The Thirty-Nine Steps

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John Buchan: The Thirty-Nine Steps (2009, The Floating Press)

E-book

English language

Published Jan. 6, 2009 by The Floating Press.

OCLC Number:
514059493

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(2 reviews)

British writer John Buchan's The Thirty-Nine Steps is the first of five adventure novels to star Richard Hannay, a man with a remarkable knack for getting out of sticky situations, and indeed getting into them in the first place. In May of 1914, Europe draws close to war. Hannay has just returned to London when approached by a freelance spy called Franklin P. Scudder, who asks for his help. Scudder claims he has unmasked a German plot to pilfer British war plans and assassinate the Greek Premier, but Scudder himself is murdered in Hannay's appartment, leaving Hannay on the run and attempting to foil the Germans on his own.

58 editions

reviewed The Thirty-nine Steps by John Buchan

Review of 'The Thirty-nine Steps' on 'Goodreads'

While the plot is a bit repetative (a big chunk of the book is the main character on the run, but with a new unlikely helper in each chapter), the language of the book makes up for it. Because of later parodies, it's hard to take this kind of "jolly" British seriously today, but it makes the book a delight to read. I did not even know that Hitchcock had made a film adaptation of this book, but it makes sense as this is the kind of "man on the run"-thriller he was famous for. And despite being an early example of one, it's often quite thrilling (obviously due to it being published in a serialized form).

reviewed The Thirty-nine Steps by John Buchan

Review of 'The Thirty-nine Steps' on 'Goodreads'

While the plot is a bit repetative (a big chunk of the book is the main character on the run, but with a new unlikely helper in each chapter), the language of the book makes up for it. Because of later parodies, it's hard to take this kind of "jolly" British seriously today, but it makes the book a delight to read. I did not even know that Hitchcock had made a film adaptation of this book, but it makes sense as this is the kind of "man on the run"-thriller he was famous for. And despite being an early example of one, it's often quite thrilling (obviously due to it being published in a serialized form).