Anna Masterton Buchan, who wrote under the pseudonym O. Douglas, was a Scottish novelist active during the early to mid-twentieth century. Born in Pathhead, Scotland, in 1877, she was the daughter of the Reverend John Buchan and the younger sister of the famous novelist and statesman John Buchan. Although she attended Hutchesons' Grammar School in Glasgow, she spent most of her later life in Peebles, a town in the Scottish Borders that would serve as the primary inspiration for her literary settings.
Buchan's writing career began in 1912 with the publication of her debut novel, Olivia in India. She went on to write numerous novels, most of which were produced and set during the interwar period. Her fiction is characterized by its gentle, realistic portrayal of small-town and village life in southern Scotland, closely reflecting her own experiences and observations of local communities.
In her later years, Buchan turned to non-fiction and life writing. She published Unforgettable, Unforgotten in 1945, a memoir dedicated to her brother John and the wider Buchan family, which detailed her travels to Canada during his term as Governor-General. Her autobiography, Farewell to Priorsford, was published posthumously in 1950, two years after her death. Her life and literary contributions are commemorated at the John Buchan Museum in Peebles.
