John Buchan: Difference between revisions

In 1910, Buchan wrote ''[[Prester John (novel)|Prester John]]'', the first of his adventure novels, set in South Africa, and the following year he suffered from [[duodenal ulcer]]s, a condition that later afflicted one of his fictional characters. At the same time, Buchan ventured into the political arena, and was adopted as [[Unionist Party (Scotland)|Unionist]] candidate in March 1911 for the Borders seat of [[Peebles and Selkirk]]; he supported free trade, [[women's suffrage]], [[national insurance]], and curtailing the powers of the [[House of Lords]],<ref>{{Cite book| last=Parry| first=J. P.| publication-date=2002| contribution=From the Thirty-Nine Articles to the Thirty-Nine Steps: reflections on the thought of John Buchan| editor-last=Bentley| editor-first=Michael| title=Public and Private Doctrine: Essays in British History presented to Maurice Cowling| page=226| publication-place=Cambridge| publisher=Cambridge University Press| ref=CITEREF_Parry_2002}}</ref> while opposing the [[Liberal welfare reforms|welfare reforms of the Liberal Party]], and what he considered the class hatred fostered by Liberal politicians such as [[David Lloyd George]].<ref>{{Harvnb| Parry| 2002| p=227}}</ref>

 

 

Following the close of the war, Buchan turned his attention to writing on historical subjects, along with his usual thrillers and novels. By the mid-1920s, he was living in [[Elsfield]] and had become president of the [[Scottish Historical Society]] and a trustee of the [[National Library of Scotland]],<ref name=GGBuch /> and he also maintained ties with various universities. [[Robert Graves]], who lived in nearby [[Islip, Oxfordshire|Islip]], mentioned his being recommended by Buchan for a lecturing position at the newly founded [[Cairo University]]. In a [[Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1927|1927 by-election]], Buchan was elected as the Unionist Party Member of Parliament for the [[Combined Scottish Universities (UK Parliament constituency)|Combined Scottish Universities]]. Politically, he was of the Unionist-Nationalist tradition, believing in Scotland's promotion as a nation within the [[British Empire]]. Buchan remarked in a speech to parliament: "I believe every Scotsman should be a Scottish nationalist. If it could be proved that a [[Scottish Parliament|Scottish parliament]] were desirable&nbsp;... Scotsmen should support it."<ref>{{cite hansard| house=House of Commons| url=http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1932/nov/24/debate-on-the-address#S5CV0272P0_19321124_HOC_159| title=Debate on the Address| date=24 November 1932| column=261}}</ref> The effects of the [[Great Depression]] in Scotland, and the subsequent high emigration from that country, also led him to reflect in the same speech: "We do not want to be like the Greeks, powerful and prosperous wherever we settle, but with a dead Greece behind us".<ref>{{cite hansard| house=House of Commons| url=http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1932/nov/24/debate-on-the-address#S5CV0272P0_19321124_HOC_159| title=Debate on the Address| date=24 November 1932| column=267}}</ref> He found himself profoundly affected by [[John Morley, 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn|John Morley]]'s ''Life of Gladstone'', which Buchan read in the early months of the [[Second World War]]. He believed that [[William Ewart Gladstone|Gladstone]] had taught people to combat [[materialism]], complacency, and [[authoritarianism]]; Buchan later wrote to [[H. A. L. Fisher|Herbert Fisher]], [[Stair Gillon]], and [[Gilbert Murray]] that he was "becoming a Gladstonian Liberal."<ref>{{Harvnb| Parry| 2002| p=234}}</ref>

