History YMMV / JohnBuchan

* FairForItsDay: While Buchan's writing can seem somewhat jingoistic to modern readers, it's nowhere near as bad as some other authors writing at the time. When compared to works such as ''Literature/BulldogDrummond'', Buchan can seem almost progressive. ''Literature/{{Greenmantle}}'' in particular has sympathetic German characters (despite being written during the First World War) and shows detailed knowledge of and respect for Islam.

* FairForItsDay: While Buchan's writing can seem somewhat jingoistic to modern readers, it's nowhere near as bad as some other authors writing at the time. When compared to works such as ''Literature/BulldogDrummond'', Buchan can seem almost progressive. ''Greenmantle'' in particular has sympathetic German characters (despite being written during the First World War) and shows detailed knowledge of and respect for Islam.

** Hilda von Einem in ''Greenmantle'' is this, in addition to being TheBaroness. She's a seductive and ruthlessly intelligent German noblewoman in charge of the Kaiser's grand plan to destabilise the British Empire by triggering a ''jihad'' in Central Asia.
** Dominick Medina in ''The Three Hostages'' is a [[VillainWithGoodPublicity well-known and respected public figure]] who also happens to be the DiabolicalMastermind at the head of an international crime syndicate. [[spoiler: Even Richard Hannay doesn't believe Medina's a bad guy until he personally tries to put him out of the way. Even in the end, after the hostages have been rescued and the crime syndicate broken, Medina would have probably got away if he hadn't gone after Hannay.]]
* OvershadowedByControversy: Creator/TheBBC had to cancel a radio adaptation of ''Greenmantle'' in 2005 following the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7_July_2005_London_bombings 7/7 bombings]].

** Most notorious is the anti-Semitism and belief in a worldwide Jewish conspiracy theory as expressed by Scudder in the first chapter of ''The Thirty-Nine Steps''. Other characters, most notably Hannay once he starts decoding Scudder's notebook, regard this particular obsession of his as utter nonsense. Bullivant, the spymaster, even remarks that Scudder's obsession with Jewish conspiracies undermined his effectiveness as an agent:

* AdaptationDisplacement: More people have likely heard of ''The Thirty-Nine Steps'' because of the movie versions (particularly the [[Film/The39Steps1935 Alfred Hitchcock one]]) rather than the [[Literature/TheThirtyNineSteps novel]]. The film's the reason why this is the best-known of Buchan's novels.

* ValuesDissonance: To modern readers, some of Buchan's language is very much [[HaveAGayOldTime of its time]], for example his 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).

* ValuesResonance: Buchan's advocacy of a multicultural [[UsefulNotes/{{Canada}} Canadian]] identity during his tenure as Governor General ''in the 1930s'' resonates in the twenty-first century:

* MagnificentBastard: Some of the villains can be described thus.

* MagnificentBastard: Quite a few of the villains can be described thus.
** The Black Stone spy-ring in ''Literature/TheThirtyNineSteps'' are Germans trying to steal Britain's war plans. [[spoiler: One of them is able to successfully disguise himself as the First Sea Lord (the professional head of the Royal Navy, no less) and attend a high-level meeting; it's only by chance that Hannay is present when he's leaving the meeting and recognises him.]]

** Most notorious is the anti-Semitism and belief in a worldwide Jewish conspiracy theory as expressed by Scudder in the first chapter of ''The Thirty-Nine Steps''. Other characters, most notably Hannay once he starts decoding Scudder's notebook, regard this particular obsession of his as utter nonsense. Bullivant, the spymaster, even remarks that although Scudder's obsession with Jewish conspiracies undermined his effectiveness as an agent: