John Buchan - Mr Standfast

SW

(4.6 stars; 17 reviews)

Mr. Standfast John Buchan's First World War thriller, dramatised by Bert Coules. 1/2. Richard Hannay is ordered to pose as a pacifist and sent to Glasgow. Along the way he meets a teenage British Secret Service agent who will change the course of his life.  Richard: David Robb Sir Walter: Clive Merrison Moxon: Struan Rodger Mary: Jasmine Hyde Peter: Jon Glover Launcelot: Thomas Arnold Abel: John Guerrasio Miss Doria: Briony McRoberts Miss Claire: Liza Sadovy Andrew: John Stahl George: Peter Marinher Ted: Ben Crowe 2/2: Moxon Ivery. Richard Hannay pursues the German spy Moxon Ivery to France, where Mary Lamington offers herself as bait in a deadly trap. Richard: David Robb Richard: David Robb Mary: Jasmine Hyde Sir Walter: Clive Merrison The Count Von Schwabing: Struan Rodger Peter: Jon Glover Emilia: Briony McRoberts Forbes: Chris Pavlo Prefect: Ben Onwukwe Moxon: Struan Rodger Mr Standfast, published in 1919, was the third of John Buchan's Richard Hannay espionage novels. It is one of two Hannay novels set during the First World War, the other being Greenmantle The title refers to a character in John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, to which there are many other references in the novel; Hannay uses a copy of Pilgrim's Progress to decipher coded messages from his contacts, and letters from his friend Peter Pienaar. In this nail-biting adventure story, Hannay must outwit a foe far more intelligent than himself; muster the courage to propose to the lovely, clever Mary Lamington; and survive a brutal war. Although Mr. Standfast is a sequel to The Thirty-Nine Steps, it offers far more characterisation and philosophy than the earlier book. For its pace and suspense, its changes of scenery and thrilling descriptions of the last great battles against the Germans, Mr Standfast offers everything that has made its author so enduringly popular. Unlike the first two featuring Hannay , this is much more political than "The 39 Steps" and "Greenmantle". The author is not fond of trade unions and Communism and all that goes with them. This does lead to a couple of rather slow patches ... where Buchan wanders off with a bit of philosophizing but all in all a good adventure and the best of the three.

This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.