von Schwabing, whose mind has gone strange. A long and hard battle ensues, in the course of which Wake dies heroically, von Schwabing runs into No Man's Land and is shot by his countrymen, and Blenkiron joins the fray with a party of Americans. At the last, with reinforcements due any moment, a party of German planes overflies Hannay's position, and are sure to bear news of the weak point if allowed to return; British planes fly against them, but one, flown by flying ace Lensch, evades them. Peter Pienaar, flying Archie Roylance's plane despite his bad leg, flies into him, bringing him down and killing himself in the process, but the day is saved. Principal characters Brigadier-General Richard Hannay, tough soldier and occasional spy John Scantlebury Blenkiron, Hannay's friend, an American operative Peter Pienaar, an old friend of Hannay, become an ace pilot Geordie Hamilton, a Scottish soldier whom Hannay meets and takes on as his batman Sir Walter Bullivant, spymaster, old acquaintance of Hannay Andrew Amos, Blenkiron's man in Scotland Mary Lamington, the girl Hannay meets and falls in love with Launcelot Wake, a conscientious objector, cousin of Mary Count Otto von Schwabing, an officer of the Imperial Guard and German spy that Hannay met in 'The Thirty-Nine Steps' notorious for his ability to disguise himself. His guises include an important pacifist thinker Moxon Ivery and a Kansas City journalist Clarence Donne. He also falls in love with Mary. Critical reception On November 5, 2019, the BBC News listed Mr Standfast on its list of the 100 most influential novels. See also The subsequent Richard Hannay novels of John Buchan are: The Three Hostages (1924) The Island of Sheep (1936) He also appears as a secondary character in The Courts of the Morning (1929). References External links Novels set during World War I 1919 British novels Fiction set in 1917 Fiction set in 1918 Hodder & Stoughton books Novels by John Buchan