History Creator / JohnBuchan

* TheChessmaster: Spy chiefs, notably Sir Walter Bullivant and John S. Blenkiron. DiabolicalMastermind Villains like Otto von Schwabing (''Mr Standfast'') and Dominick Medina (''The Three Hostages'') also count.

John Buchan, Lord Tweedsmuir, GCMG GCVO CH PC DL (1875–1940) was a Scottish novelist, historian and politician. Today, he is best known as the author of ''Literature/TheThirtyNineSteps'', the second of his then-contemporary [[{{Thriller}} thrillers]] - or 'shockers' as he called them (although Buchan didn’t invent SpyFiction, he was heavily influential upon that genre). A prolific writer, he was the author of 28 novels and over 50 works of non-fiction. Despite ill health, in addition to his literary career he was also at various times a diplomat, a barrister, a journalist, the director of a publishing company, a wartime propagandist (rising to the position of Director of Information for the British government in the First World War) and a Member of Parliament before being appointed to be the 15th Governor General of UsefulNotes/{{Canada}} (for which he was ennobled on the insistence of George V), a position he held from 1935 until his death in 1940. As Governor General, Buchan was enthusiastic about literacy and the development of Canadian culture. After his death, he received a state funeral in Canada before his ashes were returned to the United Kingdom.

* ImprovisationalIngenuity: Richard Hannay is good at the Limited Time flavour of this, sometimes leading to some MacGyvering or an IndyPloy.

* ContrivedCoincidence: Buchan's novels, especially the 'shockers', are well known for their improbable coincidences; Buchan even declares in the foreword to ''Literature/TheThirtyNineSteps'' that he regards them as a characteristic and necessary attribute of the genre. In that novel, Richard Hannay visits a house that, of all the houses in the Scottish Lowlands, just happens to be the one that the spies are renting. [[spoiler:Furthermore, the room they lock him in just happens to have explosives in the cupboard. Hannay, of course, is a mining engineer and so knows how to use them safely in order to effect his escape.]]

** Andrew Lumley in ''The Power-House'' is the highly intelligent leader of a shadowy international anarchist organisation which is plotting to bring down western civilisation. For a novel published in 1913, this was radical stuff indeed.

** Dominick Medina in ''The Three Hostages'' is a [[VillainWithGoodPublicity well-known and respected public figure]] who's also the head of an international crime syndicate; [[spoiler: it's only when he personally tries to get rid of Hannay that the latter realises that he is in fact the BigBad.]]

* TheChessmaster: Spy chiefs, notably Sir Walter Bullivant and John S. Blenkiron. Villains like Otto von Schwabing (''Mr Standfast'') and Dominick Medina (''The Three Hostages'') also count.

** Dominick Medina in ''The Three Hostages is a [[VillainWithGoodPublicity well-known and respected public figure]] who's also the head of an international crime syndicate; [[spoiler: it's only when he personally tries to get rid of Hannay that the latter realises that he is in fact the BigBad.]]

* UsefulNotes/WorldWarI: The setting for several novels, most notably ''Greenmantle'' and ''Mr Standfast'' (the former was published in 1916 and - somewhat surprisingly - features a sympathetic portrayal of the Kaiser). Buchan rose to become the British Government's Director of Information during that war, and also wrote a 24-volume history of it which began while it was still in progress.
VillainWithGoodPublicity: Dominick Medina in ''The Three Hostages''. Even Hannay can't quite believe that he's bad at first.

VillainWithGoodPublicity

* UsefulNotes/WorldWarI: The setting for several novels, most notably ''Greenmantle'' and ''Mr Standfast'' (the former was published in 1916 and - somewhat surprisingly - features a sympathetic portrayal of the Kaiser). Buchan rose to become the British Government's Director of Information during that war, and also wrote a 24-volume history of it which began while it was still in progress.

