Click to enlarge

The Blanket of the Dark

by John Buchan

ISBN: 9781846970726
Imprint: Polygon
Publication Date: Aug 2008
Format: Paperback
Price: £7.99
Stock Status: in stock

'A writer touched by genius.' - The New Criterion

Buchan skilfully weaves the story of young clerk Peter Pentecost, who has a claim to the throne, and a tale of intrigue against King Henry VIII, where ’under the blanket of the dark all men are alike and all are nameless’. Buchan’s description of the ruthless king is compelling. His knowledge of the time of Henry’s reign and his love of the Oxfordshire countryside are apparent.

One of Alfred Hitchcock’s favourite writers, John Buchan was a Scottish diplomat, barrister, journalist, historian, poet and novelist. He published nearly 30 novels and seven collections of short stories. He was born in Perth, an eldest son, and studied at Glasgow and Oxford. In 1901 he became a barrister of the Middle Temple and a private secretary to the High Commissioner for South Africa. In 1907 he married Susan Charlotte Grosvenor and they subsequently had four children. After spells as a war correspondent, Lloyd George’s Director of Information and Conservative MP, Buchan moved to Canada in 1935. He served as Governor General there until his death in 1940.

Robert Hutchinson is a historian and archaeologist specialising in the Reformation period.

Recommend to a friend