A bored man in London is caught up in a spy plot and must flee across Scotland, pursued by police and enemy agents
A man on the run before the war
It is May 1914, and Richard Hannay, recently back in London after years as a mining engineer in southern Africa, is thoroughly bored. Then a nervous neighbour named Scudder knocks on his door with an astonishing story about a plot by foreign agents to assassinate a European statesman and steal British military secrets. A few days later, Scudder is found dead in Hannay's flat.
Who will enjoy it
Readers who enjoy classic adventure and spy stories with a fast pace, a resourceful hero and a breathless chase across wild country.
What you will get
A brisk, thrilling classic chase story that helped create the spy thriller, with a resourceful hero, wild Scottish landscapes and a baffling secret.
The Thirty-Nine Steps Facts: Pages, Genre and Setting
Genre
Mystery & Thriller · Spy thriller · Chase · Scotland
Length
272 pages · ≈ 8 h
More about this book
Knowing that the police will suspect him and the spies will hunt him, Hannay takes Scudder's notebook, written in code, and catches a train north to Scotland. Across the moors and hills he is chased by police, by enemy agents and even by aeroplane, relying on disguises, quick wits and the help of a few strangers. Along the way he must crack the code and work out what the mysterious phrase about thirty-nine steps really means.
The novel is short and moves at a terrific pace, with one narrow escape after another and a memorably sinister villain. Buchan, who later became Governor General of Canada, writes with a love of the Scottish landscape and an eye for vivid detail. The style is of its time, and a few attitudes now feel dated, but the story remains gripping. The famous 1935 film by Alfred Hitchcock changed much of the plot. Violence is mostly off the page.
Fast, exciting and influential, the first of five Richard Hannay adventures, followed by Greenmantle. It can easily be read in a single evening, and it is a perfect introduction to the classic spy thriller. About 272 pages in the Vintage Classics paperback.
The Scarlet Pimpernel
Eye of the Needle
The Day of the Jackal
The Man in the Brown Suit
The Pelican Brief
The Lost Symbol
Inferno
The Big Four
The Bourne Supremacy
The Firm
Deception Point
The Client