This is John Buchan's first full-length work of fiction written towards the end of the 19th century and set in the 17th century. It's a tale of adventure in the tradition of Robert Louis Stevenson. It tells the story of two lifelong rivals - John Burnet of Barns and his cousin Captain Gilbert Burnet. Returning home to the Scottish Borders John, the last of an ancient line of Border Reivers, finds Gilbert has denounced him as an agent of the covenanters, making him an outlaw. betrayed by his ruthless cousin and having lost everything he holds dear, John must fight just to stay alive.
From the Introduction by Sir Tam Dalyell in John Burnet of Barns:
I doubt if John Burnet of Barns will ever oust The Thirty-Nine Steps, Greenmantle and other later novels for pride of place in the nation's estimation (or the tracts published in 1934, six years before he died, Gordon of Khartoum and Oliver Cromwell, from the author's pride of place - he yearned to be venerated as a seroius historian). But, I do applaud Birlinn for republishing John Burnet of Barns. For two reasons above all, in my view, it is a ripping good yarn. And, it is a book which lends itself to reading to children by parents, at an age when it is important that they be read to.
| Primary Genre | Historical Fiction |
| Recommendations: |
