8 h 36 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 8 h 36 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A remote trading store offers David Crawfurd a living—and draws him into a struggle that could cost his life.
In John Buchan's Prester John, a boyhood mystery in Scotland follows David Crawfurd to South Africa. After his father's death, he takes work in a remote trading store. There, John Laputa, the African preacher he once sees at a strange nighttime ceremony, appears again with ambitions far beyond preaching.
Laputa seeks to unite African peoples against white authority. David discovers preparations for an uprising and becomes a witness who knows too much. Treasure, secret loyalties, and a dangerous chase sharpen the stakes. Told from the side of British colonial authority, the adventure also carries racist language and assumptions that demand critical attention.
What you’ll discover
- A mystery after dark Join David and his friends as a nighttime ceremony brings them face to face with Laputa.
- A formidable African leader Meet John Laputa, whose courage, intelligence, and ambition make him far more than a distant threat.
- Trust under pressure Follow an inexperienced employee as he weighs loyalties and discoveries that place his life at risk.
- Treasure and sacred authority Explore precious objects and the legendary Christian king whose name links African power with sacred authority.
- Empire under scrutiny Read a fast-moving adventure critically, alert to its defense of colonial order and its racist assumptions.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this if you love chases, secret societies, treasure and lonely frontier landscapes. Readers of Stevenson and Haggard will feel at home.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Three boys follow tracks on the Kirkcaple shore
- A voyage to Africa gathers clues and allies
- The beautiful valley hides watchers and a drunken boss
- A climb up the Rooirand finds a hidden lake
- Diamonds, a fearful schoolmaster and the drums at sunset
- Captain Arcoll explains Prester John and the plot
- David plays the fool and rides to the Place of the Snake
- A rebel leader who is hard to hate
- A shy boy grows up under strain
- How the story is told, from voice to symbol
Who’s who
- David CrawfurdA minister's son from Kirkcaple who becomes a young storekeeper in the Transvaal, and who is drawn into a plot he first glimpsed as a boy.
- John LaputaA tall, educated African preacher who hides a plan to lead his people to a new empire, using a sacred necklace.
- Captain ArcollA disguised intelligence officer who has trailed Laputa for months and prepares the white defenders in the hills.
- HenriquesA sallow, treacherous Portuguese trader who deals in smuggled diamonds and wants the rubies for himself.
- Mr WardlawAn Aberdeen schoolmaster with weak lungs and a great mind for African languages, who senses danger before others do.
- Peter JappThe old, drunken storekeeper at Blaauwildebeestefontein, who hides a secret trade and resents his young assistant.
- AitkenA Scottish trader in Lourenco Marques, a former soldier, who suspects a hidden diamond pipe in the northern mountains.
- ColinA huge brindled hunting dog with a back that bristles, fiercely loyal to David and a shadow at his heels.
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- Large print hardcover
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Le Prêtre Jean
by John Buchan · 1910
A young Scot at a remote African store uncovers a plot, a sacred ruby necklace and a chief with a kingly dream.
Medium level5–10 hours to readfrançais
Excellent
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In short
Three boys creep along a dark Scottish shore on a Sunday night, following a stranger's footprints. They find a huge man circling a small fire, barefoot, with a knife in his hand.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Three boys follow tracks on the Kirkcaple shore
The story opens in Kirkcaple, a North Sea town where David Crawfurd's father is the parish minister. David is twelve and belongs to a gang of boys who take the names of pirates. His friends are Archie Leslie, a keen tracker, and Tam Dyke, who loves to boast.
On a Communion Sunday in April, the three slip out of church. That night Archie finds a fresh track of a big man heading for the shore. The boys put out their lantern and creep down toward their cave.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1910
- Language
- français
- Reading time
- 5 h 35 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Buchan, John. Prester John. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/prester-john.
Buchan, J. (2026). Prester John. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/prester-john (Original work published 1910)
Buchan, John. Prester John. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/prester-john.
@book{buchan2026prester,
author = {Buchan, John},
title = {Prester John},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/prester-john},
note = {First published 1910}
}
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What is Prester John by John Buchan about?
It follows David Crawfurd, a young Scot who takes a storekeeper's job in the northern Transvaal. He uncovers a plot by a charismatic African preacher to lead a rising and pursues a sacred necklace, in a story of chase, secrecy and courage.
Who was the real Prester John?
Prester John was a legendary Christian king whom medieval Europeans hoped to find in Asia or Africa. In the novel, Captain Arcoll explains that African leaders came to see him as an ancestor, and a rebel leader uses his name.
What is the Great Snake or Prester John's necklace in the book?
It is a sacred collar of fifty-five large rubies, said to come down from the old king through generations of rulers. The rebel chiefs treat it as a pledge of leadership, and several characters want it for different reasons.
The author
John Buchan
1875–1940 · Scottish novelist and politician
John Buchan (1875–1940) was a Scottish author and politician, born in Perth. He wrote novels, histories and biographies. His novels include The Thirty-Nine Steps (1915), Mr. Standfast (1919) and Huntingtower (1922). He lived in Britain and served as Governor General of Canada from 1935 until his death in Montreal.
More by John Buchan
Voir tous ses livresMore like this
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