Mr. Standfast

by John Buchan

Book Overview

Recalled from active service on the Western Front, Richard Hannay is sent undercover on a secret mission to find a dangerous German agent at large in Britain. Disguised as a pacifist, Hannay travels... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1853262250
• ISBN13: 9781853262258
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Wordsworth Editions
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.0" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Best. Spy. Story. EVER.

This is my favourite Buchan book of them all! Although not as tightly-plotted as Greenmantle and The Thirty-Nine Steps, its predecessors in the series, it's still a nail-bitingly exciting adventure story sure to have you hooked for most of the first half and the whole second half. In Part One, Hannay spends some time with artistic types very familiar to those of us who enjoy 'lowbrow' fare, and then spends some time in radical political circles in Glasgow. Although it can be slow, there's lashings of satire to keep you chuckling. Then the plot begins to move--through the Scottish Highlands in a sequence akin to The Thirty-Nine Steps, but with far more characterisation and philosophy than the earlier book. During this time, Hannay realises that he's in love, pretends to be drunk, and impersonates a movie director. (No, it's not one of those spy novels with miserable characters and a depressing plot, in case you were wondering.) The second half, however, is peerless. The stakes rise, the scene shifts to the battlefields of Europe, and the adventure is non-stop. Hannay must outwit a foe far more intelligent and ruthless than himself, try to pick up the courage to propose to lovely, clever young Mary Lamington, and manage to survive a brutal war. The climax is breathtaking and actually has you fearing for the outcome; moreover, it shows that Buchan was not in fact blissfully unaware of the horrors of trench warfare as many people, reading his optimistic work today, would think.

Superlative thriller!

In the first quarter or so of this book, I was afraid I had been duped. I found myself grumbling about how the definition of "thriller" had changed over the last 90 years. Then, somehow, mysteriously, I fell under Buchan's and Hannay's spell. I realized what a wonderful period piece this book is, and how well it captures the tense situation of the Great War. Furthermore, Buchan's writing has true literary value -- he was extremely well grounded in classical literature, English literature, and the Bible, and they all shine forth in this book. This thriller of Buchan's has deserved to stand the test of time. Now, ask yourself, do you really think that will be true of Tom Clancy?

Terrific espionage thriller -- James Bond without the girls

For those who like good, clean spy-type fun, this is a SUPERLATIVE work. Part three in the adventures of Richard Hannay (which started with Buchan's well-known "Thirty-nine Steps"), this is a first-rate thriller set on the eve of World War I, with plenty of atmosphere and hair-breadth escapes, plus an excellent dogfight climax in the skies over France. Along with everything else, it has some sound theological reflections (the title being a character from "Pilgrim's Progress") about courage and fortitude. Highly recommended.