John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir (1875–1940), was a Scottish novelist , historian, biographer and editor. Outside the field of literature he was, at various times, a barrister, a publisher, a lieutenant colonel in the Intelligence Corps , the Director of Information—reporting directly to prime minister David Lloyd George —during the First World War and a Unionist MP who served as Governor General of Canada , the fifteenth to hold the office since Canadian Confederation .[ 3]
Born in Perth , Scotland, Buchan was admitted to the University of Glasgow in 1892 to study classics; during his first year at university he edited the works of Francis Bacon , which were published in 1894. The following year he was awarded a scholarship to Brasenose College, Oxford ; shortly after his arrival he also published his first novel, Sir Quixote of the Moors , which he dedicated to Gilbert Murray , his university tutor. By the time he left the university he had published five books, including Scholar-Gipsies , his first work of non-fiction.[ 6]
Much of Buchan's non-fiction mirrored his circumstances: his time in South Africa resulted in The African Colony , and the First World War led to a series of books about the war in general, and the Scottish and South African forces in particular. He interspersed his non-fiction with further novels, and also wrote ten biographies and four volumes of poetry, as well as numerous articles and stories for magazines and journals. During the war he wrote The Thirty-Nine Steps , the novel which has been adapted for film and television more than any of his other work, (film versions in 1935 , 1959 and 1978 and a 2008 television version ).
Editor
Musa Piscatrix , first UK edition, 1896
The Long Road to Victory , first UK edition, 1920
Buchan was the general editor of the Teaching of History series, published by T. Nelson Publishers between 1928 and 1930. In 1900 he was also a member of the editorial board of The Spectator .[ 9]
Novels
The Thirty-Nine Steps , first UK edition
Frontispieces of
Sir Quixote of the Moors (1895) and
Greenmantle (1916)
Non-fiction
Cover of Scholar-Gipsies (1896), Buchan's first work of non-fiction
Cover of The Battle of Jutland , a history of the 1916 sea battle
Buchan, c. 1910–15
Biographies
Buchan in ceremonial dress as the Governor General of Canada
Poetry collections
Buchan in native Indian ceremonial head dress
Short story collections
Notes and references
Notes
References
^
"Lord Tweedsmuir". The Times . No. 48537. London. 12 February 1940. p. 8.
^
"Lord Tweedsmuir: A Notable Figure in British Literary and Political Life". The Manchester Guardian . Manchester. 12 February 1940. p. 3.
^ a b c d e f g h i
"John Buchan" . Contemporary Authors . Gale . Retrieved 5 July 2014 . (subscription required)
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"Essays and Apothegms of Francis Lord Bacon: edited, with an introduction, by John Buchan" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
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"Musa Piscatrix" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
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"The Compleat Angler. ... Edited, with an introduction and notes, by J. Buchan" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
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"The Long Road to Victory. (By various authors) Edited by J. Buchan" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
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"Miscellanies: Literary and Historical" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
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"Great Hours in Sport. (By various authors) Edited by J. Buchan" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
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"A History of English Literature. Edited by J. Buchan" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
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"The Northern Muse" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
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"Modern Short Stories. Collected by J. Buchan" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
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"The Poetry of Neil Munro" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
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"Sir Quixote of the Moors. Being some account of an episode in the life of the Sieur de Rohaine" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
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"John Burnet of Barns. A romance" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
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"A Lost Lady of Old Years. A romance" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
^ "Index" . Good Words . Vol. 41. 1900.
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"The Half-Hearted" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
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"A Lodge in the Wilderness" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
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"Prester John" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
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"Salute to Adventurers" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
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"The Thirty-nine Steps" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
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"The Power-House" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
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"Greenmantle" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
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"Mr. Standfast" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
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"The Path of the King" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
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"Huntingtower" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
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"Midwinter. Certain travellers in old England. (A novel)" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
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"The Three Hostages" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
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"John Macnab" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
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"The Dancing Floor" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
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"Witch Wood" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
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"The Courts of the Morning" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
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"Castle Gay" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
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"The Blanket of the Dark" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
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"The Gap in the Curtain" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
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"The Magic Walking-Stick" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
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"A Prince of the Captivity" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
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"The Free Fishers" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
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"The House of the Four Winds" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
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"The Island of Sheep" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 10 January 2016 .
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"Sick Heart River" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
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"Scholar Gipsies" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 21 August 2014 .
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"Brasenose College" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 21 August 2014 .
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"The African Colony: studies in the reconstruction" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 21 August 2014 .
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"The Law Relating to the Taxation of Foreign Income, etc" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 21 August 2014 .
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"Some Eighteenth Century Byways, and other essays" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 21 August 2014 .
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"Nelson's History of the War" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 21 August 2014 .
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"Britain's War by Land" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 21 August 2014 .
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"The Achievement of France" . Library of Congress Catalogue . Washington: Library of Congress . Retrieved 21 August 2014 .