John Buchan, Lord Tweedsmuir, GCMG GCVO CH PC DL (1875–1940) was a Scottish novelist, historian and politician. Today, he is best known as the author of ''Literature/TheThirtyNineSteps'', the second of his then-contemporary [[{{Thriller}} thrillers]] - or 'shockers' as he called them (although Buchan didn’t invent SpyFiction, he was heavily influential upon that genre). A prolific writer, he was the author of 28 novels and over 50 works of non-fiction. Despite ill health, in addition to his literary career he was also at various times a diplomat, a barrister, the director of a publishing company, a wartime propagandist (rising to the position of Director of Information for the British government in the First World War) and a Member of Parliament before being appointed to be the 15th Governor General of UsefulNotes/{{Canada}} (for which he was ennobled on the insistence of George V), a position he held from 1935 until his death in 1940. As Governor General, Buchan was enthusiastic about literacy and the development of Canadian culture. After his death, he received a state funeral in Canada before his ashes were returned to the United Kingdom.

* UsefulNotes/WorldWarI: The setting for several novels, most notably ''Greenmantle'' and ''Mr Standfast'' (the former was published in 1916 and - somewhat surprisingly - features a sympathetic portrayal of the Kaiser). Buchan rose to become the British Government's Director of Information during that war, and also wrote a 24-volume history of it which began while it was still in progress.
* WriteWhatYouKnow: Many of Buchan's adventures are set or partly set in his native Scotland - examples include ''The Thirty-Nine Steps'', ''Huntingtower'', ''John Macnab'' and the historical novel ''Witch Wood''. Many of his characters are Scottish (Edward Leithen, Dickson [=McCunn=]) or have Scots ancestry (Hannay).

* MagnificentBastard: Quite a few of the villains can be described thus.

* ValuesDissonance: To modern readers, Buchan's writing can tend towards the jingoistic, in addition to which some of the language is very much of its time, for example the use of the N-word to describe Africans and "white man" in the [[Creator/RudyardKipling Kiplingesque]] sense (meaning, a man of honour and good moral character). Most notorious is Scudder's anti-Semitism in the early chapters of ''The Thirty-Nine Steps'', which is commented on by other characters, who see Scudder's fears of a worldwide Jewish conspiracy as nonsense.

* ValuesDissonance: To modern readers, Buchan's writing can tend towards the jingoistic, in addition to which some of the language is very much of its time, for example the use of the N-word to describe Africans and "white man" in the [[Creator/RudyardKipling Kiplingesque]] sense (meaning, a man of honour and good moral character). Most notorious is Scudder's anti-Semitism in the early chapters of ''The Thirty-Nine Steps'', which is commented on by other characters.

* AuthorAvatar: Like Buchan himself, Sir Edward Leithen, the protagonist of five novels, is a barrister and an MP who moves in high society circles and enjoys fly fishing. On a lesser note, the American spymaster John S. Blenkiron is afflicted by a duodenal ulcer - something from which Buchan himself suffered for many years - in ''Greenmantle''; by the the events of ''Mr Standfast'', he's had an operation to relieve him of this ailment (sadly, the same was never true for his creator).

* WriteWhatYouKnow: Many of Buchan's adventures are set or partly set in his native Scotland - ''The Thirty-Nine Steps'', ''Huntingtower'', ''John Macnab'' and the historical novel ''Witch Wood''. Many of his characters are Scottish (Edward Leithen, Dickson [=McCunn=]) or have Scots ancestry (Hannay).

* AuthorAvatar: Like Buchan himself, Sir Edward Leithen, the protagonist of five novels, is a barrister and an MP. On a lesser note, the American spymaster John S. Blenkiron is afflicted by a duodenal ulcer - something from which Buchan himself suffered for many years - in ''Greenmantle''; by the the events of ''Mr Standfast'', he's had an operation to relieve him of this ailment (sadly, the same was never true for his creator).

John Buchan, Lord Tweedsmuir, GCMG GCVO CH PC DL (1875–1940) was a Scottish novelist, historian and politician. Today, he is best known as the author of ''Literature/TheThirtyNineSteps'', the second of his then-contemporary thrillers - or 'shockers' as he called them (although Buchan didn’t invent SpyFiction, he was heavily influential upon that genre). A prolific writer, he was the author of 28 novels and over 50 works of non-fiction. Despite ill health, in addition to his literary career he was also at various times a diplomat, a barrister, the director of a publishing company, a wartime propagandist (rising to the position of Director of Information for the British government in the First World War) and a Member of Parliament before being appointed to be the 15th Governor General of UsefulNotes/{{Canada}} (for which he was ennobled on the insistence of George V), a position he held from 1935 until his death in 1940. As Governor General, Buchan was enthusiastic about literacy and the development of Canadian culture. After his death, he received a state funeral in Canada before his ashes were returned to the United Kingdom.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: In ''The Courts of the Morning'', Sandy Arbuthnot's physical attributes are altered from his previous appearances (''Greenmantle'', ''The Three Hostages'') to the extent where he now resembles UsefulNotes/TELawrence. Lawrence was a friend of Buchan's, although they only met after the First World War.
* Ruritania: In ''The House of the Four Winds'', Dickson [=McCunn=] and others visit a Central European country called Evallonia.

