10 Most Famous Novels. MultiBook

John Buchan

One of the founders of the genre of espionage novel, but also an employee of British intelligence, and later a prominent political figure, whose career ended as Governor General of Canada. His first novel, Thirty-nine Steps, was a resounding success, published in 1915, in the midst of World War I. It first appears the charming image of Richard Hanney a hero who later wandered through the pages of Bakens novels, and the plot is associated with the activities of a group of German secret agents in England and Scotland. The multibook includes novels such as Sir Quixote of the Moors, John Burnet of Barns, A Lost Lady of Old Years, The Half-Hearted, A Lodge in the Wilderness, Prester John, Salute to Adventurers, The Path of the King, Midwinter, Witch Wood.

39 stopni

John Buchan

Kryminał szpiegowski, który został nazwany "pierwszą wielką powieścią szpiegowską", cieszy się uznaniem kolejnych pokoleń. Książka przedstawia szpiega - Richarda Hannay, który zostaje wciągnięty w niebezpieczny intrygę przeciwko spiskowi niemieckich szpiegów, mającym na celu zniszczenie brytyjskich wysiłków wojennych. Hannay oferuje schronienie amerykańskiemu agentowi szukającemu pomocy w powstrzymaniu politycznej egzekucji. Po kilku dniach w jego mieszkaniu zostaje ujawnione ciało agenta, co czyni go głównym podejrzanym. Powieść stanowiła podstawą wielu adaptacji, w tym najbardziej znana - film Alfreda Hitchcocka "The 39 Steps” z 1935 roku.

39 stopni

John Buchan

Pierwsza w historii literatury wielka powieść szpiegowska trzyma w napięciu kolejne pokolenie czytelników! Richard Hannay jest brytyjskim szpiegiem, który wspiera amerykańskiego agenta w jego tajnej misji - ma udaremnić polityczne zabójstwo. Kiedy ciało Amerykanina zostaje znalezione w mieszkaniu Hannay, staje się on głównym podejrzanym o zabójstwo. Mężczyzna zostaje wciągnięty w skomplikowaną rozgrywkę między niemieckimi szpiegami a brytyjskim wojskiem. Czy uda mu się ujść z tego cało? Wśród wielu adaptacji książki należy wyróżnić film "The 39 Steps" z 1935 r. w reżyserii Alfreda Hitchcocka.

39 stopni

John Buchan

Pierwsza w historii literatury wielka powieść szpiegowska trzyma w napięciu kolejne pokolenie czytelników! Richard Hannay jest brytyjskim szpiegiem, który wspiera amerykańskiego agenta w jego tajnej misji - ma udaremnić polityczne zabójstwo. Kiedy ciało Amerykanina zostaje znalezione w mieszkaniu Hannay, staje się on głównym podejrzanym o zabójstwo. Mężczyzna zostaje wciągnięty w skomplikowaną rozgrywkę między niemieckimi szpiegami a brytyjskim wojskiem. Czy uda mu się ujść z tego cało? Wśród wielu adaptacji książki należy wyróżnić film "The 39 Steps" z 1935 r. w reżyserii Alfreda Hitchcocka.

A Lodge in the Wilderness

John Buchan

John Buchan (1875-1940) was a Scottish novelist and historian and also served as Canadas Governor General. His 100 works include nearly thirty novels, seven collections of short stories and biographies. But, the most famous of his books were the adventure and spy thrillers, most notably The Thirty-Nine Steps, and it is for these that he is now best remembered. A Lodge in the Wilderness (1906) is a quasi-novel about an imaginary conference 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.

A Lost Lady of Old Years

John Buchan

John Buchan was a Scottish author and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada. He wrote a series of books that follow the adventures of Richard Hannay, an expatriate Scot who was first introduced in the classic novel The Thirty-Nine Steps. Set in Scotland in 1745, during the Jacobite Rebellion, this dark story of loyalty and betrayal on the road to Culloden Moor recounts the adventures of Francis Birkenshaw. The Jacobite cause means nothing to him until a chance meeting with the beautiful Margaret Murray presents an opportunity for profit and adventure. The fateful encounter marks the beginning of Franciss involvement with John Murray of Broughton, an infamous traitor and turncoat. Once described as a tale of adventure and betrayal on the long bloody road to Culloden Moor, A Lost Lady of Old Years is set in Scotland during the Rebellion of 45. Young Edinburgh-born Francis Birkenshaw cares nothing for the Jacobite cause until an encounter with the beautiful wife of Bonnie Prince Charlies secretary, Mrs Margaret Murray, leads to a dangerous involvement with her husband, John Murray of Broughton, an infamous turncoat. A dark and compelling portrayal of the Jacobite Rebellion.

