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The Path Of The King
This collection of fourteen short stories shows John Buchan’s talent for heroic adventures. ‘Hightown under Sunfell’ is set in the time of the Vikings, whilst ‘The End of the Road’ surrounds the period of Abraham Lincoln. Other tales cover periods in between.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1920
About the author
John Buchan
1,735 books497 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
John Buchan was a Scottish novelist, historian, and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the 15th since Canadian Confederation.
As a youth, Buchan began writing poetry and prose, fiction and non-fiction, publishing his first novel in 1895 and ultimately writing over a hundred books of which the best known is The Thirty-Nine Steps. After attending Glasgow and Oxford universities, he practised as a barrister. In 1901, he served as a private secretary to Lord Milner in southern Africa towards the end of the Boer War. He returned to England in 1903, continued as a barrister and journalist. He left the Bar when he joined Thomas Nelson and Sons publishers in 1907. During the First World War, he was, among other activities, Director of Information in 1917 and later Head of Intelligence at the newly-formed Ministry of Information. He was elected Member of Parliament for the Combined Scottish Universities in 1927.
In 1935, King George V, on the advice of Canadian Prime Minister R. B. Bennett, appointed Buchan to succeed the Earl of Bessborough as Governor General of Canada and two months later raised him to the peerage as 1st Baron Tweedsmuir. He occupied the post until his death in 1940. Buchan promoted Canadian unity and helped strengthen the sovereignty of Canada constitutionally and culturally. He received a state funeral in Canada before his ashes were returned to the United Kingdom.
John Buchan was a Scottish novelist, historian, and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the 15th since Canadian Confederation.
As a youth, Buchan began writing poetry and prose, fiction and non-fiction, publishing his first novel in 1895 and ultimately writing over a hundred books of which the best known is The Thirty-Nine Steps. After attending Glasgow and Oxford universities, he practised as a barrister. In 1901, he served as a private secretary to Lord Milner in southern Africa towards the end of the Boer War. He returned to England in 1903, continued as a barrister and journalist. He left the Bar when he joined Thomas Nelson and Sons publishers in 1907. During the First World War, he was, among other activities, Director of Information in 1917 and later Head of Intelligence at the newly-formed Ministry of Information. He was elected Member of Parliament for the Combined Scottish Universities in 1927.
In 1935, King George V, on the advice of Canadian Prime Minister R. B. Bennett, appointed Buchan to succeed the Earl of Bessborough as Governor General of Canada and two months later raised him to the peerage as 1st Baron Tweedsmuir. He occupied the post until his death in 1940. Buchan promoted Canadian unity and helped strengthen the sovereignty of Canada constitutionally and culturally. He received a state funeral in Canada before his ashes were returned to the United Kingdom.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 28, 2026
3 1/2 stars
This was published between the wars and somewhere fairly early among Buchan’s 100+ books. It was not one of his more familiar thriller/spy stories like The Thirty-Nine Steps, it is historical fiction.
In the prologue Buchan lets you know his interest here is in a succession of “masterful” men —-and a few women who follow from a line beginning with a Norse leader and follow a golden band through history with not every person an aristocrat or even noble in the sense of being good. In any case, it’s usually pretty interesting historical fiction involving those who own the gold band… Norsemen, Norman’s, Belgians, English Roundheads, Scots and more. Even Abraham Lincoln eventually. The inherited nobility is hard to take at times. We don’t really believe in that these days but I think the author was fully on board 100 years ago.
I thought the early Norse and Norman’s were a little cartoonish and could imagine Monty Python popping out. I must also say that the book cover is ridiculous but that might not have been Buchan’s idea for a cover. Buchan caught me up into the plot as time went on and I enjoyed it more. When it comes to Abe, Buchan obviously is a fan of his natural nobility. Another possible issue for me is the author’s skirting around near eugenics. Even well meaning, educated people at this time often believed that some leadership intervention would improve the human race. Just by talking of a “noble” line of descent makes me squirm a little. I do think Buchan was intelligent and well meaning, but…
.
