Sir Archibald Roylance was a fictional character created by

John Buchan John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir (; 26 August 1875 – 11 February 1940) was a Scottish novelist, historian, and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the 15th since Canadian Confederation. After a brief legal career ...

. He appeared in many Buchan novels, never as the protagonist. He was a good friend of

Richard Hannay Major-General Sir Richard Hannay, KCB, OBE, DSO, is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist John Buchan and further made popular by the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock film '' The 39 Steps'' (and other later film adaptations), very loosely b ...

and

Edward Leithen Sir Edward Leithen is a fictional character in several of John Buchan's novels: ''The Power-House'', ''John Macnab'', '' The Dancing Floor'', '' The Gap in the Curtain'' and ''Sick Heart River''. These were published over a number of years, the fir ...

despite being younger than them. According to one writer:

In no novel is Roylance a protagonist, but usually, and less and less reluctantly, drawn into the affairs of others. Apart from Dougal and Jaikie of the Gorbals Diehards he is younger by a dozen years or more than all Buchan's paladins, a d'Artagnan among the Musketeers, and mostly they deal with him in avuncular fashion, but, ignored, mocked, overruled, he has their respect as well as their affection. Although he never attains their stature we are aware of achievement and potential. Buchan seems determined not to lose sight of Archie Roylance and returns to him repeatedly, dropping stitches which he will later pick up, so that he appears a character recollected rather than invented.

In ''John Macnab'' Archie meets, falls in love with and proposes to Janet. He is running for the local seat as a Conservative MP and gets a great deal of inspiration from Janet for his political views.

Appearances

Mr Standfast ''Mr Standfast'' is the third of five Richard Hannay novels by John Buchan, first published in 1919 by Hodder & Stoughton, London. It is one of two Hannay novels set during the First World War, the other being ''Greenmantle'' (1916); Hannay's f ...

(1919), * Huntingtower (1922), *

The Three Hostages ''The Three Hostages'' is the fourth of five Richard Hannay novels by the Scottish author John Buchan, first published in 1924 by Hodder & Stoughton, London. Hannay had previously appeared in '' The Thirty Nine Steps'' (1915), his most famous ...

(1924), *

John Macnab ''John Macnab'' is a novel by John Buchan, published in 1925. Plot summary Three successful but bored friends in their mid-forties decide to turn to poaching. They are Sir Edward Leithen, lawyer, Conservative Member of Parliament (MP), and ex- ...

(1925), *

The Courts of the Morning ''The Courts of the Morning'' is a 1929 adventure novel by John Buchan, featuring his character Sandy Arbuthnot. The prologue is narrated by Richard Hannay, so the novel is sometimes included in Buchan's Hannay series. The action is set in Oli ...

(1929) *

The House of the Four Winds ''The House of the Four Winds'' is a 1935 adventure novel by the Scots author John Buchan. It is a Ruritanian romance, and the last of his three Dickson McCunn books. The novel is set in the fictional Central European country of Evallonia and ...

(1935) *referred to in

The Island of Sheep ''The Island of Sheep'' is a 1936 novel by the Scottish author John Buchan, the last of his novels to focus on his characters Richard Hannay and Sandy Arbuthnot. It was published in the United States under the title ''The Man from the Norlands ...

(1936) and

Sick Heart River ''Sick Heart River'' (1941) is a novel by Scottish author John Buchan set in Canada. It was published posthumously. The book was published in the United States under the title ''Mountain Meadow''. Plot summary Sir Edward Leithen is diagnosed wi ...

(1941).

References

{{John Buchan Roylance, Archie Roylance, Archie