Greenmantle

First edition front
Author	John Buchan
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Series	Richard Hannay
Genre(s)	Thriller
Publisher	Hodder & Stoughton, London
Released	1916
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
ISBN	NA
Preceded by	The Thirty-Nine Steps
Followed by	Mr Standfast

Greenmantle is the second of five Richard Hannay novels by John Buchan, first published in 1916 by Hodder & Stoughton, London. It is one of two Hannay novels set during the First World War, the other being Mr Standfast (1919); Hannay's first and best-known adventure, The Thirty-Nine Steps (1915), is set in the period immediately before the war started. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir, GCMG, GCVO, CH, PC (26 August 1875 – 11 February 1940), was a Scottish novelist and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Richard Hannay is the fictional secret agent created by Scottish novelist, John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir. ... Thriller is a broad genre of literature, film, and television. ... Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hodder Headline. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Year 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... A hardcover (or hardback or hardbound) book is bound with rigid protective covers (typically of cardboard covered with cloth or heavy paper) and a stitched spine. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... The Thirty-nine Steps is an adventure novel by the Scottish author John Buchan, first published in 1915 by William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh. ... Mr. ... Richard Hannay is the fictional secret agent created by Scottish novelist, John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir. ... A novel (from French nouvelle Italian novella, new) is an extended, generally fictional narrative, typically in prose. ... John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir, GCMG, GCVO, CH, PC (26 August 1875 – 11 February 1940), was a Scottish novelist and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada. ... Year 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hodder Headline. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Combatants Allied Powers: Russian Empire France British Empire Italy United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary German Empire Ottoman Empire Bulgaria Commanders Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Ferdinand Foch Robert Nivelle Herbert Henry Asquith Sir Douglas Haig Sir John Jellicoe Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Armando Diaz Woodrow... Mr. ... Year 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... The Thirty-nine Steps is an adventure novel by the Scottish author John Buchan, first published in 1915 by William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh. ... 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

Plot introduction

Hannay is called in to investigate rumours of an uprising in the Muslim world, and undertakes a perilous journey through enemy territory to meet up with his friend Sandy in Constantinople. Once there, he and his friends must thwart the Germans' plans to use religion to help them win the war, climaxing at the battle of Erzurum. Islam (Arabic:  ) is a monotheistic religion based upon the teachings of Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure. ... Map of Constantinople. ... Combatants Russia Ottoman Empire Commanders Nikolai Yudenich Karim Pasha Strength Russian Caucasus Army Turkish Third Army Casualties ? 25,000 dead or wounded, 9,000 prisoners The Erzurum Campaign was a modest Russian victory over the Turks along the Caucasus Front during World War I. the Erzurum campaign is often known...

Plot summary

The book opens in November 1915, with Hannay and his friend Sandy convalescing from wounds received at the Battle of Loos. Hannay is summoned to the Foreign Office by Sir Walter Bullivant, senior intelligence man, who Hannay met and assisted in The Thirty-Nine Steps. Bullivant gives Hannay an outline of the political situation in the Middle East, and hints that the Germans and their Turkish allies are plotting to cause a great uprising throughout the Muslim world, that will throw the whole of the Middle East, India and North Africa into turmoil; Bullivant proposes that Hannay takes on the task of investigating rumours. The only clue he is given is a slip of paper left by a spy, Bullivant's own son, recently killed in the region, bearing the words Kasredin, cancer and v.I. 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... The Honorable Ludovic Gustavus Arbuthnot, later Lord Clanroyden (born 1882), second son of Edward (Billy) Cospatrick Arbuthnot, 15th Baron Clanroyden (educated Harrow). ... The Battle of Loos was one of the major British offensives mounted on the Western Front in 1915 during World War I. The battle was the British component of the combined Anglo-French offensive known as the Second Battle of Artois. ... The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is the United Kingdom government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom abroad. ... Sir Walter Bullivant is a fictional character created by the Scottish thriller writer John Buchan for his series of novels featuring the spy Richard Hannay. ... Military intelligence (abbreviated MI, int. ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ...  Northern Africa (UN subregion)  geographic, including above North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, generally divided by the formidable barrier of the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Africa. ... Spy and secret agent redirect here; for alternate use, see Spy (disambiguation) and Secret agent (disambiguation). ...

