Story summary
Samenvatting van Huntingtower
- 8 min. leestijd
- 7 parts
- Binnenkort te beluisteren
A retired Glasgow grocer, a poet and six street boys guard a hunted Russian princess in a Scottish mansion.
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Huntingtower in het kort
Samenvatting: 8 min leestijd
- Leestijd
- Ongeveer 5 h 20 min4 h 15 min fast, 6 h 20 min slow
- Lengte
- 76.400 woorden
- Bibliotheekniveau
- Gemiddeld longer sentences, everyday words
- Voor het eerst verschenen
- 1922by John Buchan
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). Hoelang het duurt om de klassiekers te lezen · Bijgewerkt
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Huntingtower in short
Huntingtower is the story of one week in the life of a retired grocer. Dickson McCunn sets out to find romance and stumbles on a hidden Russian princess, a villainous gang and a house full of danger. With a bitter young poet and a troop of slum boys, he takes on a job far larger than himself.
What Huntingtower is about
Can a man of fifty-five start his life over with a safety razor and a pair of old boots? Dickson McCunn, a Glasgow grocer who has just sold his shops, believes he can. One spring morning he shaves in five minutes instead of twenty, packs a knapsack and a copy of The Compleat Angler, and sets out on foot to find romance.
Huntingtower is an adventure novel by John Buchan, published in 1922. A retired shopkeeper, a scornful modern poet, a band of ragged street boys called the Gorbals Die-Hards and a stout old widow with a proverb for every hour stand against a gang of foreign plotters. At stake is a young Russian princess, hidden in a shuttered mansion on a lonely headland. Buchan tells it in the warm voice of a friend who cannot help stepping in with a joke.
Voor wie is het?. You will love this if you enjoy adventure told with humour, if you like ordinary people rising to the occasion, or if you have a soft spot for Scottish villages, boyish gangs and secret treasure.
The story in 7 parts
Key idea 1 · free to read
A grocer retires and plans a holiday
Dickson McCunn is fifty-five and has just sold his provision shop on Mearns Street. All weekend he feels a little sad, because the shop was the only tune he knew. Then on Monday a blackbird sings in the thorn bush, and a new safety razor saves him fifteen minutes of his morning.
He works out that he has wasted more than three thousand hours of his life on shaving. The sum makes him feel he has stolen a march on Time. He looks in the mirror, sees a rosy, plump schoolboy, and says there is life in the old dog yet. At that moment the Great Plan is born. He digs out a disreputable tweed suit that has served his holidays for twenty years.
The plan is a walking holiday, alone, with a pack. Dickson is an incurable romantic, although no one in his church would guess it. He has read Scott, Defoe and Stevenson all his life for the thrill of a lit tavern and a road in the frost. Before he leaves, he reads a letter from a kindly man who wants money to send some slum boys to camp. They call themselves the Gorbals Die-Hards. Dickson sends ten pounds and walks out into the spring.
A quiet, comfortable man may carry an adventurer inside him, waiting for a reason to come out.
- 2Begin gratis met lezen
A poet scorns romance at the Black Bull
Dickson's first days on the road are mixed.
- 3Begin gratis met lezen
A flipped penny leads to Dalquharter
Next afternoon Dickson sits on a milestone at a crossroads.
- 4Begin gratis met lezen
The Gorbals Die-Hards report for duty
That night a red-haired, barefoot boy in a homemade kilt and an oversized Scout hat is pushed into Mrs. Morran's kitchen.
- 5Begin gratis met lezen
Into the verandah and a princess's story
Early that morning Heritage takes Dickson for a walk through the village.
- 6Begin gratis met lezen
A fugitive's run, a bank and a tram
Next morning Dickson leaves on the post cart, with a cheese box for cover.
- 7Begin gratis met lezen
A smiling lawyer and a siege in the dark
In Auchenlochan, Dickson calls on Mr. Loudon, the lawyer who handles the estate.
Read all 7 key ideas now
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Characters, plot and themes
Main characters
- Dickson McCunn A retired Glasgow grocer who sets out on a walking holiday and finds himself guarding a stranger in need.
- John Heritage A young papermaker and modern poet who scorns romance and then falls deeply in love with a princess.
- Saskia A young Russian princess, hunted by enemies, who hides in an empty Scottish mansion with a trust of jewels.
- Dougal The red-haired chieftain of the Gorbals Die-Hards, a street boy who loves battles and plans like a general.
- Mrs. Morran A sharp old widow who once served the Kennedy family and shelters the travellers with scones and proverbs.
- Sir Archibald Roylance A cheerful, lame young laird and bird lover who lends his men and guns to the cause.
- Dobson The coarse innkeeper who works for the plotters and tries to drive Dickson from the village.
- Thomas Yownie Dougal's calm Chief of Staff among the Die-Hards, who has a quick mind for tactics.
How it ends (spoiler)
Alexis, the princess's kinsman and fiance, arrives in time to stand beside her in the besieged house. The Die-Hards' trick of pretending to be the police terrifies the enemy into flight, and the real police arrive. The boats are lost in the roaring harbor mouth, and the factor Loudon dies in a fall. Saskia leaves with Alexis, Heritage accepts it, Dickson adopts the Die-Hards as his own, and he goes home to his wife with an emerald necklace.
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Vragen over Huntingtower
What is Huntingtower about?
A retired Glasgow grocer named Dickson McCunn goes on a walking holiday in Carrick and finds a Russian princess held in an empty mansion. With a poet and a gang of street boys, he sets out to protect her from her enemies.
Who are the Gorbals Die-Hards?
They are a band of poor Glasgow boys who copy the Boy Scouts without uniforms or money. Led by the red-haired Dougal, they camp near Dalquharter and prove brave, clever and loyal helpers in the story.
Is Huntingtower a true story?
No, it is a work of fiction by John Buchan, first published in 1922. It draws on the fears of its time about the Russian revolution, and on Scottish places, speech and country life.
Is Huntingtower easy to read?
Yes, in the sense that matters. It has a clear plot, short chapters, lively Scottish voices and plenty of humour. The story moves from gentle country scenes to a fast night of action, and the characters are easy to love.
What is the main message of Huntingtower?
The book suggests that ordinary people have a store of courage and imagination. Romance, it says, is not an escape from real life but part of it, and loyalty and kindness matter more than rank or fine ideas.
Verwijs naar deze uitgave
Buchan, John. Huntingtower. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/huntingtower.
Buchan, J. (2026). Huntingtower. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/huntingtower (Original work published 1922)
Buchan, John. Huntingtower. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/huntingtower.
@book{buchan2026huntingtower,
author = {Buchan, John},
title = {Huntingtower},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/huntingtower},
note = {First published 1922}
}
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