This was published between the wars and somewhere fairly early among Buchan’s 100+ books. It was not one of his more familiar thriller/spy stories like The Thirty-Nine Steps, it is historical fiction.
In the prologue Buchan lets you know his interest here is in a succession of “masterful” men —-and a few women who follow from a line beginning with a Norse leader and follow a golden band through history with not every person an aristocrat or even noble in the sense of being good. In any case, it’s usually pretty interesting historical fiction involving those who own the gold band… Norsemen, Norman’s, Belgians, English Roundheads, Scots and more. Even Abraham Lincoln eventually. The inherited nobility is hard to take at times. We don’t really believe in that these days but I think the author was fully on board 100 years ago.
I thought the early Norse and Norman’s were a little cartoonish and could imagine Monty Python popping out. I must also say that the book cover is ridiculous but that might not have been Buchan’s idea for a cover. Buchan caught me up into the plot as time went on and I enjoyed it more. When it comes to Abe, Buchan obviously is a fan of his natural nobility. Another possible issue for me is the author’s skirting around near eugenics. Even well meaning, educated people at this time often believed that some leadership intervention would improve the human race. Just by talking of a “noble” line of descent makes me squirm a little. I do think Buchan was intelligent and well meaning, but…
.
March 24, 2019
Kate Macdonald, author of John Buchan: A Companion to the Mystery Fiction (McFarland, 2009) describes The Path of the King as a ‘connected sequence of short stories’ and I think that is a very apt description. The book certainly reads more like a collection of short stories than a novel but there is a thread that runs through all the stories, embodied in a gold ring handed down through the generations. Beginning with a Viking’s son lost in a raid, the book traces the line of descent through the centuries to American President, Abraham Lincoln. It is essentially a series of historical vignettes, featuring characters who are often participants in or witnesses to great events and who rub shoulders with important individuals from history including Sir Walter Raleigh, Oliver Cromwell (both the subject of essays and biographies by Buchan), Daniel Boone and the aforementioned Abraham Lincoln.
In his biography of John Buchan, The Presbyterian Cavalier (Constable, 1995), Andrew Lownie argues that the novel reflects Buchan’s interest in the chance encounters in history and in kingship, noting that the latter would later be explored further in The Blanket of the Dark (September’s Buchan of the Month). Two stories from the book were subsequently dramatised by John Buchan’s wife, Susan – ‘The Maid’ (published in 1933 under the title, The Vision at the Inn: A Play in One Act) and ‘The Wife of Flanders’ (published in The Bookman in 1934). These happen to be the two stories in the book that most stood out for me.
Janet Adam Smith, author of John Buchan: A Biography (OUP, 1985 [1965]) describes The Path of the King as historical fantasy and there is certainly a mystical, spiritual element to many of the stories. This is particularly evident in ‘The Maid’ in which a young noblewoman, plagued with doubt about her demand to her lover to make a choice between her or his support for Joan of Arc, has an encounter with another young woman facing her own moral dilemma. There are some lovely touches in the description of the meeting between the two young woman. As it turns out, it may not be their final meeting.
In ‘The Wife of Flanders’, Buchan shows his ability to create atmosphere as he describes the chamber in which the wife of a Flemish burgomaster lies dying. ‘The small-paned windows of the great upper-room were filled with oiled vellum, but they did not keep out the weather, and currents of cold air passed through them to the doorway, making the smoke of the four charcoal braziers eddy and swirl… Hanging silver lamps, which blazed blue and smoky, lit it in patches, sufficient to show the cleanness of the rush-strewn floor, the glory of the hangings of cloth-of-gold and damask, and the burnished sheen of the metal-work.’ Spurning the ministrations of priests and doctors, the woman finds comfort in the thought that her son will achieve greatness only to find that fate intervenes in an unexpected way.
