After listing some connections and references to the colour green in the life and works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and covering some similar occurrences of this colour in the life and works of Rudyard Kipling, the next step was to look for green connections in the life and works of John Buchan.
Buchan's works certainly contain a very large number of references to the colour green, but they are mostly casual and incidental. Many come from his frequent and routine descriptions of landscapes and the sea for example, and some just describe clothes of a colour suitable for wearing in the countryside and other wide open spaces. His books would greatly shrink if all these adjectives of colour were removed, but this would make little difference to most of the stories!
Even so, I have found some green references that can't be discounted quite so easily.
Buchan's exciting adventure story Greenmantle is an obvious candidate for inclusion, but its green aspects have mostly been covered already.
The Three Hostages has also been the subject of a previous article, but the green elements were not mentioned as they were not of particular interest at the time.
A major character is called Doctor Greenslade.
One of the cryptic clues to the location of the hostages is “the green fields of Eden”.
One of the hostages, who is hidden in plain sight in a low-class dance hall, is frequently referred to as “the girl in green”.
A small green bottle plays a large part in defeating the villain Dominick Medina.
When Richard Hannay is sent for treatment to the practitioner Madame Breda, he finds that her front door has been newly painted a vivid green.
Richard Hannay tells his young friend Archie Roylance to look out for a green light. Archie is a great birdwatching enthusiast; nesting greenshanks and green sandpipers are mentioned in this connection.
Minor references include a set of green Chinese jars and a green herb fire.
