John Buchan was a prolific author and a distinguished statesman who rose from relatively humble beginnings in Scotland to become a Conservative Member of Parliament and Governor General of Canada. Although best remembered now for his 1915 novel The Thirty Nine Steps, his remarkable output of over seventy volumes of fiction, biography, history and essays comprises a significant and often undervalued contribution to British, and in particular Scottish, letters and reveals a man of deep learning and accomplished literary craftsmanship.

Born in Perth in 1875, the eldest of six children, to the Reverend John Buchan, a minister of the Free Church of Scotland, and his wife Helen, the daughter of a Borders sheep farmer, …

1917 words

Citation: Miller, John . "John Buchan". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 31 May 2007 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=626, accessed 19 April 2024.]

626 John Buchan 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.