Edward Leithen
3 primary works
Book 1
These classic thrillers are set in Edwardian Britain, a land overshadowed by the impending horror of WW1. In The Power-House, Sir Edward Leithen comes up against a sinister secret society. In The Thirty-Nine Steps, Richard Hannay must flee for his life.'
Book 3
Lawyer and MP Sir Edward Leithen has always taken a protective stance towards the introspective Vernon Milbourne, orphaned since childhood and haunted by a powerful recurring dream. A cruise in the Aegean introduces them to the romantically mysterious Greek island of Plakos where Vernon is enthralled by ancient rites and myth. But when they encounter bold and beautiful Kor 'e Arabin, whose father's legacy is the islanders' hatred, fanatic local superstitions become more menacing and Vernon is compelled to take action against her destruction. A fast-paced and exciting adventure of psychological complexity, trial and redemption, obsession and destiny, The Dancing Floor (1926) is one of Buchan's most resonant, exotic and romantic novels. This book is intended for undergraduate courses on twentieth-century fiction; the general reader.
Book 4
`I have made my peace with the North, faced up to it, defied it, and so won its blessing.' Given a year to live, lawyer and MP Sir Edward Leithern fears he will die unfulfilled and disillusioned. He resolves to devote his last energies to finding and restoring to health a young Canadian banker, Galliard, whose own personal crisis has led him to seek solace in the search for the distant River of the Sick Heart in remotest north-west Canada. Enduring a severe Arctic winter, Leithen finds Galliard and feels his own health returning. The North has healed both men, but only one will return to civilization. Sick Heart River (1941) was John Buchan's last novel, published after his death while in his final year of office as Governor-General of Canada, and many consider it his finest. This edition is helpfully annotated and has a substantial introduction which considers the novel's vital place in British and Canadian literature of the mid century. This book is intended for general readers; students of the adventure novel, colonial literature (Canada).