Greenmantle vs Mr. Standfast: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Hannay, Richard Hannay, World War I, Intelligence service, World War, Great Britain
Greenmantle
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In Greenmantle (1916) Richard Hannay, hero of The Thirty-Nine Steps, travels across war-torn Europe in search of a German plot and an Islamic Messiah. He is joined by three more of Buchan's heroes: Peter Pienaar, the…
Mr. Standfast
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Published in 1919, Mr. Standfast is a thriller set in the latter half of the First World War, and the third of John Buchan’s books to feature Richard Hannay. Richard Hannay is called back from serving in France to take…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Greenmantle has the widest readership — 5352 ratings behind its score.
Scores by source
| Greenmantle | Mr. Standfast | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.7 (5352) | 3.9 (2112) |
| Hardcover | 3.4 (14) | 3.7 (6) |
| Apple Books | 4.0 (66) | 4.5 (31) |
Reception
| Greenmantle | Mr. Standfast | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 5352 | 2112 |
| Editions | 521 | 437 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 3882 | 1870 |
| Reading it now | 374 | 192 |
| Written reviews | 548 | 217 |
| Wikipedia attention | 1827 | 629 |
| Pages | 243 | 319 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Greenmantle or Mr. Standfast?
Mr. Standfast has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Mr. Standfast 3.9/5, Greenmantle 3.7/5).
Which is shorter to read: Greenmantle or Mr. Standfast?
Greenmantle is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Greenmantle (243 pages, ≈ 4 h 30 m); Mr. Standfast (319 pages, ≈ 5 h 54 m).
Which is harder to read: Greenmantle or Mr. Standfast?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Greenmantle: Challenging; Mr. Standfast: Challenging.