"We are all, even the best of us, egoists and self-deceivers, and without a little comfortable make-believe to clothe us we should freeze in the outer winds." ¿John Buchan, The Three Hostages The Three Hostages (1924) by John Buchan is the fourth of five novels the author wrote about the adventures of Major-General Sir Richard Hannay. It follows Hannay as he tries to help rescue three children from prominent families who have been kidnapped mysteriously. Thanks to help from friends like Sandy Arbuthnot, Hannay succeeds in using just a few clues to track down the kidnappers. Other books from this series also available from Cosimo Classics are Greenmantle, Mr. Standfast, and The Thirty-Nine Steps.