The Powerhouse

A quiet London barrister named Edward Leithen slowly realizes that a cultivated, respected gentleman of his acquaintance is in fact the head of a secret organization bent on toppling the civilized order. What starts as idle curiosity about a friend’s disappearance hardens into a personal duel, fought in drawing rooms and along city streets rather than on any battlefield. John Buchan packs his menace into a short, fast book and gives it the line his readers never forgot: that only a thin sheet of glass stands between civilisation and barbarism. This was the first outing for Leithen, a hero Buchan would return to over the following years. Free to download as a PDF and EPUB edition.