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His Excellency, John Buchan Trivia Quiz

John Buchan combined success as a writer with a glittering career in public service.

A multiple-choice quiz by dellastreet. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
dellastreet

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
377,030

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
7 / 10

Plays
186

Awards
Top 20% Quiz

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. John Buchan's birthplace lies on the River Tay in Scotland and shares its name with an Australian state capital. Where is it? Hint

Dundee

Invercargill

Perth

Dunedin

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Question 2 of 10

2. Published in 1910, which novel by John Buchan is named after a legendary African ruler? Hint

King Solomon's Mines

Prester John

The Queen of Sheba

The Story of Mansa Musa

3. During World War I, after serving as a war correspondent and an Army officer, John Buchan worked for the Ministry of Information. Under which Anglo-Canadian press baron, owner of the "Daily Express", did he serve? Hint

Lord Beaverbrook

Lord Harmsworth

Lord Rothermere

Lord Copper

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Question 4 of 10

4. John Buchan's wife was also a writer. Related to the Dukes of Westminster, she shared the family surname - what is it? Hint

Wellesley

Spencer-Churchill

Cavendish

Grosvenor

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Question 5 of 10

5. John Buchan became a Member of Parliament in 1927. Which unusual constituency did he represent? Hint

Heart of Midlothian

Galashiels and Gorbals

Combined Scottish Universities

Unst and Muckelflugga

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Question 6 of 10

6. John Buchan's literary works include a number of biographies, one of which won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Biography. Which Scottish Civil War commander was the subject of this book? Hint

Sir Walter Scott

James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose

Sir Walter Raleigh

Oliver Cromwell

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Question 7 of 10

7. John Buchan's most famous novel is probably "The Thirty-Nine Steps", first published in 1915. Portrayed on film by Robert Donat, Kenneth More and Robert Powell, who is the hero of this and several later books? Hint

Sandy Arbuthnot

Richard Hannay

Edward Leithen

Dickson McCunn

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Question 8 of 10

8. "Memory Hold-The-Door", a personal memoir by John Buchan, was published after his death in 1940. The American edition, retitled "Pilgrim's Way", was a favourite book of the 35th President of the USA. Which President was that? Hint

Warren G Harding

John F Kennedy

Ulysses S Grant

George W Bush

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Question 9 of 10

9. The pinnacle of John Buchan's non-literary career came with his appointment in 1935 to which office? Hint

Editor of the "New Statesman"

Ambassador to the United States

President of the Board of Trade

Governor General of Canada

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Question 10 of 10

10. John Buchan was honoured with a state funeral in 1940. In which city did it take place? Hint

Montreal

Ottawa

London

Edinburgh

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. John Buchan's birthplace lies on the River Tay in Scotland and shares its name with an Australian state capital. Where is it?

Answer: Perth

The son of a Free Church minister, John Buchan was born in Perth in 1875 but grew up in Kirkcaldy and later Glasgow. He won scholarships to Glasgow University and then to Brasenose College, Oxford.

2. Published in 1910, which novel by John Buchan is named after a legendary African ruler?

Answer: Prester John

Prester John was long believed to be the ruler of a lost Christian kingdom, originally sited in Asia but later associated with Ethiopia. Buchan's novel, a boys' adventure story, is mostly set in South Africa, where he had worked for two years as a private secretary to Lord Milner, High Commissioner to South Africa.

Answer: Lord Beaverbrook

After reporting for the "Times" and serving as a temporary Lieutenant-Colonel on the Headquarters staff of the British Army in France, Buchan was appointed Director of Information. He subsequently wrote a history of the Great War.

4. John Buchan's wife was also a writer. Related to the Dukes of Westminster, she shared the family surname - what is it?

Answer: Grosvenor

John Buchan married Susan Grosvenor in 1907. She was the author of a number of novels, children's books and biographies. Buchan's younger sister, Anna Masterton Buchan, was also a novelist, writing under the name O. Douglas.

5. John Buchan became a Member of Parliament in 1927. Which unusual constituency did he represent?

Answer: Combined Scottish Universities

Standing as a Unionist candidate, Buchan won the seat in a by-election held in April 1927 and represented the constituency until 1935. University constituencies were abolished in Britain following the 1945 general election.

Answer: James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose

Buchan wrote biographies of all of these men. "Montrose: A History", published in 1928, tells the story of the "Great Montrose", a nobleman who fought in the Civil War in Scotland on behalf of King Charles I and his son, was taken prisoner and hanged in 1650. Buchan had produced an earlier study of Montrose in 1913.

Answer: Richard Hannay

Buchan wrote five sequels to "The Thirty-Nine Steps": "Greenmantle", "Mr Standfast", "The Three Hostages", "The Courts of the Morning" and "The Island of Sheep". Sandy Arbuthnot, a master of disguise, appears in some of these sequels.

Edward Leithen, like Buchan himself a Scottish lawyer and politician, features in a number of novels, the first, "The Power-House" published in 1916 and the last, "Sick Heart River", published posthumously in 1941.

Dickson McCunn, a retired Glasgow grocer, appears in the novels "Huntingtower", "Castle Gay" and "The House of the Four Winds".

Answer: John F Kennedy

The book, which Buchan did not wish to be considered as a formal autobiography, included his impressions of notable people he had known. Buchan's biography of Montrose was also a favourite book of President Kennedy's.

9. The pinnacle of John Buchan's non-literary career came with his appointment in 1935 to which office?

Answer: Governor General of Canada

Buchan was appointed Governor General by King George V and was sworn in on 2nd November 1935. A peerage was traditionally associated with the office and Buchan was created Baron Tweedsmuir. Buchan authorised Canada's declaration of war against Germany in September 1939.

10. John Buchan was honoured with a state funeral in 1940. In which city did it take place?

Answer: Ottawa

Buchan died from a fall after suffering a stroke at Rideau Hall, the Governor General's official residence. His funeral was held at St Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Ottawa and his ashes returned to Britain for burial.

Source: Author dellastreet

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