Those who have followed my reviews of previous books in my Buchan of the Month project will note that an appearance by John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress can never be ruled out in a John Buchan book. In the case of The Path of King it arrives in the story ‘The Last Stage’, also notable for giving the reader a glimpse of a young Abraham Lincoln. He will reappear in the last story in the book, ‘The End of the Road’ and in the book’s epilogue.
Although not all of the stories had equal appeal for me, The Path of the King is an interesting insight into Buchan’s use of the short story form and an indication of his interest in history, especially American history, at this point in his life. I’m also touched by the dedication of the book to his wife, Susan.
In his biography of John Buchan, The Presbyterian Cavalier (Constable, 1995), Andrew Lownie argues that the novel reflects Buchan’s interest in the chance encounters in history and in kingship, noting that the latter would later be explored further in The Blanket of the Dark (September’s Buchan of the Month). Two stories from the book were subsequently dramatised by John Buchan’s wife, Susan – ‘The Maid’ (published in 1933 under the title, The Vision at the Inn: A Play in One Act) and ‘The Wife of Flanders’ (published in The Bookman in 1934). These happen to be the two stories in the book that most stood out for me.
Janet Adam Smith, author of John Buchan: A Biography (OUP, 1985 [1965]) describes The Path of the King as historical fantasy and there is certainly a mystical, spiritual element to many of the stories. This is particularly evident in ‘The Maid’ in which a young noblewoman, plagued with doubt about her demand to her lover to make a choice between her or his support for Joan of Arc, has an encounter with another young woman facing her own moral dilemma. There are some lovely touches in the description of the meeting between the two young woman. As it turns out, it may not be their final meeting.
In ‘The Wife of Flanders’, Buchan shows his ability to create atmosphere as he describes the chamber in which the wife of a Flemish burgomaster lies dying. ‘The small-paned windows of the great upper-room were filled with oiled vellum, but they did not keep out the weather, and currents of cold air passed through them to the doorway, making the smoke of the four charcoal braziers eddy and swirl… Hanging silver lamps, which blazed blue and smoky, lit it in patches, sufficient to show the cleanness of the rush-strewn floor, the glory of the hangings of cloth-of-gold and damask, and the burnished sheen of the metal-work.’ Spurning the ministrations of priests and doctors, the woman finds comfort in the thought that her son will achieve greatness only to find that fate intervenes in an unexpected way.
Those who have followed my reviews of previous books in my Buchan of the Month project will note that an appearance by John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress can never be ruled out in a John Buchan book. In the case of The Path of King it arrives in the story ‘The Last Stage’, also notable for giving the reader a glimpse of a young Abraham Lincoln. He will reappear in the last story in the book, ‘The End of the Road’ and in the book’s epilogue.
Although not all of the stories had equal appeal for me, The Path of the King is an interesting insight into Buchan’s use of the short story form and an indication of his interest in history, especially American history, at this point in his life. I’m also touched by the dedication of the book to his wife, Susan.
October 25, 2014
Well done.
I'd heard of Buchan years ago (39 Steps), but never came across a copy until recently. The author, an English nobleman, wrote this in 1921. It is a series of short vignettes tracing the descendants of a Viking king down to almost modern times. Forest Gump-style, each descendant has close relations to a significant historical figure or event (Joan of Arc, St Bartholomew Massacre, Abe Lincoln, etc.) You really have to know your history for it to make sense, though.
This would go well for high schoolers studying Western European history, into the New World.
The theme is really fascinating - kingly traits rise and fall in a lineage over time, sometimes falling into the gutter, other times peaking in a significant person who shapes history.
There is a strong anti-democracy point at the end - that nations and men need leadership from kings. They need leadership, not just a public servant to carry out the will of the people. The last couple chapters culminate in a historical figure I didn't expect - worth the read!