Despite his misgivings and feelings of inadequacy for the task, Hannay accepts the challenge, and picks Sandy to help him. Bullivant tells him that an American, John Blenkiron, will also be useful to him. The three meet up, ponder their clues, and plan to head to Constantinople. They start on November 17, and plan to meet up in a rough hostelry there exactly two months later, going each by his own route - Blenkiron, as a neutral, travelling through Germany as an observer, Sandy using his contacts in the Arab world to make the journey through Asia Minor, and Hannay, taking on the identity of Boer "Cornelis Brandt", entering enemy territory via Lisbon. Map of Constantinople. ... 17 November is also the name of a Marxist group in Greece, coinciding with the anniversary of the Athens Polytechnic uprising. ... Languages Arabic other languages (Arab minorities) Religions Predominantly Muslim Some adherents of Druze, Judaism, Samaritan, Christianity Related ethnic groups Mizrachi Jews, Sephardi Jews[], Ashkenazi Jews, Canaanites, other Semitic-speaking groups An Arab (Arabic: ‎; transliteration: ) is a member of a Semitic-speaking people originally from the Arabian peninsula and surrounding territories... Anatolia (Greek: ανατολη anatole, rising of the sun or East; compare Orient and Levant, by popular etymology Turkish Anadolu to ana mother and dolu filled), also called by the Latin name of Asia Minor, is a region of Southwest Asia which corresponds today to... Boer is the Afrikaans (and Dutch) word for farmer which came to denote the descendants of the Afrikaans-speaking migrating farmers of the expanding eastern Cape frontier. ... Lisbon (Portuguese: Lisboa, IPA: ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal. ...

Arriving there, he meets by chance his old comrade from adventurous times in Africa, Boer Peter Pienaar, and together the two enter Germany via the Netherlands, posing as England-hating exiles itching to fight for the German side. They meet the powerful and sinister Colonel Ulric von Stumm, and persuade him they can help stir up the Muslim peoples to join the German side. The two are separated, and Hannay is introduced to a Herr Gaudian, famed mining engineer (who would later reappear after the war in The Three Hostages), hears of the mysterious Hilda von Einem, and has a brief meeting with the Kaiser. A world map showing the continent of Africa. ... The Three Hostages is the fourth Richard Hannay book by John Buchan. ... German Emperor Wilhelm (born Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albrecht, Prince of Prussia 27 January 1859–4 June 1941), was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia (de: Deutscher Kaiser und König von Preußen), ruling from 15 June 1888 to 9 November 1918. ...

Finding Stumm plans to send him to Egypt via London, Hannay flees into the snowbound countryside, tracked by the vengeful Colonel. He falls ill with malaria and is sheltered over Christmas by a poor woman in a lonely cottage. On his sickbed, he realises that the clue "v.I" on the piece of paper may refer to the name he overheard, von Einem. Malaria is a vector-borne infectious disease that is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions. ... Christmas is an annual holiday that marks the birth of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. ...

Recuperated, he carries on, travelling by barge carrying armaments down the Danube, picking up with Peter Pienaar, who has escaped from a German prison, along the way. They pass through Vienna, Budapest and Belgrade, and as they travel, Hannay connects the phrase "grune Mantel" with something else he overheard earlier. They reach Rustchuk on January 10, with a week to go before the rendezvous in Constantinople. Self propelled barge carrying bulk crushed stone A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. ... The Danube (ancient Danuvius, ancient Greek Istros) is the longest river of the European Union and Europes second-longest[3] (after the Volga). ... Vienna (German: , see also other names) is the capital of Austria, and also one of the nine States of Austria. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Belgrade (Serbian: Београд or Beograd  ) is the capital and largest city of Serbia. ... Rousse (also transliterated as Ruse or Russe; Bulgarian: Русе; Romanian: Rusciuc) is the fifth largest city in Bulgaria, with a population of 178,000. ... January 10 is the 10th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

On arrival there, Hannay has a run in with Rasta Bey, an important Young Turk, and intercepts a telegram showing his trail has been picked up. They carry on by train, fending off an attempt to stop them by the angry Rasta Bey, and reach Constantinople with half a day to spare. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

They seek out the meeting place, and are attacked by Bey and an angry mob, but rescued by a band of mysterious, wild dancing men, who they then antagonise. Next day they return to the rendezvous, an illicit dance-room, where they find the main entertainment is none other than the wild men of the previous day. At the climax of the performance, Enver's soldiers arrive and drag Hannay and Peter away, apparently to prison, but they are instead delivered to a cosy room containing Blenkiron and the leader of the dancers - none other than the miraculous Sandy Arbuthnot. Ismail Enver Ismail Enver (November 22, 1881 in Istanbul - August 4, 1922), known to Europeans during his political career as Enver Pasha (Turkish: Enver PaÅŸa) or Enver Bey was a Turkish military officer and a leader of the Young Turk revolution. ...

