The Island Of Sheep

Richard Hannay has reached his fifties and is enjoying the dignified life of a country gentleman, which mainly consists of remembering former adventures and detecting faint signs that civilisation is about to collapse. He has survived spies, conspiracies, kidnappings and The Thirty-Nine Steps, and might reasonably expect to spend his remaining years sailing, shooting and complaining about modern politics. Unfortunately, an oath made decades earlier has returned to collect.

First published in 1936, The Island of Sheep is the fifth and final Richard Hannay novel, bringing back John Buchan’s celebrated hero for one last expedition into the brisk northern air. The adventure begins with memories of Hannay’s early days as a mining engineer in Africa, when he and his companions helped a wealthy Danish prospector named Haraldsen and solemnly promised to protect him—or his descendants—against a collection of deeply unpleasant business associates.

Many years later, Haraldsen’s son appears in Britain under threat from men who believe he possesses the secret of a great treasure. Hannay therefore gathers the old firm: Sandy Arbuthnot, now magnificently disguised as a respectable peer; the adventurous Lombard; and various dependable people capable of recognising danger from the way a stranger holds his umbrella. Hannay’s teenage son, Peter John, also becomes involved, demonstrating that peril, like the family estate, can be passed efficiently from one generation to the next.

The trail leads northwards through England and Scotland and eventually to the isolated Island of Sheep, situated somewhere in Buchan’s romantic “Norlands” and plainly inspired by the Faroe Islands. It is a landscape of cliffs, seabirds, ancient sagas and weather determined to remove visitors from the premises. There, Hannay and his allies must defend Haraldsen and his daughter against a gang of international villains led by the sinister Jacques D’Ingraville.

Despite its pastoral title, The Island of Sheep contains remarkably little tranquil sheep appreciation. There are pursuits, disguises, secret identities, abductions, escapes, a hostile trawler, an impending siege and a formidable hawk named Morag. Anyone approaching the book in search of gentle agricultural reminiscence may be startled by the frequency with which criminals appear on the horizon.

Buchan combines the machinery of the classic thriller with Norse legend, ancestral loyalty and a deep affection for wild landscapes. His characters do not merely agree to help one another; they make ancient promises, invoke sagas and head towards remote islands where honour can be tested properly, well away from telephones and inconvenient legal procedures.

Hannay is older here, but he has not become notably more cautious. He may reflect upon age, memory and the changing world, yet the arrival of danger immediately restores his appetite for action. Retirement, in Buchan’s universe, is simply the interval between conspiracies.

There is also a generational element to this final adventure. Peter John and the young Anna Haraldsen are not merely pieces of luggage requiring rescue; they possess courage and resourcefulness of their own. The old adventurers may still command the operation, but the younger characters suggest that Britain will continue to produce capable amateur intelligence agents even after Hannay has finally been persuaded to remain indoors.

As always with Buchan, coincidences occur with the punctuality of scheduled trains. Old acquaintances appear just when required, villains reveal themselves by being insufficiently English, and every apparently harmless encounter carries the possibility of international intrigue. It is all gloriously improbable, but conducted with such confidence and narrative momentum that objecting would feel rather unsporting.

Beneath the adventure lies a wistful farewell to Hannay and his world—a world built upon friendship, personal honour and the belief that a small band of determined gentlemen can defeat organised villainy provided they have maps, stout footwear and no meaningful supervision. Modern readers may occasionally raise an eyebrow at Buchan’s attitudes and assumptions, but the storytelling remains vigorous, atmospheric and tremendously entertaining.

This Penguin edition offers a splendid concluding outing for readers already acquainted with Richard Hannay, while remaining accessible to newcomers who do not mind meeting the hero at the point when his past begins arriving all at once. It is an ideal read for admirers of traditional British thrillers, Scottish landscapes, nautical peril, old-fashioned adventure and sheep whose island has become involved in matters far beyond its constitutional responsibilities.

This copy is in Near Fine condition, showing only the most minor evidence that it has previously existed in the physical world. Clean, sound and remarkably well preserved, it awaits another reader prepared to sail north, honour an old oath and confront international criminals without first consulting a risk assessment.

Offered by Crappy Old Books, where the books are frequently much better than the name, the villains are kept under observation and all sheep are presumed innocent until proven otherwise.

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