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"The Battle of the Somme. First (second) phase" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 21 August 2014 .
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"The Battle of Jutland" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 21 August 2014 .
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"The Battle of the Somme, second phase" . Library of Congress Catalogue . Washington: Library of Congress . Retrieved 21 August 2014 .
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"These for Remembrance: Memoirs of 6 Friends Killed in the Great War" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 21 August 2014 .
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"The Island of Sheep" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 12 January 2016 . Published anonymously by "Cadmus and Harmonia", ie John and Susan Buchan
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"The History of the South African Forces in France" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 21 August 2014 .
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"A History of the Great War" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 21 August 2014 .
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"A Book of Escapes and Hurried Journeys" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 21 August 2014 .
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"The Last Secrets. The final mysteries of exploration" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 21 August 2014 .
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"The Margins of Life" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 21 August 2014 .
^ a b
"Days to Remember. The British Empire in the Great War" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 21 August 2014 .
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"The history of the Royal Scots Fusiliers, 1678–1918" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 21 August 2014 .
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"Two Ordeals of Democracy" . Library of Congress Catalogue . Washington: Library of Congress . Retrieved 21 August 2014 .
^ a b
"The Fifteenth-Scottish-Division, 1914–1919" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 21 August 2014 .
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"Homilies and Recreations" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 21 August 2014 .
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"The Causal and the Casual in History, The Rede Lecture, 1929" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 21 August 2014 .
^ a b
"The Kirk in Scotland 1560–1929" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 21 August 2014 .
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"Montrose and Leadership" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 21 August 2014 .
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"The Novel and the Fairy Tale" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 21 August 2014 .
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"Andrew Lang and the Border" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 21 August 2014 .
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"The Massacre of Glencoe" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 21 August 2014 .
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"Gordon at Khartoum" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 21 August 2014 .
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"The King's Grace 1910–1935" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 21 August 2014 .
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"Naval Episodes of the Great War" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 21 August 2014 .
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"The Interpreter's House. The Chancellor's installation address delivered before the University of Edinburgh" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 21 August 2014 .
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"Presbyterianism Yesterday, To-Day, and To-Morrow" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 21 August 2014 .
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"Memory Hold-the-Door" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 21 August 2014 .
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"Comments and Characters" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 21 August 2014 .
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"Canadian Occasions; Addresses" . Library of Congress Catalogue . Washington: Library of Congress . Retrieved 21 August 2014 .
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"Sir Walter Raleigh. The Stanhope Essay, 1897" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 14 August 2014 .
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"The Marquis of Montrose / John Buchan" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 14 August 2014 .
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"Andrew Jameson, Lord Ardwall" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 14 August 2014 .
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"Francis and Riversdale Grenfell / John Buchan" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 14 August 2014 .
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"Lord Minto: a memoir / by John Buchan" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 14 August 2014 .
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"The Man and the Book: Sir Walter Scott" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 14 August 2014 .
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"Montrose" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 4 April 2020 .
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"Sir Walter Scott" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 14 August 2014 .
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"Julius Caesar, etc" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 14 August 2014 .
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"Oliver Cromwell" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 14 August 2014 .
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"Augustus" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 14 August 2014 .
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"The Pilgrim Fathers. The Newdigate Prize Poem 1898" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
^ a b
"Grey Weather. Moorland Tales of My Own People" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
^ a b
"The Moon Endureth. Tales and fancies" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
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"Poems: Scots and English" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
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"The Watcher by the Threshold, and other tales" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 29 June 2019 .
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"The Runagates Club" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
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"The Long Traverse" . British Library Catalogue . London: British Library . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
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"The Far Islands and Other Tales of Fantasy" . Library of Congress Catalogue . Washington: Library of Congress . Retrieved 15 August 2014 .
Sources
Cox, J. Randolph (1988). "John Buchan". In Benstock, Bernard ; Staley, Thomas (eds.). British Mystery Writers, 1860–1919 . Detroit: Gale Research . ISBN 978-0-8103-1748-2 .
Daniell, David (June 1992). "The Non-Fiction Works of John Buchan". The Book and Magazine Collector (99). Diamond Publishing Group.
Lownie, Andrew (2013). John Buchan: The Presbyterian Cavalier . London: Thistle Publishing. ISBN 978-1-9096-0999-0 .
MacLeod, Helen (April 1988). "The Novels of John Buchan". The Book and Magazine Collector (49). Diamond Publishing Group.
MacLeod, Helen (December 1984). "John Buchan". The Book and Magazine Collector (10). Diamond Publishing Group.
Matthew, H. C. G. (2004). "Buchan, John, first Baron Tweedsmuir". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi :10.1093/ref:odnb/32145 . (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
External links
Richard Hannay novels Edward Leithen novels Dickson McCunn trilogy Other fiction Characters Non-fiction Adaptations
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