The Three Hostages

367 pp. "The Three Hostages is the fourth of five Richard Hannay novels by Scottish author John Buchan, first published in 1924 by Hodder & Stoughton, London. Hannay had previously appeared in The Thirty Nine Steps (1915), his most famous adventure in which he battles German spies across England and Scotland, and two books about his activities during the First World War, Greenmantle (1916) and Mr Standfast (1919). After the War, Hannay is married to Mary and living peacefully in the Cotswolds, when he receives a request to help solve the mysterious kidnapping of the children of three prominent people. Given nothing to go on but a few mysterious clues, Hannay, assisted by friends like Sandy Arbuthnot, must track down the dastardly villains behind the plot before it's too late. The story was adapted for television by the BBC in 1977. Written by John Prebble and directed by Clive Donner, the 85-minute TV movie starred Barry Foster (actor) as Hannay, Diana Quick as Mary, Peter Blythe as Sandy Arbuthnot and John Castle as Medina. It was shown in the United States by PBS. John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir, GCMG, GCVO, CH, PC (26 August 1875 - 11 February 1940), was a Scottish novelist, best known for his novel The Thirty-Nine Steps, and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada."