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.