John Macnab

John Buchan

Oct 2014 · HarperCollins

About this ebook

Sir Edward Leithen, John Palliser-Yeates, and Charles, Earl of Lamancha, are three middle-aged friends who, despite having risen to prominent and respectable positions in British society, find themselves bored and disillusioned with their everyday lives. To combat their malaise, the friends write to three large estates in the Scottish Highlands under the false name of John Macnab warning them that he will poach an animal from each of the estates. The three men then set out to fulfill their ridiculous threat, avoiding the estate-owners’ detection as they do so.

One of the main characters of John Macnab, Sir Edward Leithen, features prominently in several other John Buchan novels, including The Power-House, The Dancing Floor, The Gap in the Curtain, and Sick Heart River.

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About the author

Author of the iconic novel The Thirty-Nine Steps, John Buchan filled many roles including barrister, colonial administrator, publisher, Director of Intelligence, and Member of Parliament. The Thirty-Nine Steps, first in the Richard Hannay series, is widely regarded as the starting point for espionage fiction and was written to pass time while Buchan recovered from an illness. During the outbreak of the First World War, Buchan wrote propaganda for the British war effort, combining his skills as author and politician. In 1935 Buchan was appointed the 15th Governor General of Canada and established the Governor General’s Literacy Award. Buchan was enthusiastic about literacy and the evolution of Canadian culture. He died in 1940 and received a state funeral in Canada before his ashes were returned to the United Kingdom.