14 h 42 minAudiobook11 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 your duty as a soldier means pretending to oppose the war your friends are dying in?
Richard Hannay expects to return to his men. Instead, British intelligence sends him into the English home front to track German agents passing secrets abroad. In John Buchan's Mr. Standfast, the Scottish soldier becomes Cornelis Brandt, a man who claims to reject the fighting. Keeping that disguise means hiding convictions he holds dear.
The hunt brings Hannay alongside the calm, brave Mary Lamington and his sharp-minded friend John Blenkiron. Against them stands Moxon Ivery, a charming enemy at ease in good company. As the chase moves across Britain and into France, Hannay faces questions that reach beyond catching spies: what does courage look like when it earns no praise?
What you’ll discover
- A soldier under cover Follow Hannay into a false identity that puts his deepest loyalties under strain.
- Courage without applause Meet Launcelot Wake, whose commitment to peace challenges Hannay's understanding of bravery.
- Love amid the danger Discover Mary Lamington, whose quiet nerve wins Hannay's respect and deeper feeling.
- An enemy with charm Watch the hunt close around Moxon Ivery, a clever agent hidden within good company.
- Duty on a hard road Explore the title's connection to Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress and the cost of holding firm.
Who will love it
For readers who love wartime adventure, spies and chases with a moral edge, and for fans of Buchan's other Hannay books.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Hannay is called home to a stranger war
- Playing the pacifist among the village thinkers
- Mary Lamington and the meaning of courage
- Old friends join the hunt
- A charming enemy named Moxon Ivery
- From quiet England to the war itself
- Duty, doubt and the courage that is not loud
- Bunyan's road and the meaning of the title
- How Buchan tells it and why it lasts
Who’s who
- Richard HannayA Scottish engineer turned army officer, steady and plain-spoken, who takes on a false identity to track a spy network at home.
- Sir Walter BullivantA senior figure in British intelligence who sends Hannay on a secret mission and understands the risks of the secret war.
- John BlenkironAn American millionaire and old friend of Hannay, sickly but brilliant, who loves a puzzle and helps unravel the plot.
- Peter PienaarA Boer hunter and Hannay's most trusted companion, patient and watchful, with a gift for reading danger.
- Mary LamingtonA brave young woman working in secret against the enemy, who wins Hannay's respect and deeper feeling.
- Launcelot WakeA young conscientious objector whose firm belief in peace forces Hannay to rethink what courage means.
- Moxon IveryA charming, clever enemy agent who moves easily in good company and sits at the heart of the spy network.
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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
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- Large print hardcover
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Mr. Standfast
by John Buchan · 1919
Richard Hannay poses as a pacifist to hunt German spies while his friends die in the war he must pretend to oppose.
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From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 9
Hannay is called home to a stranger war
The story opens in 1917. Richard Hannay is now a brigadier-general, back from the fighting and expecting to return to his men. Instead he is called to see Sir Walter Bullivant, a senior figure in the secret service, who has a task that no uniform can help with.
Bullivant explains that something is wrong at home. Plans and news seem to leak to the enemy, and the leak does not look like the work of one clumsy spy. It looks like an organised web, run by a clever mind, with helpers in ordinary places.
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What is Mr. Standfast about?
It follows Richard Hannay in the First World War as he goes undercover as a pacifist in England to find a German spy network, with help from friends and from Mary Lamington.
Do I need to read the other Richard Hannay books first?
No. It is the third Hannay novel, after The Thirty-Nine Steps and Greenmantle, but it stands on its own. Some friendships are better understood if you know the earlier books.
Where does the title Mr. Standfast come from?
It comes from Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, where Mr. Standfast is a pilgrim who holds firm to the end. The old book also plays a part in the story's secret code.
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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