The main analytical focus of this chapter will be on John Buchan's public life and non-fictional writing. By drawing on his autobiography, his editorial writing for the Scottish Review, essays, historical biographies, biographical sketches, public life and speeches, I seek to investigate Buchan's contribution to the wider public debate about empire which emerged in Britain at the turn of the nineteenth century. I will argue that one of his prime concerns was to steer his audience away from a modernity of physical deprivation caused by enclosed, urban spaces, and emotional and moral deprivation caused by intellectual futility and social fragmentation. I suggest that Buchan sought to educate his audience about how to promote change leading to opportunity for all, while at the same time maintaining a cohesive and stable society. I further suggest that this concern with the delicate balance required between liberalism and conservatism can be traced in a line of thought from the Oxford philosopher T. H. Green, to Lord Milner and thence to Buchan.

Although Buchan had an enormously varied professional career, culminating in his appointment as Governor-General of Canada in 1935, and although he was a prolific author who wrote on a wide range of subjects, he is chiefly remembered today for the series of popular ‘shockers’ featuring the character Richard Hannay.