Almost all novels are improved by cutting from the top. On their first pages, authors parade those favourite effects which disgust the impartial reader.

The Honourable James Buchan born 11 June 1954 is a British novelist and journalist. He was educated at Eton and Magdalen College Oxford and began his career as a Financial Times correspondent writing from the Middle East Germany and the United States. Biography
Buchan is the son of William Buchan 3rd Baron Tweedsmuir and grandson of John Buchan 1st Baron Tweedsmuir the Scottish novelist and diplomat.