Mr. Standfast

Written by John Buchan

Narrated by Frederick Davidson

In this second novel following war hero Richard Hannay’s espionage exploits during World War I, he is a brigadier still under forty taken out of the military for a second round in the spy game. Reluctantly posing as a pacifist, he infiltrates an anti-war league to capture an unimpeachable German spy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Blackstone Audio
• Release date: Jan 1, 2006
• ISBN: 9780786152346

John Buchan

Author of the iconic novel The Thirty-Nine Steps, John Buchan filled many roles including barrister, colonial administrator, publisher, Director of Intelligence, and Member of Parliament. The Thirty-Nine Steps, first in the Richard Hannay series, is widely regarded as the starting point for espionage fiction and was written to pass time while Buchan recovered from an illness. During the outbreak of the First World War, Buchan wrote propaganda for the British war effort, combining his skills as author and politician. In 1935 Buchan was appointed the 15th Governor General of Canada and established the Governor General’s Literacy Award. Buchan was enthusiastic about literacy and the evolution of Canadian culture. He died in 1940 and received a state funeral in Canada before his ashes were returned to the United Kingdom.

Reviews for Mr. Standfast

[roarer-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Mr Standfast has probably not stood the test of time. After a while the scrapes Richard Hannay encounters seem repetitive, and the reappearance of the main characters in various far-flung places made me remember Brenda from Bristol's celebrated comment, "You;'re joking - not another one!" I fear I prefer a flawed hero. It is interesting that the love interest seems to evaporate at the end Hannay and Mary at a graveside, not disappearing into blissful domesticity in a storm of confetti, and I couldn't help suspecting that their future would involve PTSD. Clearly it is written in homage to John Milton's Pilgrim's Progress, and knowledge of that probably helps make sense of the book. The accounts of the use of military aircraft in WWI appealed to me, because a great-uncle had spent the war building aircraft somewhere near Paris (carving wooden propellors).

[cbl_tn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Richard Hannay, now a brigadier general, is once again called from the front lines of World War I for a more dangerous mission. Hannay must track down an enemy spy by going undercover as a pacifist among an anti-war crowd. With the opposing forces locked in a stalemate, success for the Allies may hinge on the success of Hannay's mission. Hannay is aided by some old friends as well as some new ones, and they all share an interest in Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress.This book was published shortly after the war's conclusion. The battle scenes reflect the communication breakdowns I read about in Keegan's history of the war. I read The Thirty-Nine Steps after seeing the movie and I was surprised that there wasn't a female love interest in the book. After reading the first two Hannay novels, I was equally surprised when a female love interest appeared in this one. Recommended for espionage or adventure readers who are willing to overlook occasional expressions of class and racial attitudes typical of the era.

[lirmac-2 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Confused between being a war story and an adventure story, Mr Standfast lacks the compelling plot and page-turning suspense that characterised the first two Hannay books.

[antiquary_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the third in the Richard Hannay series; frankly, to me it is well below the level of The Thirty Nine Steps and Greenmantle, but they are so high on my personal list that even so it still fairly good. it chiefly set in Britani, where Hannay pretends to be an anti-war man to get a line on a German. Some of Buchan's patriotic satire of the anti-war movement is too heavy-handed for my taste. I got boggd down in that when I last reread it.

[nina4jon · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Written in a style typical of its time. Despite its length, this is a very fast-paced adventure, full of derring do's with a heroic protagonist and a happy, although somewhat convoluted ending. Classic good versus evil, in a wartime setting, with a leading man who is always a gentleman, yet can fire a gun when he has to.This would make an excellent film. I'd love to see this story set in another time, with different enemies, but the same goodies.Nina Jon is the author of the newly released Magpie Murders - a series of short murder mysteries – and the Jane Hetherington's Adventures in Detection crime and mystery series, about private detective Jane Hetherington.

[figgles_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The third Richard Hannay adventure. Although in many ways a pacy WWI spy thriller there's some interesting subtleties at work here. Although the villain (returned from the 39 Steps) is pure evil there is plenty of scope for different types of good to stand in contrast to Hannay's bluff and somewhat unsophisticated patriotism. There's a fascinating portrait of an artistic suburb and then of the union world of Aberdeen where Hannay goes undercover to tease out the spy ring that is hiding amongst pacifists and unionists, and Hannay is surprised to find how much honesty and strength of character he finds in what he thought were unlikely places. The other surprise (and it surprises Hannay himself) is the introduction of Mary Lamington who's role goes way beyond the cliched "love interest", she's an active participant and is given her own space and agency and the admiration of the men who she works with - "she can't scare and she can't soil". We are also reintroduced to the scout Peter Pienaar, American John Blenkiron, and meet Sir Archie Roylance for the first time. For the non military types some of the battle descriptions in the final chapters are heavy going but I defy anyone not to be moved to tears by the ending. Lots of fun with some serious stuff underlying it - there's some casual racism from some characters which makes one catch one's breath (and which can only be partly attributed to the "period") but still worth a read.

[ngmcd_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I first read this book many years ago when I was in secondary school. Over the course of a few months, I bought the five Richard Hannay adventures. Reading them the first time was enjoyable but they didn't leave much of an impact. I've started reading them again and after the break of a few years, they have proved to be even more readable.This is especially the case with the descrption of the Scottish landscape at which Buchan excels.Of course, it's hard to believe that anyone used to write books like this about war but in one way it is refreshing. It's certainly not a pacifist book but it's not wholly pro-war at the same time.