100,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฟ

Thanks for supporting our 100% NZ-owned independent bookstore โค๏ธ Overnight NZ-wide Delivery ๐Ÿš€

The Strange Stories of John Buchan

Brief Description
To mark the 150th anniversary of Scottish author John Buchan's birth, strange fiction expert James Machin presents a new selection of the writer's best uncanny fiction, including stories from The Runagates Club.Though best known today as the author of The Thirty-Nine Steps, this new volume aims... Read More
Format: Hardback
TEMPORARILY OUT OF STOCK Please add to wishlist to be notified when back in stock

Sorry, we're currently out of stock of The Strange Stories of John Buchan. Please add to your Wishlist and we'll send you an email as soon as it's back in stock.

A new edition of the works of a high-profile British writer, whose supernatural fiction remains relatively overlooked published to coincide with the 150th anniversary of his birth. Featuring a new introduction by Buchan expert James Machin exploring the varied life of this author and its impact on his fiction.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

To mark the 150th anniversary of Scottish author John Buchan's birth, strange fiction expert James Machin presents a new selection of the writer's best uncanny fiction, including stories from The Runagates Club.

Though best known today as the author of The Thirty-Nine Steps, this new volume aims to foreground his contribution to the early weird tale, including some of his most classic stories alongside a number rescued from rare periodicals of the early twentieth century.

Series: British Library Gilded Nightmares

View all
  • Illusions of Presence
    Pre-order
    Illusions of Presence
    Oh! Grandmamma, do tell us a story a nice, horrible ghost story. A trip to the dentist becomes a ghoulish ordeal on Christmas Eve. Blood spilt over a Christmas wedding begets a ghostly vengeance. In the dark of a mine, an elemental spirit claims its Yuletide sacrifice. The Christmas ghost story is a cornerstone of supernatural writing, with a legacy...
    Hardback
    $3999
    Pre-order
    Out 1 Sep 2026
  • Bewitched
    Drawing from a lifetime of supernatural short-story writing, this new collection of Edith Wharton's greatest and most chilling tales showcases one of the most talented ghost story practitioners of all time at her very best. This new edition features a new introductory essay discussing Wharton's indelible influence on the ghost story genre, as well as rarely anthologised tales from the...
    Hardback
    Sold Out
  • The Dead of Summer
    May Day Eve, Walpurgis Night and Midsummer Eve or the Summer Solstice. Tales of these fated days and nights, and their riotous rituals and feasts, have rung down the centuries, and yet in today's world those that observe their ancient ways are few.Setting out on a mission to re-weird this lost stretch of the ritual year, Johnny Mains returns with...
    Hardback
    Sold Out
  • The Strange Stories of John Buchan
    To mark the 150th anniversary of Scottish author John Buchan's birth, strange fiction expert James Machin presents a new selection of the writer's best uncanny fiction, including stories from The Runagates Club.Though best known today as the author of The Thirty-Nine Steps, this new volume aims to foreground his contribution to the early weird tale, including some of his most...
    Hardback
    Sold Out

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780712355827

Publisher: British Library Publishing

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 17 July 2025

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: British Library Publishing

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 149.0mm

Height: 210.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 256

About the Author

John Buchan (1875-1940) was a Scottish statesman, novelist and short story writer best known for his adventure novels such as The Thirty-Nine Steps (1915). He also produced an impressive output of supernatural fiction, including tales inspired by his time in Canada in the role of governor-general.

James Machin is a researcher of British weird fiction, and editor of Handheld Press's British Weird anthology. He has worked with the John Buchan Society to promote Buchan's weird and uncanny fiction, and included a chapter on Buchan in his monograph Weird Fiction in Britain, 1880-1939.

