Greenmantle · Characters
Character guide
Key figures in Greenmantle by John Buchan.
Skim names here — open a free preview to see character cards and Character Web beside the page as you read.
Richard Hannay
major
Also known as Major Hannay, Hannay, Major
A big-game hunter turned British officer, Hannay narrates his own reluctant descent into espionage with dry nerve and a soldier's distaste for glory.
Peter Pienaar
major
Also known as Peter, III Peter Pienaar, old Peter Pienaar, Rhodes Peter, Poor old Peter, XX Peter Pienaar
A lean, girl-faced Boer hunter who has crossed deserts on foot and shot men to wound, Peter is Hannay's oldest African comrade and unlikeliest ally.
John S. Blenkiron
major
Also known as Mr. John S. Blenkiron, Mr. Blenkiron, Blenkiron, John, John S., Herr Blenkiron, Old Blenkiron, Mr. John Scantlebury Blenkiron
An American engineer with a ruined stomach and a genius for quiet intrigue, Blenkiron turns up in the strangest places with platitudes and hidden purpose.
Sandy Arbuthnot
major
Also known as Sandy, Ali Wad Helu, the bold and unshakeable Sandy, dimly Sandy
A brilliant, high-strung adventurer who can pass as a native of half the East, Sandy is the mission's most gifted and most dangerously imaginative agent.
Ulric von Stumm
supporting
Also known as von Stumm, the Colonel von Stumm who fought the Hereros, Stumm, Colonel Stumm, old Stumm
A hulking German colonel who broke the Hereros and now runs a secret operation in Constantinople, Stumm is brutal, watchful, and easily underestimated.
Sir Walter Bullivant
supporting
Also known as Sir Walter, Bullivant, Walter
A weary, shrewd Foreign Office spymaster who has aged visibly under the war's weight, Sir Walter pulls Hannay off the trenches and into a stranger fight.
Hilda von Einem
supporting
Also known as Hilda, The von Einem, von Einem, the mysterious von Einem, the mysterious Hilda von Einem, the Frau von Einem, Frau von Einem
She moves through wartime Constantinople as a hostess, patron, and fanatic, cultivating useful men while keeping her true purpose veiled. Hannay, posing as the pro-German American Hanau, finds her attention both flattering and terrifying, for she sees through his masquerade even as she recruits him. Her cold, Norse-goddess grandeur and appetite for a cleansing war make her the story's most seductive and dangerous counterforce.
Greenmantle
supporting
Also known as J. B. Greenmantle, Greenmantle, XIX Greenmantle Peter, Peter, old Peter
Greenmantle exists first as a name whispered in Berlin corridors and Constantinople bazaars, a prophecy the Germans mean to stage-manage for their own ends. Hannay and his companions chase the mystery of who or what will embody it, knowing that whoever controls the legend controls the East. The pursuit gives the mission its shape and its dread, turning a spy errand into a race against an apocalypse.
Hussin
supporting
Also known as Hussin
Hussin attaches himself to the mission with quiet competence, moving through the city's hidden geography of roofs, mosques, and ledges as if born to it. When the burglary of Stumm's cabinet goes wrong, he sends the others ahead and deliberately multiplies his own tracks in the snow to draw the pursuit away. His nerve and self-sacrifice turn a desperate escape into the kind of loyalty Hannay can build a mission on.
Enver Pasha
minor
Also known as Enver, Enver Damad
A Turkish military leader and ally of the Germans in the war.
Rasta Bey
minor
Also known as Rasta Bey, Rasta, This Rasta
A Turkish official and minor antagonist who suspects Hannay's group.
Herr Gaudian
minor
Also known as Herr Gaudian, Gaudian
A German engineer and associate of von Stumm, involved in the secret project.
Cornelis Brandt
minor
Also known as Cornelis Brandt—at, Cornelis Brandt, Cornelis, Brandt
A Dutch trader who assists Hannay and Peter in their escape through Germany.
Solly Maritz
minor
Also known as Solomon, Maritz, old Solly Maritz
A Boer rebel and ally of the Germans in South Africa, mentioned in backstory.
Mr. Kuprasso
minor
Also known as Mr. Kuprasso, Kuprasso, old Kuprasso
A Greek merchant in Constantinople who provides information to the agents.
Tommy Elliot
minor
Also known as Tommy Elliot, Tommy
A British officer and friend of Hannay, briefly mentioned in dispatches.
Dolly Riddell
minor
Also known as Dolly Riddell, Dolly
A British officer and friend of Hannay, mentioned in passing.
Harry Bullivant
minor
Also known as Harry Bullivant, Bullivant, Bullivant ”, Harry, Good old Harry
Sir Walter's son and a fellow British agent who aids the mission.
General von Oesterzee
minor
Also known as General von Oesterzee, Oesterzee, von Oesterzee
A German general commanding forces in the region, encountered by Hannay.
General Posselt
minor
Also known as General Posselt, Posselt
A German general involved in the defense of the Danube region.
Old Sloggett
minor
Also known as old Sloggett, Sloggett
A British intelligence officer who briefs Hannay on the mission.
Moellendorff
minor
Also known as Old Moellendorff, Moellendorff
A German officer and associate of von Stumm, encountered in Constantinople.
Richard Hanau
minor
Also known as the German, German, Richard Hanau, my friend Richard Hanau
A German agent traveling through Russia, briefly mentioned as a contact.
Captain Zorn
minor
Also known as Zorn, Captain Zorn
A German officer who escorts Hannay during his captivity.
Old Nicholas
minor
Also known as old man Nicholas, Nicholas, Old Nicholas
A Russian peasant who helps Hannay during his escape through Russia.
Kasredin
minor
Also known as Kasredin
A Turkish holy man and follower of the Greenmantle prophecy.
Zimrud
minor
Also known as Zimrud
A Turkish servant in the Garden House, loyal to Hussin.
Botha
minor
Also known as Botha
A Boer leader and ally of the British, mentioned in Peter's backstory.
General Liman
minor
Also known as Liman, General Liman, General von Liman
A German general commanding Turkish forces, mentioned in the war context.
Old Jim Hooker
minor
Also known as old Jim Hooker, Jim
A British agent who provides intelligence to Hannay's group.
Hannus
minor
Also known as Hannus
A Turkish boatman who ferries Hannay across the Bosphorus.