They pool their news - Sandy has identified Kasredin from the their clue sheet, as the title of an ancient Turkish allegorical story, the hero of which is a religious leader called Greenmantle, and has also heard much of a prophet known as "the Emerald", associated with the play. Blenkiron has met and been impressed by Hilda Von Einem, who is in Constantinople and owns the house in which they are staying. In religion, a prophet is a person who has directly encountered God, of whose intentions he can then speak as if he were a formal representative of God. ...

Blenkiron provides Hannay with a new identity, an American engineer named Hannau, and they attend a dinner party where they meet Herr Gaudian again, and Enver himself. Lost out riding, Hannay encounters von Einem, and is fascinated by her; later, he is recognised by Rasta Bey, and has just knocked him out and hidden him in a cupboard when von Einem arrives. Hannay impresses her, and hears she plans to take him East with her. Sandy visits, agrees to deal with the captive Turk and provides news of his own - the clue Cancer means the prophet Greenmantle has the disease and is on his deathbed. Blenkiron joins them, and tells them that fighting has hotted up between the Russians and the Turks, and they deduce that they will be taken towards Erzerum to help with its defence. Erzurum (or Erzerum, Arzen in antiquity, Karin in ancient Armenian, Theodosiupolis or Theodosiopolis during Byzantine rule) is one of the Provinces of Turkey, in the Eastern Anatolia Region, to the east of the country. ...

On the long road to Erzerum, they crash their car, and spend the night in a barn, where Hannay has a vivid dream of a hill with a saucepan-like indent in the top. They carry on on worn-out horses, but seeing a new car by the roadside, they steal it, only to find it belongs to Rasta Bey. They make good speed onward, but on arrival in Erzerum, they are delivered straight to Stumm, who recognises Hannay and has them locked up. They are rescued by one of Sandy's men, steal some plans from Stumm, and escape across the rooftops.

With the battle of Erzurum booming in the background, they realise the importance of the stolen plans, and Peter Pienaar volunteers to sneak through the battle lines and deliver them to the Russians. Sandy appears, magnificently dressed, and reveals that Greenmantle is dead and that he himself has been chosen to impersonate him. They form a plan to flee around the side of the battle lines, and while Sandy's helper searches for horses, Pienaar sets off on his dangerous mission. Combatants Russia Ottoman Empire Commanders Nikolai Yudenich Karim Pasha Strength Russian Caucasus Army Turkish Third Army Casualties ? 25,000 dead or wounded, 9,000 prisoners The Erzurum Campaign was a modest Russian victory over the Turks along the Caucasus Front during World War I. the Erzurum campaign is often known...

Pienaar has an eventful and terrifying journey across the battlefield, while Hannay and Blenkiron hide out in a cellar. On the third day, they break out, and make for safety in a wild horse ride, closely pursued by their enemies. On the verge of capture, they find the hill of Hannay's dream, and entrench there, holding the enemy at bay. Hilda von Einem comes in, and appeals to them to give up, but they refuse; she is shocked to learn Sandy is a British officer, and as she leaves, she is slain by a stray Russian shell.

Stumm arrives with artillery, and the fortress looks sure to be destroyed, but he waits till dawn to savour his revenge. Just in time, the Russians, helped by the plans delivered by Pienaar, break through the defences and sweep towards the town. Stumm's men flee, and Stumm is killed, and Hannay and Sandy meet up with Pienaar to ride into the city and victory.

Characters in "Greenmantle"

• Richard Hannay, stolid and resourceful soldier and occasional spy
• Sandy Arbuthnot, his multi-lingual friend and fellow soldier
• Peter Pienaar, a friend of Hannay's from African days
• Sir Walter Bullivant, a senior intelligence man
• John Blenkiron, a dyspeptic American agent
• Colonel Ulric von Stumm, a hard-headed German soldier
• Herr Gaudian, a thoughtful German engineer
• Rasta Bey, a quick-tempered Young Turk
• Hilda Von Einem, a powerful German operative in Turkey

Richard Hannay is the fictional secret agent created by Scottish novelist, John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir. ... The Honorable Ludovic Gustavus Arbuthnot, later Lord Clanroyden (born 1882), second son of Edward (Billy) Cospatrick Arbuthnot, 15th Baron Clanroyden (educated Harrow). ... Sir Walter Bullivant is a fictional character created by the Scottish thriller writer John Buchan for his series of novels featuring the spy Richard Hannay. ... The Young Turks were a Turkish nationalist reform party, officially known as the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) — in Turkish the Ittihad ve Terakki Cemiyeti — whose leaders led a rebellion against Sultan Abdul Hamid II (who was officially deposed and exiled in 1909). ...

