Mr Standfast by John Buchan (1919)

Here’s another of John Buchan’s Richard Hannay novels. The series runs: The Thirty-Nine Steps (1915); Greenmantle (1916); Mr Standfast (1919); The Three Hostages (1924); The Island of Sheep (1936). Review by David R: As with “Greenmantle”, this is very much a novel of its time. Germans are occasionally referred to as “The Boche” and there … Continue reading →

The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan (1915)

This is John Buchan’s first ‘shocker’. He dedicated the book to his friend and business partner Thomas Nelson (of Thomas Nelson Publishing): My dear Tommy, You and I have long cherished an affection for that elementary type of tale which Americans call the ‘dime novel’ and which we know as the ‘shocker’ – the romance where the … Continue reading →

Greenmantle by John Buchan (1916)

This month we have also read the Richard Hannay novels by John Buchan. Responses were very mixed! Some thought the later novels inferior to the first, The Thirty-Nine Steps (1915), others thought them a rollicking read! The five Hannay novels are: The Thirty-Nine Steps (1915); Greenmantle (1916); Mr Standfast (1919); The Three Hostages (1924); The … Continue reading →

The Day of Temptation by William Le Queux (1899)

William Tufnell Le Queux (1864-1927) is a fascinating figure. His Wikipedia entry paints a rather splendid and exotic picture of an Anglo-French bestselling author and journalist, who travelled widely, made pioneering radio broadcasts, and was an early ‘flying buff’. However, it does caution that Le Queux’s own account of his exploits and abilities were usually … Continue reading →

A spy thriller by Agatha Christie: N or M? (1941)

Review by Sylvia D: N or M? continues the story of Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, whose adventures when working  for British intelligence during the First World War are related in Christie’s The Secret Adversary (1922).   After the outbreak of the Second World War Tommy is approached by a friend of their old intelligence chief and … Continue reading →