John Buchan: A Companion to the Mystery Fiction

by Kate Macdonald, Elizabeth Foxwell (Editor)

The works of Scottish politician, statesman and thriller writer John Buchan examined the nature of good and evil and explored the shifting boundaries between civilization and anarchy. Buchan published the best-selling The Thirty-Nine Steps in 1915, one of 40 novels of his long career, which also included 60 works of non-fiction. This comprehensive companion to Buchan's mystery fiction includes entries on the characters, novels, short fiction, films, themes and symbols with special attention to the serialized secret agent Richard Hannay, Buchan's most famous character. Also included are photographs, chronologies, appendices, a brief biography, a bibliography and a thorough index.

229 pages, Paperback

First published October 27, 2008

About the author

Kate Macdonald studied at the University of Aberdeen and University College London, and teaches British literary history at Ghent University, Belgium. A former academic editor, she has published books, book chapters and articles on British publishing history in the later Victorian period and the early twentieth century. She is a leading authority on the fiction of John Buchan, and active in the advancement of middlebrow studies, with an interest in the recovery of forgotten authors. She is a series editor for Pickering & Chatto’s monograph series Literary Texts and the Popular Marketplace. Her podcast series on forgotten fiction is at www.reallylikethisbook.com.