Mr. Standfast John Buchan - Mr Standfast is the third of five Richard Hannay novels by John Buchan. It is one of two Hannay novels set during the First World War, the other being Greenmantle. The title refers to a character in John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, to which there are many other references in the novel. Set in the later years of World War I, Brigadier-General Hannay is recalled from active service on the Western Front to undertake a secret mission hunting for a dangerous German agent at large in Britain. Hannay is required to work undercover disguised as a pacifist, roaming the country incognito to investigate a German spy and his agents, and then heads to the Swiss Alps to save Europe from being overwhelmed by the German army.