A Prince of the Captivity

John Buchan

A classic John Buchan story of espionage during World War I. It contains several familiar Buchan elements: a motley cast of characters, Great War intrigue, the use of disguises and linguistic talents, the concept of gaining inner strength from a beloved spot in nature, man against the forces of nature in less benign settings, a race against time and evil, and sacrifice for a greater good. This is the epic story of one mans courage. Adam Melfort released from jail just before the outbreak of World War I and becomes involved in intelligence work behind enemy lines. After the war he carries on seeking adventure and tries to prevent the assassination of the German Chancellor. A Prince of the Captivity is not a story about external events, but about what happens in Adams mind and soul as he tries to rebuild his life in a new pattern. However, the external events that forge Melforts soul are drawn from the toolbox of a skillful writer of thrillers.

Castle Gay

John Buchan

Castle Gay is the second of Buchans three Dickson McCunn books and is set in south west Scotland in the Dumfries and Galloway region in the 1920s. The plot revolves around the self-discovery of a media mogul named Craw, who is firstly the subject of mistaken identity and then the target of Balkan extremists who wish to use his newspapers to influence their political cause. Mr. Craws journey is overseen by Jaikie Galt, one of the young scamps in Huntingtower, who is now a Cambridge undergraduate and international rugby player. Jaikie and Craw embark on life-changing travels around the Scottish wilderness, where they both re-evaluate their values and choices in life although they arrive at very different conclusions. There is appreciation of the wilds and the simple lives of the shepherds along with the politics and international intrigue. There is the threat of violence, which is averted through quick thinking, which make the story exciting.

Greenmantle

John Buchan

A classic espionage and adventure novel set during The Great War, featuring the reckless Richard Hannay. Sequel to The Thirty-Nine Steps and precursor to Mr. Standfast. Tasked with unraveling a mysterious message, Hannay travels through Germany and the Middle East, searching for the elusive religious leader Greenmantle. He is joined by three more of Buchans heroes: Peter Pienaar, the old Boer Scout; John S. Blenkiron, the American determined to fight the Kaiser; and Sandy Arbuthnot, Greenmantle himself, modelled on Lawrence of Arabia. However, they must begin the task with no clues except three words scribbled on a piece of paper Kasredin, cancer, and v.I. In different disguises the men take separate roads to Constantinople where they will meet and begin their search, if they all arrive safely and its a big if.

Huntingtower

John Buchan

A true adventure story involving the unlikely hero Dickson McCunn, retired successful businessman and former greengrocer who sets out on a walking holiday in the Scottish Borders. There he meets a young English poet, and both soon become embroiled in the plot of an international gang to capture a Russian princess. With the help of the Gorbals Die-hards, an indomitable gang of urchins from Glasgow, they frustrate and finally defeat the gang. And in the process Dickson happens to discover a new meaning to life. This book features terrific characters, great suspense, thrilling action, heroism, dirty deeds, romance and downright common sense all in the setting of beautiful Scottish countryside. Better known for his drama, The Thirty Nine Steps and hero Richard Hannay, Buchan here introduces another hero, Dickson McCunn, who leads us through quite a thrilling adventure set near Carrick, Scotland...

John Burnet of Barns

John Buchan

John Burnet of Barns was Buchans first fully realised, full-length work of fiction. The authors third novel is story of adventure, treachery and revenge, set in the Scottish Borders in the 17th century, telling of a young nobleman who sets out to gain an education abroad, only to find himself betrayed in his absence by his cousin. Not just a romance, but adventures of a Scottish gentleman around the Netherlands and the wildest highlands of Scotland to find himself, regain his honour and save his true love. In this epic tale of a family torn asunder by a long-lasting feud, renowned action-adventure author John Buchan spins an engrossing account of two cousins locked in conflict and the horrible toll that their bad blood begets. In the wake of the ultimate betrayal, will the Burnet clan ever be able to bridge the chasm that has been created?

John Macnab

John Buchan

Written in 1925, the novel opens with three gentleman friends lawyer Sir Edward Leithen, banker John Palliser-Yeates, and Cabinet member Charles Lord Lamancha discovering that they all suffer a common and debilitating malady, a loss of zest for life, all desperate to relieve the ennui that has engulfed them. The solution can only be something devilish, with a dash of daring. Enlisting the aid of another friend, Scottish landowner Sir Archibald Roylance, the trio contrives a plot to poach game deer or salmon from the hereditary lands of three of Archies Highland neighbors under the guise of an assumed false identity, John Macnab. On this, they stake their reputations and the danger proves innervating. This novel is a light interlude within the Leithen Stories series an evocative look at the hunting, shooting and fishing lifestyle in Highland Scotland.

