Mr. Standfast

John Buchan's Mr. Standfast returns Richard Hannay to intelligence work during the First World War. Though already a successful brigadier-general, Hannay is ordered out of uniform and given a role he finds personally distasteful: he must pose as Cornelius Brand, a South African opposed to the war, and enter circles of pacifists and conscientious objectors.

His contact Mary Lamington provides only fragments of guidance, including an address, a watch label, and a suggestion to obtain The Pilgrim's Progress. That book becomes part of the mission's coded language, linking Hannay to messages from allies such as Peter Pienaar. Suspicion gradually gathers around the polished Moxon Ivery, whose identities and movements connect domestic political influence with enemy operations.

The investigation carries Hannay between English communities, the European front, and dangerous encounters behind apparent civilian respectability. Mary and John Blenkiron pursue parallel strands of the conspiracy, testing Hannay's ability to trust others as well as his instinct for disguise and pursuit. Buchan combines espionage with wartime adventure, using Bunyan's imagery to frame endurance as a moral discipline. The central challenge is not simply exposing an enemy agent, but remaining steadfast through uncertainty, divided loyalties, and prolonged deception.