Richard Hannay sets off an a hair-raising journey through German-occupied Europe to meet his old friend, Sandy Arbuthnot in Constantinople. They struggle to subvert German espionage attempts in the Middle East and halt the further spread of pro-German sympathy in the Muslim world. This edition has a hugely informed and terrific Introduction by Christopher Hitchens. Set during World War I, Greenmantle is a controversial meditation on the power of political Islam (it was pulled from Radio 4's schedule at the time of the 7 July bombings).
| Primary Genre | Espionage and spy thriller |
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The second of John Buchan's five books with the Richard Hannay character is titled Greenmantle. London's Hodder & Stoughton published it for the first time in 1916. The other Hannay book set during the Great War is Mr. Standfast (1919). The Thirty-Nine Steps (1915), Hannay's earliest and best-known adventure, takes place in the years just before the war. Hannay travels through dangerous enemy territory to see his friend Sandy in Constantinople after being asked to look into reports of an insurrection in the Muslim world. Once there, he and his companions must foil German efforts to exploit religion as a weapon of victory, which will culminate in the battle of Erzurum. Hannay and his friend Sandy are in the book's opening scene recovering from injuries sustained during the Battle of Loos in November 1915. Senior intelligence officer Sir Walter Bullivant summons Hannay to the Foreign Office. Bullivant informs Hannay on the Middle Eastern political situation, implying that the Germans and their Turkish allies are planning to incite a Muslim rebellion that will destabilize the region as well as India and North Africa. Robert Baden-Powell and the Russian imperial family both read the book when it was first released as they awaited the outcome of the revolution in 1917.
Greenmantle features in the following genres: Espionage and spy thriller, Historical Fiction, eBooks of the Month, Thriller and Suspense, Fiction, Recommendations
Greenmantle is available in Paperback, Ebook
Greenmantle was written by John Buchan and published by Double 9 Booksllp an imprint of Repro India Limited
Greenmantle has 234 pages
£14.39
