"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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Spy Thriller Fans! Win a Copy of A Strange Way to Die by Rosamund Pearl, George Bamford
Closing date: 16/07/2026
With a new Introduction by Cedric Watts, Research Professor of English, University of Sussex.
Richard Hannay finds a corpse in his flat, and becomes involved in a plot by spies to precipitate war and subvert British naval power. The resourceful victim of a manhunt, he is pursued by both the police and the ruthless conspirators.
The Thirty-Nine Steps is a seminal 'chase' thriller, rapid and vivid. It has been widely influential and frequently dramatised: the film directed by Alfred Hitchcock became a screen classic. This engaging novel also provides insights into the inter-action of patriotism, fear and prejudice.
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 Wordsworth Editions an imprint of Wordsworth Editions Ltd
The Thirty-Nine Steps has 98 pages
Yes it is part of Wordsworth Classics series
£4.49