* UsefulNotes/WorldWarI: The setting for several novels, most notably ''Greenmantle'' and ''Mr Standfast'' (the former was published in 1916 and - somewhat surprisingly - features a sympathetic portrayal of the Kaiser). Buchan rose to become the British Government's Director of Information during this war, and also wrote a 24-volume history of that conflict which began while it was still in progress.

John Buchan, Lord Tweedsmuir, GCMG GCVO CH PC DL (1875–1940) was a Scottish novelist, historian and politician. A prolific writer, he was the author of 28 novels (the most famous of which was ''Literature/TheThirtyNineSteps'', meaning that although Buchan didn’t invent SpyFiction, he was heavily influential upon that genre) and over 50 works of non-fiction. Despite ill health, in addition to his literary career he was also at various times a diplomat, a barrister, a journalist, the director of a publishing company, a wartime propagandist (rising to the position of Director of Information for the British government in the First World War) and a Member of Parliament before being appointed to be the 15th Governor General of UsefulNotes/{{Canada}} (for which he was ennobled on the insistence of George V), a position he held from 1935 until his death in 1940. As Governor General, Buchan was enthusiastic about literacy and the development of Canadian culture. After his death, he received a state funeral in Canada before his ashes were returned to the United Kingdom.

%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Don't uncomment entries without giving proper context, please.

* ContrivedCoincidence: Buchan's novels, especially the 'shockers', are well known for their improbable coincidences; Buchan even declares in the foreword to ''Literature/TheThirtyNineSteps'' that he regards them as a characteristic and necessary attribute of the genre.
** In ''The Thirty-Nine Steps'', of all the houses in Scotland, Richard Hannay just happens to enter the house being rented by the spy ringleaders. [[spoiler:And the room they lock him in just happens to have explosives in the cupboard. Hannay, of course, is a mining engineer and so knows how to use them safely.]]
** In ''Mr Standfast'' the remote and inaccessible Scottish cave Hannay is staking out [[spoiler:is visited on that very evening by a possible antagonist from earlier in the book. He turns out to be a complete innocent who likes mountain climbing and just happens to be in the area]].

%%* StiffUpperLip

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: In ''The Courts of the Morning'', Sandy Arbuthnot's physical attributes are altered from his previous appearances (''Greenmantle'', ''The Three Hostages'') to the extent where he now bears a passing resemblance to UsefulNotes/TELawrence. Lawrence was a friend of Buchan's, although they only met after the First World War.

** Abraham Lincoln features prominently in the later chapters of ''The Path of the King''.
** In ''Midwinter'', the main character is assisted by Samuel Johnson.

** ''The Blanket of the Dark'' centres on a plot to overthrow Henry VIII, who appears towards the end.

* AuthorAvatar: Like Buchan himself, Sir Edward Leithen, the protagonist of five novels, is a barrister and an MP.

%%* RatedMForManly

* UsefulNotes/WorldWarI: The setting for several novels, most notably ''Greenmantle'' and ''Mr Standfast'' (the former was published in 1916 and - somewhat surprisingly - features a sympathetic portrayal of the Kaiser). Buchan rose to become the British Government's Director of Information during this war, and also wrote a ''24-volume'' history of that conflict which began while it was still in progress.

* SharedUniverse: The Hannay novels explicitly occupy the same universe as many of Buchan's other novels - those set in the (then) present day at least. Sir Edward Leithen and Richard Hannay are both members of the same gentlemen's club. Leithen encounters Hannay's friend Archie Roylance in ''John Macnab'', and Archie in turn works with Dickson [=McCunn=] in ''Huntingtower'' and ''The House of the Four Winds''.