I'd heard of Buchan years ago (39 Steps), but never came across a copy until recently. The author, an English nobleman, wrote this in 1921. It is a series of short vignettes tracing the descendants of a Viking king down to almost modern times. Forest Gump-style, each descendant has close relations to a significant historical figure or event (Joan of Arc, St Bartholomew Massacre, Abe Lincoln, etc.) You really have to know your history for it to make sense, though.
This would go well for high schoolers studying Western European history, into the New World.
The theme is really fascinating - kingly traits rise and fall in a lineage over time, sometimes falling into the gutter, other times peaking in a significant person who shapes history.
There is a strong anti-democracy point at the end - that nations and men need leadership from kings. They need leadership, not just a public servant to carry out the will of the people. The last couple chapters culminate in a historical figure I didn't expect - worth the read!
March 25, 2022
Just a brief note: the 3 stars reflect my personal enjoyment moreso than the objective quality, which I think deserves much better. It's masterfully done but many portions didn't click with me, though some chapters (and the Big Idea) were indeed sublime.
October 25, 2018
Rich
Can be a bit verbose in parts but by in large a good book on the effect of legacy. A nice way to spend a quiet autumn s beggining
Can be a bit verbose in parts but by in large a good book on the effect of legacy. A nice way to spend a quiet autumn s beggining
June 30, 2025
An involving novel-made-of-short-stories that spans a thousand years from the Viking Age to the American Civil War. Greatly enjoyed it, especially the first several medieval stories, though almost all of them have something to recommend them. My favorite read of John Buchan June 2025. Full review on the blog.
March 18, 2014
A very interesting book, and somewhat different from the other John Buchan books I have recently read. This is actually a series of stories, loosely connected, starting in Scotland before the Normans arrived and involving the people who where in conflict with their Scandinavian cousins. It ends in America with the aftermath of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. In the journey from the start to the end we visit various historical events and figures, such as France and Joan of Arc.
I found the trip a very interesting one, especially for the author's take on events of the times and the characters involved. I am glad I added this book to the list of those of his that I have read.
This version was an eBook downloaded from Project Gutenberg and read with Cool Reader on a Sony Xperia Z1 Compact.
I found the trip a very interesting one, especially for the author's take on events of the times and the characters involved. I am glad I added this book to the list of those of his that I have read.
This version was an eBook downloaded from Project Gutenberg and read with Cool Reader on a Sony Xperia Z1 Compact.
April 7, 2016
A ring is passed along the line of families throughout the ages, not always through the first born or the male line until the final chapter which took me completely by surprise. The action starts in Viking Scotland, through Norman England, Flanders, the Crusades of the Middle East, France (Joan of Arc), England again, North of England during the Jacobite Rebellion etc This fictitious account perfectly sets the scene with the language and is interesting as a snapshot of history. Some moral dilemmas are dealt with -should Charles I be tried by a jury, no precedent, should you betray your friends, and how difficult it is get out of the squalor and deprivation you are born into. You are dealt your cards, but how do you deal with your hand?
April 12, 2026
I liked these historical stories as a young teen. Set in Scotland. Published 1920 it reads more like a collection of short stories than a novel but there is a thread that runs through all the stories, embodied in a gold ring handed down through the generations. Beginning with a Viking’s son lost in a raid, the book traces the line of descent through the centuries to American President, Abraham Lincoln. It is essentially a series of historical tales, featuring characters who are often involved in or witnesses to, great events and who rub shoulders with important individuals from history including Sir Walter Raleigh, Oliver Cromwell, Daniel Boone and the aforementioned Abraham Lincoln.
July 9, 2011
A brilliant story moving through generations of the same family through their ups and downs looking at how some people are born to greatness. A surprisingly easy read, given some of the language used.
January 18, 2009
Some stories better than others, but on the whole, very good.
September 2, 2025
Mildly engaging series of historical stories which I finally discarded without finishing.
Very much a book of its period.
Very much a book of its period.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews