A Lost Lady of Old Years is the fourth book in my John Buchan reading project, Buchan of the Month. To find out more about the project and my reading list for 2018, click here. If you would like to read along with me you will be very welcome – leave a comment on this post or on my original challenge post.
What follows is an introduction to the book (no spoilers!). A Lost Lady of Old Years is one of the few works of fiction by John Buchan I’ve not previously read and I’m really looking forward to approaching it with fresh eyes.
A Lost Lady of Old Years was published in September 1899 by publishers, John Lane. Buchan’s third novel, it is a historical romance set during the Jacobite rising of 1745 and written in a style reminiscent of two of Buchan’s great literary heroes, Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson. Unlike Buchan’s later adventure stories, A Lost Lady of Old Years did not appear first in serial form in the UK. The title is drawn from Robert Browning’s poem, Waring.
Kate MacDonald describes A Lost Lady of Old Years as ‘a study of redemption from near moral collapse’ and remarks that its use of an anti-hero to drive the narrative was a departure for Buchan. However, she feels the book’s depiction of male/female relationships shows Buchan’s limitations at this point in his writing career. Buchan’s biographer, Janet Adam Smith describes A Lost Lady of Old Years as ‘a novel of atmosphere rather than adventure’. It seems the novel’s creation caused Buchan a good deal of anguish, as Janet Adam Smith reports him saying ‘the Lost Lady has now reduced my hair to a silvery white’.
Certainly A Lost Lady of Old Years was not successful in financial terms. Buchan received a 15% royalty, rising to 20% after the £100 advance he received for the book had been paid off. Unfortunately, the book earned only £36 15s 5d of its £100 advance, probably selling no more than 500 copies between its publication and 1917.
Look out for my review of A Lost Lady of Old Years later this month.
Sources:
Kate Macdonald, John Buchan: A Companion to the Mystery Fiction (McFarland, 2009)
Janet Adam Smith, John Buchan: A Biography (OUP, 1985 [1965]), p.97, p.104
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