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Gap in the Curtain Paperback – 7 Nov. 1974

by John Buchan (Author)
3.9 out of 5 stars 77 ratings
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  1. Book 4 of 5
    Sir Edward Leithen Series
  2. Print length
    224 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Sphere
  5. Publication date
    7 Nov. 1974
  6. ISBN-10
    0722120273
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0722120279
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sphere
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ 7 Nov. 1974
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ New
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0722120273
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0722120279
  • Item weight ‏ : ‎ 136 g
  • Book 4 of 5 ‏ : ‎ Sir Edward Leithen Series
  • Best Sellers Rank: 75,928 in Contemporary Fiction (Books)
  • Customer reviews:
    3.9 out of 5 stars 77 ratings

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
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Top reviews from United Kingdom

  • Solitaire
    5.0 out of 5 stars A great story by John Buchan
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 May 2015
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    A tale of why the future is hidden!
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  • Roger Ward
    4.0 out of 5 stars The Gap in the Curtain
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 January 2013
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    As usual with John Buchan's novels always keep you on edge of your seat. He knows how to keep the suspense going.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Evie
    3.0 out of 5 stars Not another Thirty-nine Steps!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 March 2014
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    The book opens with a house party at a country estate where a well-heeled group are spending a few days recovering from busy lives at the home of Lady Flambart, a society hostess. The guests include a city magnate, barristers, MPs,peers, assorted spouses and bright young things. Finally the guest of honour arrives, Professor Moe, a brilliant Physicist, tall, emaciated and with a hungry, intense gaze. This seems to be the setting for a science fiction tale with a mixture of mystery, horror and morality.

    Persuaded by the hostess, nine of the guests agree to take part in Moe's experiment on the nature of time and the possibility of seeing into the future. They must follow a bland diet with little exercise and study the columns in The Times relevant to their own interests. Next they must attempt to forecast their section in the following day's paper as they perceive it and finally the same, one year on, as they visualise it on a blank sheet of newsprint. All have "seen" something but the strain of mesmerising his subjects has been too much for Professor Moe who collapses and dies.

    The next section of the book deals with the stories of the guests. Some will do their utmost to assure or avoid their destinies as forecast in The Times. These are character studies revealing how people will inevitably behave in accordance with their own personalities, friends and family background. Nothing seems to be gained by foreseeing the future nor should we take as gospel what we read in the daily newspaper, even The Times!

    The print of the Echo version is extremely small. Their is no information about the author or his works so try another version if this is a problem.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • MG
    4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 August 2014
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    Enjoyable
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  • Solitude
    2.0 out of 5 stars Has done much better
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 December 2014
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    Sorry, John Buchan, as much as I usually love your tales, I just can not get past the first few pages. A big let down from your other stories...very boring I am afraid.
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  • James
    4.0 out of 5 stars Absorbing Story
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 January 2012
    Having recently read "The 39 Steps" I picked up "The Gap in the Curtain" hoping it would be equally as engaging. Whilst this is not the same type of story as Richard Hannay's spy adventure, "The Gap in the Curtain" is no less entertaining whilst exploring more philosophical ideas about fate and destiny.

    The story tells of a group of acquaintances who are invited to a weekend party and given the chance to gaze at an article in The Times newspaper one year into the future. Each character gains a different piece of information from the experience and the story follows as each attempts to use the unique knowledge to their benefit over the next 12 months.

    Very much written the language of the time, some may find it hard to read although the reader soon becomes accustomed to Buchan's turn of Phrase and it lends itself well to the story subject. Highly recommended.
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Secret Spi
    4.0 out of 5 stars An Experiment with Time
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 May 2009
    "The Gap in the Curtain" is a fascinating novel. The story starts at a country house party at Whitsun. An eccentric and dying professor gathers a number of guests as participants in an experiment in precognition. At the end of the first section of the book, these characters get a brief vision of The Times one year hence.

    The remainder of the book takes one character at a time and tells the story of the next year in their life, "knowing" what they "know". The stories cover the worlds of high finance, politics, far-flung corners of the empire and 1930s society. The theme is always the same: is destiny inevitable and pre-ordained, or will the characters be able to exert their free will and change the course of events?

    John Buchan was obviously influenced by the work of J.W.Dunne, whose "An Experiment with Time" was published in 1927. Dunne's work is fascinating, but maybe not that accessible to the general public. Buchan makes the ideas accessible and I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the philosophical questions surrounding the nature the time, determinism and free will.
    15 people found this helpful
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  • Mandalore75
    4.0 out of 5 stars The Curtain Is Thrown Back
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 May 2003
    True fans of Buchan will find this an interesting aside from the usual high adventure stories that he is renowned for. It touches upon the concept of whether fate is pre-determined and if we are truly the masters of our own destiny. The book uses the subject of pre-cognition to launch the reader into 5 adventurous stories all of the true Buchan mould but all with a twist. The usual settings of Scotland, South Africa and North America are all there, as are the colourful array of interesting characters. All in all an enjoyable and worthwhile read.
    20 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Hal Jordan
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good read for those interested in England in the 1930s
    Reviewed in the United States on 11 August 2010
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    This book is actually not particularly suspenseful and so is not a thriller like Buchan's "The Thirty-Nine Steps." Nonetheless, I found it tremendously enjoyable. As one of the other reviewer's notes, the story involves several guests at an English country house in the early 1930s who each gets a very brief glimpse of a different page from the London Times one year in the future. Buchan is a superb writer and I found his account of the fates of these people very well done. However, you need to have some interest in England in the 1930s to truly appreciate this book. A couple of the story threads involve the political maneuverings in the British Parliament in the early 1930s as the Great Depression threw the normal party alignments into disarray. Naturally, these events were more interesting to people in England in 1932 when this book was published than they will be to readers in the contemporary U.S. One of the other reviewers found these parts of the book boring, but I think Buchan writes so well that they remain interesting.

    A couple of points: The book starts a bit slowly and the best of the story threads is the one that ends the book. In fact, I found the last story thread to be quite moving. So, don't abandon the book too early! Finally, [SPOILER ALERT] I found the twist at the end a bit farfetched, but it didn't spoil the book for me, particularly as it allowed for a happy ending.
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  • Bob C
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Fascinating Read
    Reviewed in the United States on 11 May 2012
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    As a long-time fan of John Buchan, I especially enjoyed my re-reading of "Gap In The Curtain". At a weekend gathering in the country, several people are enabled to glimpse certain items that will be printed in the newspaper exactly one year in the future. The author proceeds to show his readers how this information is used by each individual. Buchan always writes in an entertaining manner, but his ingenuity in crafting these gripping narratives provides a unique contribution to his collection of novels. There are plenty of twists and turns, and some genuinely interesting insights into the way people think and act. Read it; you won't be disappointed.
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  • GMC
    5.0 out of 5 stars The penultimate volume of a series
    Reviewed in the United States on 21 December 2019
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    Every story in this series stands alone and is excellent, each with distinctive virtues, all in the hands of a most remarkable story teller.
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  • JML62
    5.0 out of 5 stars A delight
    Reviewed in the United States on 22 October 2015
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    I'm not sure which I liked more, the story or the quality of the old English writing. Read this book purely for fun-to enjoy a wonderful piece of literature.
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  • W.Berger
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on 22 February 2016
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    Enjoyed reading it !
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