Mr. Standfast

Return to the world of Richard Hannay in what many readers consider the richest of John Buchan's thrillers. First published in 1919, Mr. Standfast sends the seasoned hero from a quiet English village deep into the machinery of the Great War: across the trenches of the Western Front, into neutral Switzerland's fog of spies, and finally into the decisive battles of 1918. Under orders to pose as a disgruntled pacifist, Hannay matches wits with a formidable German agent, discovers unexpected love with the resourceful Mary Lamington, and endures losses that test his soldier's heart. Framed by chapter epigraphs from John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress, the novel is at once a breathless adventure and a meditation on duty, sacrifice, and steadfastness. This edition presents the complete, unabridged original text, accompanied by a new introduction and reader's notes that illuminate the history and craft behind the story. Part of The Founding Texts Library.