THE JOHN BUCHAN STORY
Peebles, Scottish Borders
Crask Books
Guides to John Buchan’s Writing by Peter Thackeray
– November 2019
In descriptions of John Buchan’s books there is often reference to ‘Blanchard’. In this article, Peter
explains the significance of the ‘Blanchard’ and the details of John Buchan’s writing. Please click on the
links below to read Peter’s articles.
Crask Books (formerly SMS Books) was formed out of my John Buchan collecting habit some 15 years ago.
Through a series of unexpected events we became, some 9 years ago, the largest dealers in the world of
books by and about John Buchan and his family. The aim is to keep as wide a range as possible but,
because of the extreme rarity of some of his works we can never have everything that was written by JB.
For full details of all our services, for a current stock list or for any book-related queries you can contact us
as follows:
email: peter.thackeray@ntlworld.com
telephone: (+44) 7947 733860
mail: 1 Halls Brook, East Leake, Loughborough, LE12 6HE
Autumn Catalogue - November 2019
Hello everyone
At this time of year I usually send out a catalogue of John Buchan books but because of a number of extraneous
matters which got in the way of preparing it I will not be able to send one out this year. However, you can view the
catalogue by clicking on the button of interest:
Kind regards
Peter Thackeray
Pre-Christmas News - December 2019
Hello everyone
Christmas is approaching rapidly and this is likely to be the last book news from Crask Books until the New Year.
There are a number of matters to cover and these are as follows:
I have added a further number of books to my John Buchan stock. These are in the attached file "New JB". To order
simply let me know the reference number and title of any books you require. Prices exclude shipping/postage which
will be added at cost.
It is some time since I have added any non-JB stock but there have been a few of late. Details of these are in the
attached file "New general stock".
Ursula Buchan’s long-awaited biography of JB was released for publication on 18 April and a number of my
customers bought copies at that time. As part of her extensive research Ursula was able to draw upon recently
discovered family documents as well as a number of major archival collections. In addition to producing a
comprehensive record of JB’s life her aim has been to reveal more of ‘the man’, something which has been lacking
to some extent in earlier biographies.
This book would make an excellent Christmas present, not only to those with an interest in his writing. I can offer
further copies at the same price as previously, £24 inclusive of UK postage – the RRP is £25 excluding postage.
Orders from overseas will attract additional shipping costs which will depend on the destination; those costs will be
advised at the time of ordering. If you would like a copy please contact me by telephone or email to place an order
no later than Tuesday 3rd December. This should ensure that I can deliver them in time for Christmas to UK
customers – this is unlikely to be possible for overseas buyers.
'John Buchan was a writer of considerable significance but he was also a man who led a remarkable public life. This
magnificent biography leads us through that life with great style and understanding' Alexander McCall Smith
I also have a number of copies of Bill Galbraith's fine account of JB's time as Governor-General of Canada, John
Buchan: Model Governor General. These are priced at £32 including UK postage. However, if you order both books
these will be supplied at a total cost of £50 including postage.
Kind regards
Peter Thackeray
Christmas Stocking Fillers - December 2019
Hello everyone
After the excitements of Black Friday and Cyber Monday it's back to the more prosaic ways of Crask Books. I
attach a list of what I have termed 'stocking fillers'; these are books which are priced at £10 or less, are in at least
'very good' condition and in many cases virtually as new (bear in mind that many are 70 years old or more) and
which might make a nice present for someone - a close friend, an enthusiastic reader or perhaps one of the
younger generation. Some research published recently showed that schools which encourage children to read
books, as opposed to web content, Kindle-type devices etc. have improved results in a wide range of testing.
All of the prices shown are in GBP (Pounds sterling) and include second-class UK postage. Any overseas
postage will be added at cost less GBP 3 to allow for the free UK postage cost. To order, simply email or
telephone the book title and reference number. Payment can be made by sterling cheque, online bank payment
or PayPal - please indicate your preferred method when ordering. However, for direct transactions I am unable to
take debit, credit or charge cards.
Make someone's Christmas special with a good book!
Kind regards
Peter Thackeray
Crask Books
