"Why the ‘thirty-nine steps’? You’ll have to read the book to find out."
Adapted numerous times – including by Hitchcock – this 1915 novel is the first featuring arch adventurer Richard Hannay. Recently returned to London from a mining operation in South Africa, Hannay finds an unexpected corpse in his flat – the body of his neighbour, an American, a man who has already vouchsafed to Hannay the details of an assassination plot intended to trigger war in Europe. Soon, Hannay finds himself on the run, fleeing both the authorities and the shadowy conspirators behind the plot. Seeking sanctuary in his native Scotland, he runs from pillar to post, attempting to decode the dead American’s notebook before he is hunted down. The Thirty-Nine Steps set the mould for innumerable chase thrillers that have followed. Author John Buchan’s later suggested that Hannay was partly based on Edmund Ironside, a Scottish spy during the Second Boer War. In 2003, the book appeared on the BBC's Big Read poll of Britain's best-loved novels. Why the ‘thirty-nine steps’? You’ll have to read the book to find out.
A classic and hugely influential thriller and featuring possibly the most exciting and famous chase in fiction. It's also one of the most filmed, most adapted and best-loved spy thrillers in history. May 1914, Richard Hannay is asked for help by an American spy who has uncovered an assassination plot. The spy is promptly murdered in Hannay's flat, and Hannay is compelled to flee and prevent the assasination while on the run from the police in Scotland. With an Introduction by Stuart Kelly.
| Primary Genre | Espionage and spy thriller |
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John Buchan, a Scot, wrote the adventure book The Thirty-Nine Steps. Richard Hannay, a mining engineer who had previously worked in Rhodesia, returns to London in 1914. Franklin P. Scudder, a neighbor, claims to be investigating a group of German spies known as the Black Stone who are attempting to steal Britain's naval defense blueprints in preparation for war. Hannay leaves his flat while it is being watched, feeling as though he now has to thwart the plan. He poses as the milkman. Hannay boards an eastbound train but deviates from the path by getting off between stops. He ultimately comes upon an inn and convinces the proprietor to let him remain the night. Fortunately, when on the moor, he comes upon a road mechanic who is severely intoxicated. The grateful employee is sent home for the day when Hannay offers to take over for him. Unfortunately, it turns out that person is Hannay's lethal foe and the head of the spy ring. Unexpectedly, he gets a call from London informing him that Karolides has been killed. The next morning, when Hannay and Sir Walter return to London, they clear his record with Scotland Yard, which then releases him.
The Thirty-Nine Steps features in the following genres: eBooks of the Month, Recommendations, Crime and Mystery, Espionage and spy thriller, Historical Fiction, Thriller and Suspense, Fiction
The Thirty-Nine Steps is available in Paperback, Hardback
The Thirty-Nine Steps was written by John Buchan and published by Double 9 Books an imprint of Repro India Limited
The Thirty-Nine Steps has 108 pages
£10.79
