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
August 2020 ~ Peter on Holiday finds a JB Poem!
Hello everyone
On holiday in Northumberland and part of my holiday reading is Voices from Their Ain Countrie: The Poems of Marion Angus
and Violet Jacob. The end notes to Angus's poem Moonlight Meeting include the following: "Writing to Marion Lochhead in May
1930, Angus admits '...it is curious that John Buchan wrote to me that Moonlight Meeting is one of his favourites...'
JB, of course, wrote a preface (or foreword) for Violet Jacob's Songs of Angus (1915, I think) - interesting to hear of links with
another North-East poet. Just thought you may be interested.
Best wishes
Peter
Moonlight Meeting
The Hill by the Lochan
A’ gowd and green,
She’s luiket at the Lochan
An’ gin she wis a queen.
“ Lochan, Lochan,
Tethered to yir bed,
Canna’ rax yir cauld feet
Ower ma green plaid.”
“Whist,” says the Lochan,
“ The moon’s auld e’en
Sa’ ye creepin’ doon
To ma airms yestreen.
Siller wis yir gowd then,
Washen in dew;
Sleepit ye or waukit ye
The hale nicht thro’ ?
“ Tho’ laigh,” says the Lochan,“
An’ lane is my bed,
An’ I canna rax ma cauld feet
Ower yir green plaid.”
This Month’s Book News - Scotland - July 2020
Hello everyone Many of my regular customers live in Scotland and I know, from conversations by telephone and email, that many of those who don't live there share my love of Scotland. I have put together, therefore, a comprehensive list of my stock of books which are wholly or substantially about or set in Scotland or about Scots. The books are arranged in 3 sections, fiction, poetry and non-fiction, and are in alphabetical order of title within each section. Important note: As an experiment on this occasion, I am willing to consider offers for any book priced at £40 or more; that does not mean that any and every offer will be accepted, but all shall be given serious consideration. Since my last selection of new books a further few have arrived. Brief details follow; email or telephone for full information. 8607 The Yellow Book: A Checklist and Index by Mark Samuels Lasner. (1998) Signed limited edition of 40 copies. In effect a bibliography of all 13 volumes of The Yellow Book. £140 (I also have a complete set of The Yellow Book - enquire for details) 8789 Slightly Foxed - but Still Desirable by Ronald Searle (2010) Searle illustrates book collecting terms with cartoons driven by his wicked sense of humour. Has a glossary of terms at the rear, with decidedly tongue-in-cheek definitions. Great fun. £15 9783 The 365 Question & Answer Quiz Book by Gyles Brandreth (1990) A quiz question for every day of the year. Originally published as Pears All the Year Round Quiz Book. As new. £2 9784 Commentary on the Prophet Isaiah by John Calvin (1958) Eerdmans 4-volume edition. Lightly rubbed at the extremities. Excellent internally. Heavy set which will be more expensive than usual to post/ship, £25 Notes: 1. All prices are in GBP (pounds sterling). 2. All prices exclude shipping/postage. This will be calculated and advised to you with confirmation of your order 3. To order please email or telephone and let me know the reference number and title of the book(s) you want to order. 4. An invoice will be emailed to you or sent with the books; this will also include details of the payment methods available. 5. Card payments (credit or debit) cannot be processed. Payments by cheque, bank transfer, PayPal or cash are acceptable. 6. Always happy to answer questions about the books. 7. If you no longer wish to receive emails from Crask Books please reply with the simple message ‘Delete’. Kind regards Peter Thackeray Click on Scotland Books