Midwinter

John Buchan

Regarded as one of the finest historical novels ever written, Jacobites, spies and thrilling intrigue are brought together by the master of suspense. As Bonnie Prince Charlie marches his army into England, his confidant Alastair Maclean is despatched on a secret mission. He is befriended by two extraordinary men Dr. Samuel Johnson, an aspiring man of letters, and the shadowy figure known only as Midwinter. As he travels to rally the west of England to the Princes cause, it begins to look as if someone is leaking information to the Government forces putting the campaign in peril. Can Alastair find the spy and save his Prince, his cause and even just his own life? A good historical adventure with the main character coming into contact with 18th century underground Britain during his travels. The characterisation and the authors painting of the landscapes are particularly well done, which allows the reader to become unknowingly immersed in the story.

Mr Standfast

John Buchan

World War I espionage thriller meets modern-day morality tale in Mr. Standfast, the third of five Richard Hannay novels written by acclaimed storyteller John Buchan. In this nail-biting adventure story, Hannay must outwit a foe far more intelligent than himself; muster the courage to propose to the lovely, clever Mary Lamington; and survive a brutal war. Set, like Greenmantle, durinig World War I, it deals Brigadier-General Hannays recall from the Western Front, to engage in espionage, and forced to pose as a pacifist. He becomes a South African conscientious objector, using the name Cornelius Brand. Under the orders of his spymaster, Sir Walter Bullivant, he travels in the book through England to Scotland, back to the Western Front, and ultimately, for the books denouement, into the Alps. As in others stories, there is a good deal of coincidence; however this is often the case in real life.

Prester John

John Buchan

South Africa, 1900. After his father dies, nineteen-year-old David Crawfurd is sent off to South Africa to earn his living as a storekeeper in the back of beyond. A strange encounter on the journey suggests that dark deeds and treacherous intrigues are afoot all bound up with the mysterious primeval kingdom of Prester John. Laputa is a charismatic leader of an incipient native uprising, secretly preaching the incendiary creed of Africa for the Africans, and proclaiming himself heir to the mantle of Prester John, a legendary 15th-century Christian king of Ethiopia. We participate in many thrilling adventure chases in the wild country, deal with nasty villains, narrow escapes, impossible climbs up rock walks, a secret cave of massive proportions with a hidden switch to open a boulder door, stores of diamonds to fund the uprising, a valuable and ancient ruby necklace and the courageous love of a gigantic dog.

Salute to Adventurers

John Buchan

In John Buchans thrill-a-minute novel Salute to Adventurers, hero Andrew Garvald makes his way from the dreary moors of his native land to the deceptively bucolic landscape of early colonial America. A novel set during the beginning of the Jamestown Colony, Salute To Adventurers is an enthralling saga about one mans struggle to survive and even find love in a land beset by trade controls with England enforced by pirates, religious strife manifested through a fanatic who stirs Indian tribes to attack settlers, harsh environmental conditions, the unending chores of daily life, and much more. Faced with adversity, danger and social scorn, Garvald nevertheless stands firm in his commitment to bringing fairness and order to the burgeoning colony. Will he achieve this aim and live to tell the tale? Painting a vivid picture of what it was once like to earn a living in untamed lands, Salute To Adventure is an exciting chronicle featuring conflicts of man vs. nature and man vs. man alike.

Sick Heart River

John Buchan

Sick Heart River is the fifth book in the Edward Leithen series. This is Buchans last novel, about a man who is dying, and it must reflect Buchans own efforts to come to terms with his looming demise."Sick Heart River finds Leithen now in his late fifties facing a terminal diagnosis of turberculosis. Leithen has enjoyed a dazzling career as eminent barrister, member of Parliament, Cabinet minister, and attorney-general but with only months left to live, he leaves it all behind and takes up a whole new mission into the bleak arctic wilds of Canada. The friend of a friend, Francis Galliard, has gone missing in the North, and Leithen volunteers to find him and send him back, and so to die well, far away from the irking sympathy of his friends or the coddled atmosphere of the sick-room. But the North has some surprises in store for Leithen.

Sir Quixote of the Moors

John Buchan

In the mid-sixteenth century, Jean de Rohaine, a middle-aged French nobleman, journeys to Scotland in search of adventure and a new beginning. In Scotland he meets up with his old friend, Quentin Kennedy, who informs him of a great battle to be waged. Having witnessed Royalist troops butchering suspected Covenanters, he follows the example of godly refugees and escapes to the safety of the hills around Eskdalemuir and the head of Ettrick Water. Whilst staying at the Manse of Lindean, he falls in love but honour forbids he should win a woman he has pledged to protect for another. It is a unique novel of a haunting Scottish lifestyle that differs from Buchans later works, such as The Thirty-Nine Steps. The love story here is also central in a way that it is not to later works by Buchan, so that aspect of the narrative will prove interesting to readers who might be curious about how Buchan examines gender and sexuality in his fiction.

