John Buchan’s thriller

has become a historical document as well as retaining its position as one of the great adventure novels written during the First World War. It is based on little-known episodes from the war, which were important at the time but which were overshadowed by later events in the history of the war as a whole. In

Buchan teaches us war history, but we have to be careful that we recognise the fantasy, since Buchan was absorbing fact throughout the war and making fiction from it (Macdonald 2007a).

was a hugely popular book, and was read by soldiers as well as civilians, possibly because it was one of the war books which “encouraged participation and endurance” in the war (Gassert 2002). We can also read it now for its thick strata of…

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Citation: Macdonald, Kate. "Greenmantle". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 24 August 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=20321, accessed 21 November 2024.]