Product Description
This is an OCR edition without illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from GeneralBooksClub.com. You can also preview excerpts from the book there. Purchasers are also entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Original Published by: Houghton Mifflin company in 1919 in 956 pages; Subjects: Fiction / Action & Adventure; Fiction / Classics; Fiction / Espionage; Fiction / Historical; Fiction / Literary; Fiction / Mystery & Detective / General; Fiction / Short Stories; Literary Criticism / European / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh; Literary Criticism / Mystery & Detective; ... Read more

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'There is a message for modern politicians in his writing' - Ann Widdecombe. 'Rejoice in the pre-war prose ...and in Buchan's beautifully observed landscapes' - "Sunday Telegraph". 'The narrative drive of his thrillers is unsurpassed' - "Evening Standard". A long-forgotten promise made by Richard Hannay finds him honour-bound to resolve a violent vendetta in which the lives of a young father and his daughter are in danger from unscrupulous and desperate men. Hannay sets out on a high-octane chase from the rural tranquillity of his English manor to the Scottish Borders and, ultimately, to Scandinavia. On the remote Island of Sheep, a final confrontation takes place and everything is decided - once and for all. This, the last of the Hannay adventures - and the last of Buchan's novels to be published during his lifetime - is a rare gem of high drama interwoven with Buchan's personal beliefs about the problems of a post-war world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

This is a Good One!
I'm bit surprised that Buchan's Greenmantle seems to be more popular than this little gem. I put this book as a better read than 39 steps and Greenmantle, while the latter was a study in jingoism, advertising imperialism to all and sundry and dismissive of those of us with more melanin as savages, the former is dished with a plot that is quite unbelievable and over the top, really!This one, though peppered with lots of "Scots are great" and Scotland "a paradise on earth" and full of "burrrns" and glens is still a fast-track novel quite reminiscent of Don Brown's of our times. A good time pass and an interesting plot keep your interest till the "lived happily ever after" climax

PS:
Somehow I have a feeling that the writer wanted to take the story to China and maybe because of lack of time or dearth of requisite material he had to end the tale in "Norlands". Alas, who will know, he has been dead nearly 70 years!

Good book, Bad Scanning errors
The three stars in my review are for *this edition* of the book. The book itself is great. If you love the Sherlock Holmes stories or books by Rider Haggard, you will love this book. Buchan tells a good tale, keeps the pace moving, and has a real love of place. His characters are not deep, but several of them are very likable, and you will care what happens to them. If you've been bored re-reading the same old books and you like adventure, by all means, get this book.

But not this edition. This Elibron books edition is *so badly done* that the authors should be tarred and feathered. It has been scanned in and then simply published as such. Totally cheap, with no human checking for scanning errors. They are egregious and distracting. The worst of all is the repeated phrase "the bland of Sheep" for "the Island of Sheep"--that being the title of the book! But there are many others, and sometimes they are so bad that you can't figure out what the original word was supposed to be. This makes it hard to sink into the story and lose yourself, as you're constantly being brought up short to ask yourself, "Is that a real word, or is it a scan-o?" The problem is made worse by two things: First, Buchan really does use an unusual vocabulary, including terms from hound tracking, Nordic words, terms from falconry and duck-hunting, and the like. So there are genuine additions to your vocabulary waiting here, and that makes it harder to pick out the scan-o's. Second, the scanning software they used apparently was linked to a dictionary and always fills in a real word instead of nonsense, where often if it just filled in nonsense, the original word would be easier to de-code. Example--it used "all" for "till" in one case. That took me a while of puzzling, and something like "tlll" would have been easier to figure out. "The" comes out as "me" several times. One of the funniest is "domes" for "clothes," which is repeated every time the word "clothes" should appear.

Buy this book, but buy it used and in some other edition. The editors at Elibron should be scolded and shouldn't sell another book until they can do some actual work to publish their books instead of scanning and selling without editing. ... Read more

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General Books publication date: 2009Original publication date: 1913Notes: This is an OCR reprint of the original rare book. There may be typos or missing text and there are no illustrations.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. ... Read more

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Supernatural Buchan - Stories of Ancient Spirits uncanny places and strange creatures.Buchan's stories of solid characters clad in tweeds and braving all odds armed only with a stout walking stick have become popular classics. Perhaps it is therefore no surprise that the same character types populate his highly entertaining tales of the strange and weird - here collected into a feast of supernatural delights. In a Buchan story the hauntings and other manifestations are far more subtle than the usual blood-curdling phantoms. The author brings finely crafted detail and a profound sense of the spirit of landscape (specially that of his native Scotland) and place to locales that are as disparate as the stories themselves. Whether they are acknowledged or not, ancient other-worldly creatures, deities and people intrude into Buchan's settings to influence and effect the lives of "modern" man. These wonderful tales of hidden threat and menace make dealing with the mundane concerns of our own world seem like child's play. ... Read more

