Fair for Its Day: Buchan's writing can tend towards the jingoistic when read with modern eyes, but it's nowhere near as bad as some other authors writing at the time; in fact, when compared to works such as Bulldog Drummond, Hannay and Buchan are downright progressive. While much has been made of the anti-Semitic slurs in the first chapter, careful reading shows that these slurs are all made by one character, who is seen as paranoid and quite possibly unhinged by others.
Values Dissonance: Buchan's writing can tend towards the jingoistic when read with modern eyes, and there is use of language that would not pass muster in these more enlightened times. Hannay more than once uses the word "nigger" to describe the inhabitants of the African continent, and "white man" as a synonym for a person of honor and good moral character.
