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Forever associated with the classic thriller The Thirty-nine Steps, John Buchan wrote over a hundred books, including a series of 'shockers', children's books, biographies, tales of the supernatural and what many regard as the finest history ever written of the Great War. A man of formidable energy, he also had a distinguished career in public life. He ran the Ministry of Information during the First World War, and after eight years as a Conservative MP he ended his career as Lord Tweedsmuir, Governor General of Canada. Andrew Lownie draws on private papers not used before, painting a compelling picture of Buchan's life and a panoramic view of British political, social and literary circles during the first half of the twentieth century.
book reviews
- Scotsman
This exemplary biography, full of new insights and fresh documents unearthed and published for the first time, makes fascinating reading.
- Times Literary Supplement
Andrew Lownie offers a solid and convincing portrait of a complex man and controls the innumerable aspects of Buchan's life in an exemplary manner.
- John Sutherland, Sunday Times
Admirably readable, this book will be invaluable to those who are now encountering Buchan's work for the first time. Lownie's lucid account of Buchan's life redefines the man as infinitely more complex than he thought he was.
- Patrick Cosgrove, Independent
Trumpets should now sound for Buchan; and I will sound one of my own for Andrew Lownie, who has brought this most extraordinary man to life in a way no previous writer has.
- Daily Mail
“…an affectionate, admirably well-researched study from an intelligent biographer. Well worth reading.”
- The Express on Sunday
“ The best biography yet of the creator of Richard Hannay and The Thirty-Nine Steps. It shows Buchan to be the complex and rewarding figure his fans have always known him to be.”
- The Daily Telegraph
“ Lownie’s thoroughgoing, sympathetic biography broadens the view on one of the century’s great popular novelists.”
- The Scotsman
“ Lively and brilliantly researched new biography of one of Scotland’s most enduringly popular writers…Buchan’s was nevertheless an impressive life, and Lownie tells it with sympathy and style. "
- Sunday Times
“…meticulously researched and mounts a persuasive case for reassessing Buchan”
- Independent
“It is hard to imagine how this deft portrait of the bantamweight politician and still highly readable thriller writer could be bettered…As Lownie’s excellent literary criticism suggests, Buchan’s paradoxical nature underlies the evergreen potency of his novels.”
- Sunday Telegraph
“This exemplary biography draws on private papers not used until now to give a most convincing portrait of a complex character as well as lucid and detailed criticism of Buchan’s literary oeuvre.”
- Scotsman
“…this biography (rightly acclaimed on its first publication in 1995) will help restore a much-underrated author - and historic figure - to his rightful status.”
- Sarah Bradford, The Tablet
“Andrew Lownie’s widely researched biography of this fascinating, complex and enigmatic figure has to be the definitive work. Lownie is admirably objective in his approach to Buchan and perceptive on the springs of his character.”
- Time Out
“Andrew Lownie’s excellent biography attempts to restore a sense of balance and complexity to the inscrutable Scot.”
- Scots Magazine
“…a compelling picture of the author’s life, and a wide view of British political, social and literary circles during the first half of the 20th century.”
- New York Times
“In his thorough and lucid biography, Andrew Lownie, a Scottish journalist and editor of several collections of Buchan’s stories and poetry, sympathetically evokes this ‘highly complex and private man who may not always himself have understood his own motivations and abilities.’ “
- Washington Times
“…the full sweep of this remarkable man's career is well told by Andrew Lownie in John Buchan: The Presbyterian Cavalier.”
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