Literary significance & criticism

The book was very popular when published, and was read and enjoyed by Robert Baden-Powell and by the Russian Royal Family as they awaited the outcome of the Revolution in 1917. Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, OM, GCMG, GCVO, KCB (February 22, 1857 - January 8, 1941) was a soldier, writer and founder of the world scouting movement. ... Year 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ...

Many of the German characters are portrayed negatively; for example, Colonel Stumm is shown as a bully with secret effeminate (and possibly homosexual) tastes. This reflects how Buchan saw his novel writing as part of the war effort. Stumm, the bully, is intended as a symbol for, Britain's war enemy of the time, Imperial Germany. (Don't mention the War, John Ramsden, p110) However, when Buchan writes of a meeting between Hannay and the Kaiser, he portrays the German leader very positively, as a sensitive man who is greatly troubled by the war. He gives similarly positive characters to a forester's wife who shelters Hannay when he has malaria, and to the captain of the Danube river steamer who takes Hannay on as his engineer. Herr Gaudian, a renowned German engineer who Hannay meets briefly during his time with Stumm, and who later returns in The Three Hostages, is greatly respected by Hannay, who describes him as "a capital good fellow". William II or Wilhelm II (born Frederick William Albert Victor; German: Friedrich Wilhelm Albert Viktor König von Preußen) (27 January 1859–4 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia (German: Deutscher Kaiser und König von Preußen), ruling both the German Empire and... Malaria is a vector-borne infectious disease that is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions. ... The Danube (ancient Danuvius, ancient Greek Istros) is the longest river of the European Union and Europes second-longest[3] (after the Volga). ...

Allusions/references to actual history, geography and current science

Many feel that the character of Sandy Arbuthnot, Hannay's resourceful polyglot friend, was based on Buchan's friend, Aubrey Herbert, and perhaps also Lawrence of Arabia, while the character of Hannay drew on the real life military officer, Field Marshal Lord Ironside. The Honorable Ludovic Gustavus Arbuthnot, later Lord Clanroyden (born 1882), second son of Edward (Billy) Cospatrick Arbuthnot, 15th Baron Clanroyden (educated Harrow). ... The term multilingualism can refer to rather different phenomena. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Thomas Edward Lawrence (August 16, 1888 – May 19, 1935), also known as Lawrence of Arabia, and (apparently, among his Arab allies) Aurens or El Aurens, became famous for his role as a British liaison officer during the Arab Revolt of 1916–1918. ... Field Marshal William Edmund Ironside Field Marshal William Edmund Ironside. ...

Many of the novel's references to political tensions in the Middle East seem strangely contemporary at the beginning of the 21st century.^{[citation needed]} The potential of the tale to arouse controversy was again illustrated following the terrorist bombings in London on July 7, 2005, by the BBC's decision to cancel its broadcast of Greenmantle as its Classic Serial on Radio 4 that week. A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... The 7 July 2005 London bombings were a series of coordinated terrorist bomb blasts that hit Londons public transport system during the morning rush hour. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, usually known as the BBC (and also informally known as the Beeb or Auntie) is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion...

According to Patrick McGilligan's 2003 biography, Alfred Hitchcock, who directed the 1935 film adaptation of The 39 Steps, preferred Greenmantle and considered filming it on more than one occasion. However no such project ever materialized in Hitchcock's lifetime and Greenmantle itself has yet to be filmed. Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE (August 13, 1899 – April 29, 1980) was a highly influential film director and producer who pioneered many techniques in the suspense and thriller genres. ... The 39 Steps is a 1935 film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, based on the adventure novel The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan. ...

Peter Hopkirk's nonfiction work, Like Hidden Fire, published in 1997, follows actual German plots to destabilize the region during World War I. While Hopkirk draws various connections between Buchan's work and the historical events, there is no indication that Buchan had knowledge of the actual events or used them as the basis for his story.

Triva

The author, John Buchan, spent many of his childhood years in the village of Broughton in The Scottish Borders, and the local Brewery has named one of its ales after this novel. Broughton Brewery - Greenmantle

See also

The subsequent Richard Hannay novels of John Buchan are:

• Mr Standfast (1919)
• The Three Hostages (1924)
• The Island of Sheep (1936)

Mr. ... Year 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... The Three Hostages is the fourth Richard Hannay book by John Buchan. ... 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar). ... The Island of Sheep (1936) is a novel by John Buchan. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

External links

• Greenmantle, available at Project Gutenberg.
• Greenmantle available freely in various digital formats at ManyBooks.net.
• "A Warning from History" - overview article by JDF Jones, exploring the contemporary significance of the publication, 16 July 2005, UK Guardian Review - General Fiction