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John Buchan sets out to redress many misconceived popular opinions of this English soldier and tatesman.His biography achieves that aim, starting with Cromwell's childhood and youth.Born in 1599, Cromwell was a devout Puritan who, when the civil war broke out, quickly joined the Parliamentary forces. He fought many battles including Marston Moor and Naseby and was eventually instrumental in bringing Charles I to trial.After establishing the Commonwealth, he suppressed the Levellers, Ireland and the Scots.In 1653, five years before his death, he established a Protectorate.John Buchan wrote of Cromwell: 'He is a soldier on the grand scale, strategist as well as tactician; statesman as well as fighting man; and it is by this new phase of his military career that his place is to be adjudged in the hierarchy of the great captains'. ... Read more

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This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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MEN AND DEEDS BY JOHN BUCHAN LONDON PETER DAVIES PREFACE OF the papers in this collection, the first was the Rede Lecture at Cambridge in the autumn of 1929. The second appeared as a volume in Mr. Peter Davies Series of Short Biographies, the third and fourth as volumes in the same publishers Series of Great Occasions. The fifth was the Walker Lecture delivered before the University of St. Andrews in January 1932. The sixth is from the Proceedings of the British Academy. The seventh is a chapter from a little book published by Messrs Hodder and Stoughton, and written in collaboration - with Sir George Adam Smith at the request of the Church of Scotland to commemorate the Union of 1929. I would offer my thanks to the different authorities concerned for their permission to reprint. J. B. August 1935. CONTENTS I. THE CAUSAL AND THE CASUAL IN HISTORY . . i II. JULIUS CAESAR I. THE REPUBLIC IN DECAY . . . . . .25 II. THE FORERUNNERS . . . . . . - 32 III. THE YOUTH OF CAESAR ... ... 38 IV. THE PARTY GAME ....... 42 V. THE FIRST CONSULSHIP ...... 56 VI. THE CONQUEST OF GAUL ...... 60 VII. THE REVOLT OF GAUL ...... 70 VIII. THE RUBICON ........ 77 IX. THE CONQUEST OF THE WORLD ..... 84 X. FACTS AND VISIONS ... .... 92 XI. THE END ......... IOI BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE . . . . . 1 04 III. THE MASSACRE OF GLENCOE I. THE FORT OF INVERLOCHY ICX II. INVERARAY AND EDINBURGH . . . . - 125 HI. KENSINGTON 13 IV. GLENCOE 146 V. THE THIRTEENTH OF FEBRUARY . . . . - 157 VI. THE RECKONING . . . . . . . 1 68 BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE . . . . . .176 ViJ I THE CAUSAL AND THE CASUAL IN HISTORY A VISITOR to Cambridge from the sister University, especially a visitor on such an errand as mine, is not likely to be forgetful of the special genius of the place. He remembers that for some centuries Cambridge has been the chosen home of the natural sciences that, while keeping a shrewd eye upon practical appli cations, she has not allowed the lure of immediate rewards to divert her from the quest of truth and that one of her traditional toasts has been God bless the higher mathematics and may they never be of the slightest use to anybody. Here, if anywhere on the globe, he may expect to find a proper notion of what constitutes a science. He will also, if he have historical interests, remember that within recent years Cambridge has been fruitful in pronouncements on the meaning of history. In 1903 Professor Bury proclaimed History is a science no less and no more while it has been the happy task of your present Regius Professor to emphasise the other side of the truth that Clio is a Muse, the daughter of Zeus and Mnemosyne, and the mother of Orpheus. I propose, with Cambridges scientific fame in my mind, and with these sayings of two of her most eminent historians to guide me, to make some further observations on the Muse of History. She is a lady of many parts. She has her laboratory, no doubt, and her record office she has, beyond question, her lyre and her singing robes. But the character in which I would exhibit her this afternoon is homelier than these. I can picture Clio with knitted brows, striving to disentangle the why and the where fore of things. I can picture her with rapt eyes, making epic and djama out of the past. But I can picture her most easily with the puzzled and curious face of a child, staring at the kaleidoscope of the centuries, and laughing yes, laughing at an inconse quence that defies logic, and whimsicalities too fantastic for art. j MEN AND DEEDS Let me begin by making concessions to every school. History is an art, and it is also a science we may say that it is an art which is always trying to become more of a science. As a science it is concerned with causation. The past, if it is to satisfy in telligent minds, must be presented as a sequence of effects and causes. History is not content with an accumulation of facts it seeks to establish relations between facts... ... Read more

