John Buchan, the son of a clergyman, was born in Scotland in 1875. From Glasgow University he went to Oxford, where he made a name for himself as a scholar. After reading for the bar he became private secretary to Lord Milner in South Africa. In 1903 he became a partner in Thomas Nelson and Sons. During the First World War he became recognised as a great writer, both for his History of the War and for his romances, including Thirty- Nine Steps, Greenmantle, Mr Standfast. His writing showed superb narrative skill combined with knowledge of facts and background. In 1935 he became Governor-General of Canada, and was created Lord Tweedsmuir. Shortly after finishing his book of reminiscences, Memory Hold the Door, he died in 1940.