Also by John Buchan

View all
  • Buy to Win
    The Thirty-Nine Steps
    A gripping tale of adventure that has enthralled readers since it was first published, John Buchan's The Thirty-Nine Steps is edited with an introduction and notes by Sir John Keegan in Penguin Classics. Adventurer Richard Hannay has just returned from South Africa and is thoroughly bored with his London life โ€” until a spy is murdered in his flat, just...
    Paperback
    $1900
    Elsewhere:
    $2100
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Thirty-Nine Steps: Popular Penguins
    The Thirty-Nine Steps follows the thrilling story of Richard Hannay, who finds his return to England from years in South Africa to be dreadfully monotonous. This uneventful existence in London takes a dramatic turn when a murder occurs in his flat. Just days earlier, Hannay had a chance encounter with an American who revealed an assassination plot with the potential...
    Paperback
    $1599
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Thirty-Nine Steps
    The Thirty-Nine Steps features Richard Hannay, a restless hero, determined to showcase the integrity of the ordinary man who stands in defence of his country. Buchan's terrific yarn excelled as a Hitchcock movie of the same name and inspired all subsequent spy thrillers, including the much later incarnation of Fleming's suave James Bond. The book plays on fears of invasion...
    Paperback
    $2199
    Available
    Ships in 1 week
  • Buy to Win
    The Thirty-Nine Steps
    Twenty new titles in the much-loved and hugely successful Penguin English Library series. The Thirty-Nine Steps 'My guest was lying sprawled on his back. There was a long knife through his heart which skewered him to the floor.' Richard Hannay has just returned to England after years in South Africa and is thoroughly bored with his life in London. But...
    Paperback
    $2400
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • John MacNab
    In 1925, John Buchan published his second most famous novel, John Macnab. Three high-flying menโ€”a barrister, a cabinet minister, and a bankerโ€”are suffering from boredom. They concoct a plan to cure it. They inform three Scottish estates that they will poach from each two stags and a salmon within a given time. They sign collectively as 'John Macnab' and await...
    Paperback
    $4400
    Available
    Ships in 2-3 weeks
  • The 39 Steps
    One of the greatest adventure stories ever written, freshly repackaged for a new generation of readers and featuring an exclusive introduction from the authorโ€™s grandson. โ€˜This latest edition of the novel has been redesigned, resulting in an authentic looking cloth-bound book ... Exciting and thrilling, this should be read by all.โ€™ โ€“ The Sun โ€˜A handsome new editionโ€™ โ€“ The...
    Hardback
    $3099
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Thirty-Nine Steps
    Pre-order
    The Thirty-Nine Steps
    A thrilling blend of adventure and spy novel, The Thirty-Nine Steps has been continuously in print since first publication in 1915 and has been adapted for stage and screen multiple times, including Alfred Hitchcock's famous film adaptation. โ€˜Ordinary fellowโ€™ Richard Hannay returns home one night and is horrified to find a dead body. He recognises the murdered man as his...
    Hardback
    $2500
    Pre-order
    Out 29 Sep 2026
  • The Little Book of Trolls
    Trolls have escaped from the black lava wastes of Iceland and the dense pine forests of Scandinavia to take on a new life in the collective global imagination. They may not steal goats and eat people quite so much, but they remain disruptive and dangerous, even if their limited imaginations sometimes make them comic and even quite likeable. Emerging from...
    Hardback
    Sold Out
  • The Island of Sheep
    The Island of Sheep is the fifth, last, and most unusual of the Hannay books. Having returned once again to a quiet life at Fosse Manor, Hannay's life is shaken a final time when the son of an old acquaintance from Africa asks for his help in finishing a feud that goes back thirty years to a hilltop in Rhodesia....
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • The Free Fishers
    When Anthony Lammas, Kirk minister and Professor of Logic at St Andrews University, sets off for business in London, little does he realise that he will soon be entangled in a web of conspiracy. But Anthony is no ordinary professor. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, The Free Fishers is classic Buchanโ€”a fast-paced tale of treason and espionage. With an introduction...
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • The Thirty-Nine Steps
    Recently returned from South Africa, adventurer Richard Hannay is bored with life. After a chance encounter with an American who informs him of an assassination plot and is then promptly murdered in Hannay's London flat, he becomes the obvious suspect and is forced to go on the run. He heads north to his native Scotland, fleeing the police and his...
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • Midwinter
    The Jacobite army marches into England, and Alistair Maclean, a close confidant of Charles Edward Stewart, embarks on a secret mission to raise support for the cause in the west. He soon begins to suspect that someone close to the Prince is passing information to the Government. Just as he closes in on the traitor, his own life is put...
    Paperback
    Sold Out

