and has been adapted into numerous films, plays, and television series. The novel is a classic thriller, featuring espionage, conspiracies, and a manhunt across the Scottish countryside. Buchan wrote many other novels in a similar vein, including "Greenmantle" "Mr Standfast" and "The Three Hostages."In addition to his writing, Buchan had a distinguished career in public service. He served as a member of Parliament, a government minister, and the Governor-General of Canada. He was also a noted historian, with books on Scottish history and biographies of figures such as Sir Walter Scott and Oliver Cromwell.Buchan was knighted in 1935 and died in 1940. His legacy includes not only his popular thrillers, but also his contributions to British politics and scholarship.
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The Thirty-Nine Steps
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The Thirty-Nine Steps is an adventure novel by the Scottish author John Buchan. It first appeared as a serial in Blackwood"s Magazine in August and September 1915 before being published in book form in October that year by William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh.It is the first of five novels featuring Richard Hannay, an all-action hero with a stiff upper lip and a miraculous knack for getting himself out of sticky situations.The novel is set during May and June 1914; Europe is close to war and spies are everywhere. Richard Hannay has just returned to London from Rhodesia in order to begin a new life, when a freelance spy called Franklin P. Scudder calls on him to ask for help. Scudder reveals to Hannay that he has uncovered a German plot to murder the Greek Premier and steal British plans for the outbreak of war.Scudder claims to be following a ring of German spies called the Black Stone. John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir (1875–1940) was a Scottish novelist and historian.
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A Book of Escapes and Hurried Journeys
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A Book of Escapes and Hurried Journeys by John Buchan.I have never yet seen an adequate definition of Romance, and I am not going to attempt one. But I take it that it means in the widest sense that which affects the mind with a sense of wonder—the surprises of life, fights against odds, weak things confounding strong, beauty and courage flowering in unlikely places. In this book we are concerned with only a little plot of a great province, the efforts of men to cover a certain space within a certain limited time under an urgent compulsion, which strains to the uttermost body and spirit.Why is there such an eternal fascination about tales of hurried journeys? In the great romances of literature they provide many of the chief dramatic moments, and, since the theme is common to Homer and the penny reciter, it must appeal to a very ancient instinct in human nature.
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The House of the Four Winds
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"The House of the Four Winds" is a novel of adventure by John Buchan, first published in 1935. It is a Ruritanian romance, and the last of his three Dickson McCunn books.The novel is set in the fictional Central European country of Evallonia in the early 1930s. It concerns the involvement of some Scottish visitors in the overthrow of a corrupt republic and the restoration of the monarchy. Scottish grocer Dickson McCunn features in his most exciting role. Gorbals Die-hards, Jaikie and his pals, are now dabbling in politics. On his trek across Europe, Jaikie is warned to avoid Evallonia. It is in danger of being overthrown by the cruel Mastrovin. However Jaikie cannot resist taking a look and ends up being kidnapped twice. Moreover, he is not the only one needing to be rescued, and Evallonia’s fate hangs in the balance until Dickson McCunn appears on the scene.It is a sequel to "Huntingtower" and "Castle Gay", in which some Evallonians visited Scotland on a secret mission two years before the start of this novel.
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Huntingtower
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"Huntingtower" is modern fairy-tale and a gripping adventure story by John Buchan, first published in 1922. It is the third of his three Dickson McCunn books.If you only ever read one John Buchan book, it should be "Huntingtower", which is a perfect introduction to Buchan"s body of work: it"s not too far out-there in terms of being a conventional story, but it also positively seethes with philosophical themes, and the trademark Buchan wit and joie-de-vivre."Huntingtower" tells the story of Dickson McCunn, a solid, respectable Edinburgh grocer who does duty on a Sunday as an elder down at the Guthrie Memorial Kirk. Mr McCunn is a businessman and a Scot, but he is also a born romantic. He loves the novels of Sir Walter Scott particularly and has spent his whole life dreaming, in a gentle sort of way, of finding Romance and having some brilliant, thrilling role to play on the stage of the world.When Dickson retires from the grocery business and the good Mrs McCunn goes on holiday, he finally gets his chance to walk off in search of adventure and, supplied with a copy of "The Compleat Angler", sets off across Scotland. His idyll is disturbed when he meets John Heritage, a Modern Poet, finding himself in the thick of a plot involving the kidnapping of a Russian princess, who is held prisoner in the rambling mansion, Huntingtower...In "Huntingtower", Buchan introduces some of his best-loved characters and paints a remarkable picture of a man rejuvenated by joining much younger comrades in a fight against tyranny and fear.
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The Three Hostages
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John Buchan is best known as being the creator of Richard Hannay in "The Thirty-Nine Steps". "The Three Hostages", first published in 1924, is his fourth of the 5-book series of the Richard Hannay novels.After distinguished service in the First World War, Richard Hannay settles into peaceful domesticity with his wife Mary and their young son. However, news comes to him of three kidnappings. With no more than a few tantalisingly cryptic lines of verse as clues, he is soon on the trail of Dominick Medina - a charismatic polymath but a man "utterly and consumedly wicked". As Hannay uncovers an international plot to twist innocent minds through hypnotism and blackmail, it appears that he has met his match in one of Buchan"s most memorable villains.
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The Island of Sheep
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First published in 1936, "The Island of Sheep" (or "The Man from the Norlands" as it is known in the United States) is the fifth and final of the series of Richard Hannay ‘spy’ novels by John Buchan.The action occurs twelve years later on from the last novel, when Hannay, now in his fifties, is called by an old oath to protect the son of a man he once knew, who is also heir to the secret of a great treasure. He obtains help from Sandy Arbuthnot, now Lord Clanroyden, and Lombard. The action takes place in England, Scotland and on the Island of Sheep.
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The Island of Sheep
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Hannay is called by an old oath to protect the son of a man he once knew, who is also heir to the secret of a great treasure. He obtains help from Sandy Arbuthnot, now Lord Clanroyden, and Lombard.
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A Lodge in the Wilderness
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An imaginary conference is arranged by a multi-millionaire, Francis Carey, at a lodge, Musuru, located on the East Kenyan Plateau some 9000 feet above sea level, to discuss Empire. The conference is made up of nine men and nine women, taken from the upper and professional classes.
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