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Publisher: London, New York : John Lane: the Bodley HeadPublication date: 1898Notes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be numerous typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Historical Family Story
Wife's Burnett family decendend from Burnett's of Barns. Her John Burnett was a Jacobite Capt of Artillery. captured at Carlisle found guilty by the court in London but reprieved after swearing allegiance to the King and transported to the colonies for a minium of 7 years. This book while "fiction" paints a thrilling account of the family's life in some hard times. ... Read more

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A fast-paced thriller that narrates the journey of protagonist from London to Scotland is presented. It is the story of an ordinary-man-turned-spy in the backdrop of an international conspiracy.

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The period is the Pilgrimage of Grace.In the country west of Oxford, nobles, clergy and laity await the success of the risings in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire to overthrow Henry VIII and Cromwell.Peter Pentecost is the man they plan to put on the English throne.Although a monk by training, he is the legitimate child of the Duke of Buckingham and the last of the Bohuns.His bid to be crowned and his duel with Henry VIII make for an exciting adventure. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A tricky moment in English history, wound into a great story
Henry VIII gets a lot of attention in popular culture (all those wives) and this obscures just what an interesting time he lived in.Most historical novels of Henry VIII's time, not to mention the movies and the TV shows, pander to the wives and the whoopee.Buchan's story goes in a completely different direction: no wives, no beheadings, but a rich and fast-moving story of life and politics in Tudor England.

Underneath the story is a whole supporting structure of history: but (and this is part of what makes the book so good, and reflects Buchan's skill so clearly) you don't need to know any of that to enjoy the book fully.

The book isn't perfect: like other Buchan books I've read, he isn't afraid of setting a story in motion with a wildly implausible premise or motivation (see the The Four Adventures of Richard Hannay: The Thirty-Nine Steps/Greenmantle/Mr. Standfast/the Three Hostages, or The Island of Sheep); this is no different.This isn't Patrick O'Brian, who always grounds his books in entirely-credible situations and characters; his improbabilities (like a sloop capturing a line-of-battle warship in Master and Commander) are worked up to, and only seem incredible until you remember that they actually happened.If you can't get over that it might limit your enjoyment of The Blanket of The Dark.But you should get over it, because the rewards are so great.

A good read
This was an enjoyable read for anyone who appreciates the older style of true English writing.The story is about Peter's adventures throughout the old English countryside; the writer does an excellent job of helping the reader envision the scenes as they unfold.

Contra to what the previous reviewer wrote, is not about Peter the Farmer -- Peter was never a farmer; he was a clerk (student).

The Terrors of Farming
This was a dull book. It told the story of Peter and his farming life. I felt that it was boring, and it did not hold my attention. It was hard to finish one page, let alone the entire book! ... Read more

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John Buchan wrote of Caesar 'He performed the greatest constructive task ever achieved by human hands.He drew the habitable earth into an empire which lasted for five centuries, and he laid the foundations of a fabric of law and government which is still standing after two thousand years.' In this romantic biography Buchan attempts to understand the hidden thoughts of the great soldier.He charts the tale of Caesar's youth, early political career, success, conquest of Gaul and of the world, ending with his murder at the hands of Brutus and the Republican-minded conspirators. ... Read more

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"Greenmantle", by John Buchan, is actually based on a remarkable, if little-known, aspect of German propaganda during World War I. It involved Kaiser Wilhelm declaring himself a convert to Islam, a leader of "jihad", as a tactic for winning the support of the Muslim territories under British control and thus fomenting an anti-British revolution. Richard Hannay, Buchan's intrepid hero from "The Thirty-Nine Steps", is the man entrusted to stop this plan from being carried out, and his adventure takes him from London, to Holland and Turkey and finally to the Russian border for a spectacular climax. Complaints have been made about Buchan's racist and jingo-imperialist biases, as the novel easily betrays the sentiments of a la "dominion over palm and pine." However, a fiction-writer may, under a certain poetic license, attack creeds, doctrines, persons and institutions with impunity; moreover, a writer must be seen as a product of his age. This racy, lively, energetic novel is best appreciated as an excellent work of light literature. The conclusion is an undeniably exciting confrontation, including the charge of Cossack cavalry, as Hannay engages in the final showdown between the two German villains, the gross Stumm and the evil beauty, Hilda von Einem. ... Read more

