Tag: Buchan of the Month

#BookReview The Island of Sheep by John Buchan #1936Club

whatcathyreadnext

The Island of SheepAbout the Book

Twelve years on from the last novel in which he featured, Richard Hannay, now in his fifties, is called by an old oath to protect the son of a man he once knew, who is also heir to the secret of a great treasure. Helped by old friends, Sandy Arbuthnot, now Lord Clanroyden, and Lombard, the action takes place in England, Scotland and on the Island of Sheep.

Format: Hardcover (343 pages)    Publisher: Nelson
Publication date:  1962 [1936]      Genre: Adventure

Find The Island of Sheep on Goodreads

My Review

The Island of Sheep by John Buchan, first published in 1936 by Nelson, is  dedicated to Buchan’s son, Johnnie. The dedication reads “To J.N.S.B. who knows the Norlands and the ways of the wild geese”. In the book, Peter John, son of Mary and Richard Hannay, shares Johnnie’s interest in birds, nature and wild places.

The book opens with Hannay feeling a little too settled and comfortable in his life at Fosse Manor in the Oxfordshire countryside. Fosse Manor resembles Buchan’s own family home, Elsfield, and perhaps Hannay’s restlessness reflects Buchan’s own feelings as he contemplated his forthcoming role as Governor General of Canada.

The oft-quoted line from the classic film Casablanca – “Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine” – comes to mind as Hannay has chance encounters with Lombard, an old friend from his days in Rhodesia, and shortly afterwards with Haraldsen, the son of the man to whom Hannay, Lombard and Hannay’s former comrade, Peter Pienaar  swore an oath that they would come to his aid should this ever be required.

Other characters from previous novels turn up including a villain from South America and Hannay’s old friend, Sandy Arbuthnot, who once again demonstrates the mastery of disguise for which he is renowned, although some suspension of disbelief on the part of the reader may be required in one particular case.

The story builds to a dramatic climax on the isolated Island of Sheep as there is a final reckoning between Haraldsen’s son and his allies, and the gang of baddies pursuing him. Peter John and Anna (Haraldsen’s daughter) play an important role in events and knowledge of the habits of wildlife also proves crucial.

The Island of Sheep is an engaging adventure set in some interesting locations.

In three words: Entertaining, action, adventure

Try something similar: The Dancing Floor by John Buchan (read my review here)

Follow my blog via Bloglovin

John BuchanAbout the Author

John Buchan (1875 – 1940) was an author, poet, lawyer, publisher, journalist, war correspondent, Member of Parliament, University Chancellor, keen angler and family man.  He was ennobled and, as Lord Tweedsmuir, became Governor-General of Canada.  In this role, he signed Canada’s entry into the Second World War.   Nowadays he is probably best known – maybe only known – as the author of The Thirty-Nine Steps.  However, in his lifetime he published over 100 books: fiction, poetry, short stories, biographies, memoirs and history.

You can find out more about John Buchan, his life and literary output by visiting The John Buchan Society website.

buchan of the month 2019

Buchan of the Month: Introducing The Island of Sheep by John Buchan #ReadJB2019

whatcathyreadnext

buchan of the month 2019 poster

My last Buchan of the Month for 2019 is The Island of Sheep, the fifth and final John Buchan novel to feature Richard Hannay, hero of The Thirty-Nine Steps. You can find out more about the project and my reading list for 2019 here. What follows is an introduction to The Island of Sheep. I will be publishing my review of the book later this month.

The Island of SheepThe Island of Sheep was published in the UK by Hodder & Stoughton on 25th July 1936. It had been published by Houghton Mifflin in the US under the title The Man from the Norlands two days earlier. Buchan finished writing the book shortly before his departure to Canada to take up the post of Governor-General.

The book is set in the Norlands (or Faeroe Islands), a place in which John Buchan and his son, Johnnie, had spent a fortnight in 1932.  Janet Adam Smith describes The Island of Sheep as ‘Johnnie B’s book’ noting that it is dedicated to him and, in her words, ‘is full of Johnnie’s enthusiasm for birds and wild places’.  Richard Hannay’s thirteen year old son, Peter John, who features in the book is clearly inspired by Johnnie, a keen naturalist like Buchan. Adam Smith points out most of the significant moments in the book involve wild life and knowledge of their habits – including pink geese!  She also sees a theme of the book as ‘the middle-aged keeping – or recovering – their zest for life’.

David Daniell agrees that Peter John is the true hero of the book, along with Anna, daughter of Haraldsen, the son of an old friend of Hannay’s who approaches him for help, and ‘the birds and whales and Pict-like Norsemen of the climax’.  The book also features the return of a villain from an earlier book and of Hannay’s friend, Sandy Arbuthnot.

The Island of Sheep sold over 10,000 copies in the US and, in the UK, combined sales of the Hodder & Stoughton and Nelson editions up to 1960 totalled 122,000. The paperback editions, published by Pan and Penguin from 1952 and 1956 respectively, contributed another 121,000 sales by 1965.

Look out for a new Buchan of the Month list for 2020.

Sources:

Janet Adam Smith, John Buchan: A Biography (OUP, 1985 [1965])
David Daniell, The Interpreter’s House: A Critical Assessment of John Buchan (Nelson, 1975)
Kenneth Hillier and Michael Ross, The First Editions of John Buchan: A Collector’s Illustrated Biography (Avonworld, 2008)

buchan of the month 2019