Mr. Standfast (Annotated‪)‬

Mr. Standfast is the third Richard Hannay adventure, following The Thirty-Nine Steps and Greenmantle. Set during the final years of the First World War, the novel begins when Hannay is ordered to abandon his military identity and take on the disguise of a civilian whose apparent indifference to the war makes him immediately suspect.

His mission leads him through political circles in wartime Britain, the streets of Glasgow, the islands and mountains of western Scotland, neutral Switzerland, and finally back to the Western Front as the German offensive of March 1918 transforms the military situation.

John Buchan combines the pace of an early espionage thriller with a broader story about disguise, loyalty, friendship, fear, and courage. The recurring presence of John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress gives the novel an additional layer, turning physical journeys and dangerous missions into tests of character.

This annotated and enriched edition preserves Buchan’s complete original text and includes chapter-by-chapter reading notes, explanatory notes and commentary, an author biography, historical and literary context, an expanded reading guide, critical essays on themes and style, discussion questions, study and writing prompts, and a selective glossary of period terms.