The Blanket of the Dark

John Buchan

Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown is a time-tested adage that suits Peter Pentecost, a young monk and legitimate claimant to Englands Throne. But he is not alone as others are vying for power too. Soon a plot is hatched against the present King Henry VIII and Peter is sucked into the intrigue... Buchans description of the ruthless king is compelling. His knowledge of the time of Henrys reign and his love of the Oxfordshire countryside are apparent. This historical novel set in the time of Henry VIII vividly depicting both high life and low in the society of that time. A grand, sweeping historical drama. Set in Mediaeval England during a tense time as a the country waits for the new king to be crowned. A enthralling, richly detailed story of intrigue and passion.

The Courts of the Morning

John Buchan

Although this book was listed in a collection of Richard Hannay stories, Hannay makes only a brief appearance at the beginning. Begins in the pleasant atmosphere of a country house in the Scottish borders, where Richard Hannay is the guest of his old friend, Sandy Arbuthnot. The action is set in Olifa, a fictional country on the west coast of South America. When Sandy Arbuthnots friend John Blenkiron discover that a charismatic industrial tycoon is plotting to rule the world from his base in the small South American country of Olifa, Sandy leads a revolution to scuttle the plot and allow the Olifans to decide their own fate. As it turns out, these events are only the prelude to a dramatic series of adventures which take place against the backdrop of a small South American Republic that has fallen under the spell of a ruthless Dictator.

The Dancing Floor

John Buchan

Vernon Milbourne, orphaned since childhood and haunted by a recurring dream, is friends with the protective lawyer and MP Sir Edward Leithen. An Aegean cruise takes them to the mysterious island of Plakos, where Vernon is fascinated by the islands myths. Local superstitions turn to menace as Vernons encounter with a beautiful woman results in obsession and adventure. The Dancing Floor centres on a young English woman, Kore Arabin, who inherits a house on a remote Greek island. Sadly for Kore the locals regard her as a witch, responsible for the failure of their crops, and become convinced she must be sacrificed in order to ensure better harvests in the coming years. Sir Edward Leithen and Vernon Milburne must save her before the islanders sacrifice her. Sir Edward Leithen is a character that features prominently in several other John Buchan novels, including The Power-House, The Gap in the Curtain and others.

The Free Fishers

John Buchan

Set during the Napoleonic Wars, The Free Fishers is classic Buchan and his last historical novel. Its a fast-paced tale of treason, espionage and romance. Anthony Lammas, a professor at the St. Andrews University, finds himself involved in a web of intrigue that threatens the whole country. A conspiracy to betray Englands defences to Napoleonic agents is discovered by Lammas, a young professor who sets out to save his former students appearing to be in grave danger. Youll smile at the story and the old-fashioned dialogue at times but thoroughly enjoy the pace of the story, the straightforwardness of the characters villains, heroes and the dramatic varierty of their experiences. As a historian and a novelist he lovingly creates the reality of the time interwined with the intrigue and motives of the characters that make up this excellent novel.

The Gap in the Curtain

John Buchan

When Sir Edward Leithen leaves London to spend Whitsuntide as a guest at Flambard, he has no idea of the extraordinary sequence of events about to unfold. Among the collection of fellow guests, some of whom he knows and some he doesnt, is the extraordinary mind of Professor Moe, a scientist who decides to select some of the houseguests as subjects for his latest experiment. He declares that he can make sure they can see into the future, and the people he chooses for various reasons do indeed get a mental snatch of The Times newspaper exactly a year into their future, and whats more, one that comes completely true either for good or bad... Each character gains a different piece of information from the experience and the story follows as each attempts to use the unique knowledge to their benefit over the next 12 months. The author proceeds to show his readers how this information is used by each individual.

The Half-Hearted

John Buchan

Set in the closing years of the nineteenth century, The Half-Hearted tells the story of Lewis Haystoun, a dilettante and coward. Part I of the novel is a story of manners and romance in upper class Scotland. Part II is an adventure story on the North West frontier of India where Lewis saves the British Empire. The novel follows the life of Lewis Haystoun, a young Scottish laird, who finds himself unable to commit wholeheartedly to any course of action. His failure to seize the opportunity results in the woman he loves agreeing to marry a rival. Determined to face up to what he considers to be his cowardice, Haystoun departs for the Empires north west frontier where he dies attempting to hold a narrow mountain pass single-handedly against an invading Cossack army. Beautifully composed, evocative and compelling, this is a love story but not with the conventional happy ending. Our hero and heroine fall in love and meet the usual obstacles, but fail to overcome them.