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It is 1745 and the Jacobite Rebels are marching south into England.In Midwinter John Buchan tells the thrilling tale of Alastair Maclean, close confidant of Prince Charles Edward Stewart, as he sets out on a dangerous and secret mission to raise support for the Jacobite cause in the west of England. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Mature and elegaic historical novel
John Buchan shared at least two things in common with fellow Scot Sir Arthur Conan Doyle -the ability to write memorable crime novels and stories,and a growing frustration that success in this field was diverting attention from their other works .Doyle was so exasperated by the public affection for Sherlock Holmes that he resorted at one point to killing him off ,and while Buchan never did this with Richard Hannay there were expressions of a mild irritation that his public always wanted more in that vein ,rather than of what ,in his autobiography "Memory-Hold -The-Door" he styled his "serious novels".There were four such self-styled "serious books " ,namely "The Free Fishers "."Witch Wood " " The Blanket of the Dark" and ,the book now under consideration "Midwinter",a curious but compelling historical novel .

It is a novel of the second Jacobite rebellion of 1745 ,when forces loyal to the House of Stuart (deposed in 1688) rose againt the Hanoverian dynasty ,and George the Second .The first such rebellion ,in 1715 was a relatively trifling matter but in 1745 things were very different as Scots rallied to the banner of Bonnie Prince Charlie ,the Young Pretender and advanced deep into England

The protagonist of the book is Alastair Maclean ,a young Highland Scot ,soldier and Jacobite to the core .A confidante of the Pretender and his Generals ,Maclean is sent on a secret mission into the heart of Englandto make contact with and gauge the likely support from key landowners and possible Jacobite sympathisers .En route he is benighted in the mysterious Wychwood forest and assisted to reach the home of Lord Cornbury by the enigmatic "Midwinter" ,the leader of an outlaw band known as "the naked men " who represent ,both literally and symbolicallly ,"old England".which Buchan found so beguilling-a pre Christian land .The "naked men " are mysterious but not threatening andthere is none of the menace that seeps from the pages of the "sister novel " "Witch Wood" where paganism is viewed as a dark force ,not ,as in this book ,a benign symbol of the old England and love for it .

Maclean finds a warm welcome among the landowners but no practical expressions of support as they await the outcome of military events before making any firm promises of aid .Maclean is soon plunged into a double mystery -the disappearance of a beautiful heiress Claudia Grevet and the identity of a traitor to the Jacobite cause whose trail Maclean he up from intercepted papers.These contain details of pro Jacobite forces purpotedly arriving from Wales.Maclean needs to inform the Jacobite command which is then advancing towards Derby ,deep into England .He meets obstacles ,in the form of adversse weather ,enemy action and betrayal ,as well as plain old bad luck .By his side frequently is none other than Doctor Samuel Johnson ,tutor to Claudia and a closet Jacobite ,here portrayed as a blundering ,blustering but stalwart and resolute man . Buchan deftly works several of Johnson's most famous sayings into the narrativewithout making this device appear false or grating in any way .Macleanalso finds support from Midwinter and his men ,not for dynastic or political reasons -they stand apart from politics and the rise and fall of ruling houses-but from common humanity.

There is a dualism at work in the book.In part it is about the unchanging landscape and continuity but change is also in the air .Maclean's honourable opponent ,General Oglethorpe speaks of the the gathering forces of Methodism which he sees as bringing more hope to the people than the Stuarts whose restoration would be a backward step ,and in a curious section where Maclean is threatened by the demented Gypsy Ben with being cast headlong into a deep pothole can be detected the looming industrialisation of the land ,which changed England for ever.Oglethorpe is fierce in his denunciation of profiteers and it is significant that the motives of the villains are mercenary not principled ,by a love of money and positionnot byideals or love of a cause.The days of chivalry are in decline and the nation stands at a crossroads.
The book is chilly in tone -and the title may reflect this as well as being the name of a character in the book .Landscape is brilliantly describedin melancholic but evocative prose.

The format is essentially the same escape and chase structure that is seen in his thrillers such as The 39 Steps",as isthe theme of a brave and steadfast man on a dnagerous mission for a cause he believes in but is here put to a deeper and more reflective purpose .

A must read especially for lovers of mature historical novels

... Read more