14 h 42 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 14 h 42 minPaperback · 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
You will enjoy this if you like spy chases across hills and railways, loyal friendships, Scottish landscapes, and heroes who find their nerve through hardship.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Hannay must hide his courage
- Listening becomes part of the disguise
- The enemy hides behind ordinary faces
- Hannay earns a suspect's trust
- An opponent becomes an unexpected ally
- Small clues lead back to Mary
- Fortitude goes beyond daring
- The chase is also a pilgrimage
- Courage takes a different human face
Who’s who
- Richard HannayA brigadier who leaves the front to hunt a spy in disguise, he wants to win the war and to win Mary.
- Mary LamingtonA young nurse and secret agent with a cool head, she carries the orders and wants to see the enemy beaten.
- John S. BlenkironA drawling American with a sharp mind and a mended stomach, he plans to feed the enemy false news.
- Peter PienaarAn old hunter turned airman, now crippled and held in Germany, he wants to stay useful and to stand firm.
- Launcelot WakeA restless civil servant who opposes the war, he wants to prove his worth without giving up his principles.
- Andrew AmosA Glasgow joiner and shop steward, he wants to help Hannay and to keep the workers loyal.
- Moxon IveryA smooth pacifist speaker with a blank face, he wants to steer the war toward the German side.
- Abel GressonAn American agitator and purser on the Tobermory, he wants to pass secrets across the sea.
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- Large print hardcover
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Mr. Standfast
by John Buchan · 1919
A general in a borrowed name hunts a spy through Highland crags, with a girl's song as his guide.
Medium level5–10 hours to read2 languages
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In short
What would you do if your country asked you to leave the front, put on a pacifist's mask, and say nothing of why? That is the order given to Brigadier-General Richard Hannay in the summer of 1917, and he hates every word of it.
Mr. Standfast at a glance
- Reading time
- About 8 h 40 min6 h 50 min fast, 10 h 15 min slow
- Length
- 123,200 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1919by John Buchan
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A brigadier is ordered into a disguise
Richard Hannay is a brigadier in June 1917 when he is pulled out of the line and sent to London. Sir Walter Bullivant and Macgillivray ask him to trust them without explanation. He must drop his uniform, take the name Cornelius Brand, and pose as a South African engineer who wants peace. Hannay is furious, and he nearly refuses.
Then he visits his friend Blaikie in a shell shock hospital. Blaikie flinches when a bird flies out of a bush, and Hannay is ashamed of his own complaints. A letter from Peter Pienaar, lame in a German prison camp, steadies him further. Peter writes without a word of grief.
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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
- 1919
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 9 h 30 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Buchan, John. Mr. Standfast. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/mr-standfast.
Buchan, J. (2026). Mr. Standfast. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/mr-standfast (Original work published 1919)
Buchan, John. Mr. Standfast. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/mr-standfast.
@book{buchan2026mr,
author = {Buchan, John},
title = {Mr. Standfast},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/mr-standfast},
note = {First published 1919}
}
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What is Mr. Standfast about?
It follows General Richard Hannay in 1917 and 1918. He leaves the front to pose as a pacifist, hunts a hidden spy network in Britain, and then carries the chase to France, Switzerland and the great battle of March 1918.
Do I need to read The Thirty-Nine Steps or Greenmantle first?
No. The book recalls earlier events briefly, and a short note before the story points to the two earlier books. Hannay, Blenkiron and Peter are introduced clearly enough for a new reader to follow.
Why is it called Mr. Standfast?
Mr. Standfast is a pilgrim in Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress who stays firm at the river's edge. Peter Pienaar tries to copy him, and the title points to the book's theme of steady courage in the face of loss.
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
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