The Thumbnail Book Reviews
by John Q McDonald --- 17 February 1998
by John Buchan
In this archetypal potboiler, our everyman hero is trapped between a vast conspiracy to start a war between Britain and Germany, and the police, who think he committed a murder in his apartment. The hero, Richard Hannay, flees across the Scottish countryside hoping to elude persuit while finding some way out of this mess. The book is littered with remarkable coincidence, and long chases across the moors. Written in 1915, it sets a standard for the many thrillers of various quality that followed. To Buchan is also attributed the introduction of the double antagonist (police and conspiracy) from which the protagonist escapes. Intended to be a "dime novel", the book is short, sometimes exciting, and always clever. No fewer than five movies have been based on its story, but none have depicted the true meaning of the title.