He brought to the post a longstanding knowledge of Canada. He had written many appreciative words about the country as a journalist on ''The Spectator'' and had followed the actions of the Canadian forces in World War I when writing his ''Nelson History of the War'', helped by talks with Julian Byng, before first visiting Canada in 1924.<ref name=jas1>{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Janet Adam|title=John Buchan and his world|year=1979|publisher=Thames & Hudson|page=89|isbn=0-500-13067-1}}</ref> His knowledge and interest in increasing public awareness and accessibility to Canada's past resulted in Buchan being made the [[Champlain Society]]'s second honorary president between 1938 and 1939.<ref>{{cite web| last=The Champlain Society| title=Former Officer's of The Champlain Society (1905–2012)| url=http://www.champlainsociety.ca/about-us/| accessdate=19 October 2014}}</ref> Buchan continued writing during his time as governor general, but he also took his position as viceroy seriously and from the outset made it his goal to travel the length and breadth of Canada, including to the [[Canadian Arctic|Arctic regions]];<ref>The first governor-general to travel to the Canadian Arctic was Lord Byng (GG 1921-1926) in 1925. Cited in Galbraith, William, "The Literary Governor-General" in "The Literary Review of Canada", October 1996, page 19.</ref> to promote Canadian unity. He said of his job: "a Governor General is in a unique position for it is his duty to know the whole of Canada and all the various types of her people." Buchan also encouraged a distinct Canadian identity and national unity, despite the ongoing Great Depression and [[Great Depression in Canada|the difficulty which it caused for the population]].<ref name=GGBuch/> Not all Canadians shared Buchan's views; he raised the ire of [[Imperialism|imperialists]] when he said in [[Montreal]] in 1937: "a Canadian's first loyalty is not to the British [[Commonwealth of Nations]], but to Canada and [[Monarchy of Canada|Canada's King]],"<ref name=jas2>{{cite book| last=Smith| first=Janet Adam| title=John Buchan: a Biography| publisher=Little Brown and Company| year=1965| location=Boston| page=423}}</ref> a statement that the ''[[Montreal Gazette]]'' dubbed as "disloyal."<ref>{{cite journal| title=Royal Visit| journal=Time| volume=IXX| issue=17| publisher=Time Inc.| location=New York| date=21 October 1957| url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,937945,00.html| issn=0040-781X| accessdate=29 March 2009}}</ref> Buchan maintained and recited his idea that ethnic groups "should retain their individuality and each make its contribution to the national character," and "the strongest nations are those that are made up of different racial elements."<ref>{{Cite news| last=Saunders| first=Doug| title=Canada's mistaken identity| newspaper=The Globe and Mail| date=27 June 2009| url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/columnists/doug-saunders/canadas-mistaken-identity/article1199074/| accessdate=28 June 2009}}</ref>

 

 

In May and June 1939, King George VI and [[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother|Queen Elizabeth]] toured Canada from coast to coast and paid a [[state visit]] to the United States. The royal tour had been conceived by Buchan before [[coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth|the coronation]] in 1937; according to the official event historian, [[Gustave Lanctot]], the idea "probably grew out of the knowledge that at his coming Coronation, George VI was to assume the additional title of King of Canada," and Buchan desired to demonstrate vividly Canada's status as an independent kingdom<ref name=Parl>{{cite journal|last=Galbraith |first=William |title=Fiftieth Anniversary of the 1939 Royal Visit |journal=Canadian Parliamentary Review |volume=12 |issue=3 |publisher=Commonwealth Parliamentary Association |location=Ottawa |year=1989 |url=http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Sites/LOP/Infoparl/english/issue.asp?param=130&art=820 |accessdate=29 March 2009 }}</ref> by allowing Canadians to see "their King performing royal functions, supported by his Canadian [[Minister of the Crown|ministers]]. "Buchan put great effort into securing a positive response to the invitation sent to King George in May 1937; after more than a year without a reply, in June 1938 Buchan headed to the United Kingdom for a personal holiday, but also to procure a decision on the possible royal tour. From his home near [[Oxford]], Buchan wrote to Mackenzie King: "The important question for me is, of course, the King's visit to Canada." After a period of convalescence at [[Ruthin Castle]], Buchan sailed back to Canada in October with a secured commitment that the royal couple would tour the country. Though he had been a significant contributor to the organisation of the trip, Buchan retired to Rideau Hall for the duration of the royal tour; he expressed the view that while the king of Canada was present, "I cease to exist as Viceroy, and retain only a shadowy legal existence as Governor-General in Council."<ref name=Parl /> In Canada itself, the royal couple took part in public events such as the opening of the [[Lions Gate Bridge]] in May 1939. The King appointed Tweedsmuir a Knight Grand Cross of the [[Royal Victorian Order]] while on the royal train, between [[Truro, Nova Scotia|Truro]] and [[Bedford, Nova Scotia]].<ref>{{citation| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0baizU0hFpIC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false| last=McCreery| first=Christopher| title=On Her Majesty's Service: Royal Honours and Recognition in Canada| page=32| publisher=Dundurn| year=2008| location=Toronto| isbn=9781459712249| accessdate=20 November 2015}}</ref>

* [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/john-buchan-1st-baron-tweedsmuir-1/ The Canadian Encyclopedia: John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir]

* [http://www.johnbuchansociety.co.uk/ The John Buchan Society]

* {{Gutenberg author |id=Buchan,+John | name=John Buchan}}

* {{FadedPage|id=Buchan, John|name=John Buchan|author=yes}}