John Buchan,1st Baron Tweedsmuir (1875-1940) was born in modest circumstances in a provincial Scottish manse but achieved considerable status and success in life. Having earned an education at the University of Glasgow and Oxford University, Buchan established a reputation as a versatile and accomplished writer publishing over sixty books in history, law, politics and fiction with the present work, The Thirty-Nine Steps being an enduring popular success which has been kept in print for a hundred years. In addition to authorship, Buchan who proved to be an individual of extraordinary talent and ambition, rose to senior positions in government service in the British Empire. He was elevated to the peerage and was made Governor General of Canada where he died in office.