9 h 14 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if a quiet walking holiday leads a cautious grocer straight into a captive princess’s fight for freedom?
Dickson McCunn has sold his Glasgow grocery business and settled into comfort. Kindly, careful and a little bored, he sets off on foot with his head full of old romances. Near the Scottish coastal village of Dalquharter, he finds Huntingtower, a lonely house with a bad name—and a mystery he cannot ignore.
Inside the house, Russian princess Saskia is held against her will by ruthless captors. Dickson is no seasoned adventurer, but help comes from the Gorbals Die-Hards, a gang of Glasgow street boys led by sharp, serious Dougal. As a holiday turns into a siege, John Buchan brings danger, comedy and warmth to a contest of wits.
What you’ll discover
- An unlikely man of action Follow a cautious shopkeeper as the chivalry he loves in stories becomes a real test.
- A house above the sea Approach Huntingtower, where an isolated coastal setting gives the mystery its uneasy pull.
- Street boys with sharp wits Meet Dougal and Jaikie Galt, whose resourcefulness brings unexpected help against organised enemies.
- Humour amid the danger Enjoy a fast-moving adventure where comedy runs through the growing threat of a siege.
- Romance in ordinary lives Discover the courage hidden beneath Dickson’s comfortable habits and unassuming place in the world.
Who will love it
For readers who love classic adventure, Scottish landscapes and ordinary people becoming heroes, with comedy running through danger. It is also a good start for those new to Buchan.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A grocer goes looking for romance
- A strange house and a stranger night
- The Gorbals Die-Hards join the fight
- The siege tightens around the old house
- What the story is really about
- How Buchan tells it
Who’s who
- Dickson McCunnA retired Glasgow grocer, kindly and cautious, who loves old tales of chivalry and unexpectedly finds himself living one.
- DougalThe sharp, serious leader of the Gorbals Die-Hards, a gang of Glasgow boys who treat the adventure as a campaign to be won.
- Jaikie GaltA thin, quick member of the Die-Hards, resourceful and loyal, who proves useful when stealth and speed are needed.
- SaskiaA Russian princess held against her will in the old house, whose freedom and knowledge matter greatly to her captors.
- HeritageA restless young Englishman with a poetic streak, who is staying nearby and has his own reasons for watching the old house.
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- Audiobook
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- 15-minute summary
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- Paperback
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- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Read and hear Huntingtower in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Huntingtower
by John Buchan · 1922
A retired Glasgow grocer discovers a captive princess and rallies street boys to fight for her freedom.
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From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
A grocer goes looking for romance
Dickson McCunn is a prosperous man from Glasgow who has sold his grocery business and now lives comfortably with his wife. He is plump, careful, kindly and a little bored. Under his sensible manner he has a secret taste for stories of knights, castles and daring rescues. He has read them all his life, and he has never lived one.
His wife encourages him to take a holiday, and he decides to go walking in the south west of Scotland. He sets off with a pack on his back, a little ashamed of how much he looks forward to it. The country he walks through is hilly, wet and beautiful, with small villages and long empty roads along the coast.
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What is Huntingtower about?
It follows Dickson McCunn, a retired Glasgow grocer on a walking holiday in south west Scotland, who discovers a captive Russian princess in an old house and rallies a gang of Glasgow boys to help free her.
Who are the Gorbals Die-Hards?
They are a gang of poor boys from the Gorbals district of Glasgow, led by Dougal. Dickson befriends them, and their scouting skills, loyalty and courage become vital to the rescue effort.
Is Huntingtower a true story?
No, it is fiction. John Buchan published it in 1922, and its background of Russian refugees and political fear reflects the years just after the First World War and the Russian Revolution.
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.
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