More from Horror & Supernatural

View all
  • The Buffalo Hunter Hunter
    The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Etsy Beaucarne follows the journey of an academic striving to achieve professional success by uncovering hidden family history. When a journal written in 1912 by her grandfather, Arthur Beaucarne, a Lutheran pastor, is discovered within a wall during renovations, Etsy sees it as her opportunity to publish and secure tenure. As she delves into the...
    Paperback
    $2299
    Elsewhere:
    $2899
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Shirl's Picks
    Strange Houses
    A sinister hidden room. A dead space between two walls. A sealed cellar. A child's face glimpsed at a window. Every house hides secrets. But some secrets are far darker than others. More than a million readers have discovered the terrible truth behind these strange houses. Now it's your turn.
    By Uketsu
    Paperback
    $3000
    Elsewhere:
    $3699
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Molka
    'Brutal and unflinching...You won't be able to look away as this book cuts you to pieces.' โ€” Kylie Lee Baker, author of Bat Eater 'Combining feminist fury with creeping horror... Fans of Bunny will love this.' โ€” Eve Kellman, author of How to Kill a Guy in Ten Ways The new novel by the Sunday Times bestselling author of The...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • There Is No Antimemetics Division
    Mind-bending science fiction about antimemes: ideas that attack memory, identity, and the fabric of reality itself. An antimeme is an entity with self-censoring properties. Some are benign, but others, less so... These entities can feed on your most cherished memories, the things that make you youโ€”and you'll never even know anything changed. And they aren't just feeding on us. They're...
    By qntm
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The End of the World as We Know It
    Since its initial publication in 1978, The Stand has been considered No. 1 bestselling author and master storyteller Stephen King's seminal masterpiece of apocalyptic fiction, with millions of copies sold and adapted twice for television. Although there are other extraordinary works exploring the unravelling of human society, none have been as influential as this iconic novel - with generations of...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Home Before Dark
    Clever, twisty, and altogether spine-chilling... A deliciously terrifying story. You'll want to read this one after dark, ideally with the wind whistling in the eaves and a window banging somewhere just out of reach. But keep the light switch handy. You just might need it. - Ruth Ware, Book of the Month What was it like? Living in that house....
    Paperback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $2499
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    Trad Wife
    Your favourite influencer is about to be exposed . . . A deliciously sinister novel from three-time Bram Stoker award-winner Sarah Langan. Every day, millions watch Mia Wright, the "trad wife" queen, on her idyllic 300-acre farm. With her handsome husband, seven perfect children, and a life of from-scratch meals and pastoral bliss, she's an icon of modern femininity. But...
    Paperback
    $3000
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Horrorstor
    It's a classic old-fashioned haunted house story - set in a big box Swedish furniture superstore. Designed like a retail catalog, Horrorstor offers a creepy read with mass appealโ€”perfect for Halloween tables! From the New York Times best-selling author of The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires comes a hilarious and terrifying haunted house story in a thoroughly contemporary...
    Paperback
    $2700
    Elsewhere:
    $2999
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Frankenstein
    One of the BBC's '100 Novels That Shaped Our World' HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. Frankenstein โ€˜The rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out, when, by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature openโ€ฆโ€™ Victor Frankensteinโ€™s monster is stitched...
    Paperback
    $1299
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Thinner
    Thinner, by Stephen King writing as Richard Bachman, is a chilling tale of one man's descent into a nightmarish curse. Billy Halleck is a successful attorney living in Connecticut with his loving wife and daughter. Overweight but content, Billy's life takes a horrifying turn after a chance encounter with an old Romani woman. Driving through town, Billy accidentally hits her...
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $2999
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Shining
    The Shining by Stephen King is a spine-chilling masterpiece that delves into the horrifying and supernatural. The story revolves around the Torrance family: Jack, Wendy, and their five-year-old son, Danny, who possesses an extraordinary psychic ability, referred to by the hotel's cook, Mr Hallorann, as "shining". This gift allows Danny to see the horrific past and foreboding future of the...
    Paperback
    $2999
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Arachnid (The Poisoner #2)
    Paperback
    $3799
    Elsewhere:
    $4500
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.