%%* UsefulNotes/WorldWarI

John Buchan, Lord Tweedsmuir, GCMG GCVO CH PC DL (1875–1940) was a Scottish novelist, historian and politician. A prolific writer, he was the author of 28 novels (the most famous of which was ''Literature/TheThirtyNineSteps'', meaning that although Buchan didn’t invent SpyFiction, he was heavily influential upon that genre) and over 50 works of non-fiction. Despite ill health, in addition to his literary career he was also at various times a diplomat, a barrister, a journalist, the director of a publishing company, a wartime propagandist (rising to the position of Director of Information for the British government in the First World War) and a Member of Parliament before being appointed to be the 15th Governor General of UsefulNotes/{{Canada}} (for which he was ennobled on the insistence of George V), a position he held from 1935 until his death in 1940. As Governor General, Buchan was enthusiastic about literacy and the development of Canadian culture. After his death, he received a state funeral in Canada before his ashes were returned to the United Kingdom.

John Buchan, Lord Tweedsmuir, GCMG GCVO CH PC DL (1875–1940) was a Scottish novelist, historian and politician. A prolific writer, he was the author of 28 novels (the most famous of which was ''Literature/TheThirtyNineSteps'', meaning that although Buchan didn’t invent SpyFiction, he was heavily influential upon that genre) and over 50 works of non-fiction. Despite ill health, he was also at various times a diplomat, a barrister, the director of a publishing company, a wartime propagandist (rising to the position of Director of Information in the First World War) and a Member of Parliament before being appointed to be the 15th Governor General of UsefulNotes/{{Canada}} (for which he was ennobled on the insistence of George V), a position he held from 1935 until his death in 1940. As Governor General, Buchan was enthusiastic about literacy and the development of Canadian culture. After his death, he received a state funeral in Canada before his ashes were returned to the United Kingdom.

John Buchan, Lord Tweedsmuir, GCMG GCVO CH PC DL (1875–1940) was a Scottish novelist, historian and politician. A prolific writer, he was the author of 28 novels (the most famous of which was ''Literature/TheThirtyNineSteps'') and over 50 works of non-fiction. Despite ill health, he was also at various times a diplomat, a barrister, the director of a publishing company, a wartime propagandist (rising to the position of Director of Information in the First World War) and a Member of Parliament before being appointed to be the 15th Governor General of UsefulNotes/{{Canada}} (for which he was ennobled on the insistence of George V), a position he held from 1935 until his death in 1940. As Governor General, Buchan was enthusiastic about literacy and the development of Canadian culture. After his death, he received a state funeral in Canada before his ashes were returned to the United Kingdom.

John Buchan, Lord Tweedsmuir, GCMG GCVO CH PC DL (1875–1940) was a Scottish novelist, historian and politician. A prolific writer, he was the author of 28 novels (the most famous of which was ''Literature/TheThirtyNineSteps'') and over 50 works of non-fiction, including biographies of Oliver Cromwell and the [[UsefulNotes/{{Augustus}} Emperor Augustus]] and a 24-volume history of the First World War which began while said war was still in progress. Despite ill health, he was also at various times a diplomat, a barrister, the director of a publishing company, a wartime propagandist (rising to the position of Director of Information in the First World War) and a Member of Parliament before being appointed to be the 15th Governor General of UsefulNotes/{{Canada}} (for which he was ennobled on the insistence of George V), a position he held from 1935 until his death in 1940. As Governor General, Buchan was enthusiastic about literacy and the development of Canadian culture. After his death, he received a state funeral in Canada before his ashes were returned to the United Kingdom.

John Buchan, Lord Tweedsmuir, GCMG GCVO CH PC DL (1875–1940) was a Scottish novelist, historian, and politician. A prolific writer, he was the author of 28 novels (the most famous of which was ''Literature/TheThirtyNineSteps'') and over 50 works of non-fiction, including a 24-volume history of the First World War which began while said war was still in progress. Despite ill health, he was also at various times a diplomat, a barrister, the director of a publishing company, a wartime propagandist (rising to the position of Director of Information in the First World War, reporting directly to Prime Minister David Lloyd George) and a Member of Parliament before being appointed to be the 15th Governor General of UsefulNotes/{{Canada}} (for which he was ennobled on the insistence of George V), a position he held from 1935 until his death in 1940. As Governor General, Buchan was enthusiastic about literacy and the development of Canadian culture. After his death, he received a state funeral in Canada before his ashes were returned to the United Kingdom.