The 39 Steps: Richard Hannay, Book 1

Written by John Buchan

Narrated by B. J. Harrison

May 1914: Europe is on the brink of war. London is riddled with spies. Richard Hannay has just returned from Rhosesia, and intends to begin a new, quiet, sedentary life. But a shady man named Franklin Scudder calls on him for help. Scudder is a freelance spy who has just uncovered a German plot to murder the Greek Premier, thus forcing Europe into war. He is the only man living to have penetrated into the ring of German spies who call themselves the Black Stone. Scudder tells Hannay all he knows.

The next day, Scudder is murdered in Hannay's apartment. Now Hannay must continue Scudder's work. And so, with the Black Stone and the police on his trail, Hannay is chased across the wild country of Scotland. And while dodging his pursuers, he somehow has to find a way to contact the right people with British Intelligence. For if Scudder's code book falls into the hands of the enemy, all is lost.

• Language: English
• Publisher: B.J. Harrison
• Release date: Jan 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9781937091835

John Buchan

John Buchan was a Scottish diplomat, barrister, journalist, historian, poet and novelist. He published nearly 30 novels and seven collections of short stories. He was born in Perth, an eldest son, and studied at Glasgow and Oxford. In 1901 he became a barrister of the Middle Temple and a private secretary to the High Commissioner for South Africa. In 1907 he married Susan Charlotte Grosvenor and they subsequently had four children. After spells as a war correspondent, Lloyd George's Director of Information and Conservative MP, Buchan moved to Canada in 1935. He served as Governor General there until his death in 1940. Hew Strachan is Chichele Professor of the History of War at the University of Oxford; his research interests include military history from the 18th century to date, including contemporary strategic studies, but with particular interest in the First World War and in the history of the British Army.

Reviews for The 39 Steps

[col2910_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Synopsis/blurb................John Buchan wrote "The Thirty-Nine Steps" while he was seriously ill at the beginning of World War I. In it, he introduces his most famous hero, Richard Hannay, who, despite claiming to be an "ordinary fellow", is caught up in the dramatic race against a plot to devastate the British war effort. Hannay is hunted across the Scottish moors by police and a pitiless enemy in the corridors of Whitehall and, finally, at the site of the mysterious 39 steps. The best-known of Buchan's thrillers, this novel has been continuously in print since first publication and has been filmed three times. Other Buchan "World Classics" include "Witchwood" and "Greenmantle".My take......I doubt I will be providing much original thought on this classic book which was published 99 years ago. It has 460 reviews on Amazon UK – soon to be 461, and nearly 10,000 ratings on Goodreads.The Thirty-Nine Steps introduces us to Richard Hannay, who subsequently figures in 4 more novels by Buchan, none of which I have read. They are;2. Greenmantle (1916)3. Mr Standfast (1918)4. The Three Hostages (1924)5. The Island of Sheep (1936)As an aside, the time-span between the 4th and 5th books is interesting, I wonder why? Saying that - Buchan did live an interesting and full life...at various times....Unionist MP, Governor of Canada, Government War propagandist, Army enlistment, diplomatic service in South Africa, church elder, novelist. We open and Hannay is restless and in need of an adventure to stimulate him. One soon arrives in the appearance of a stranger who enlists Hannay’s help in hiding him. The man, Scudder has faked his death and tells Hannay he is being followed by a German gang of spies. Scudder confides that he has uncovered a plot to kill the Greek Premier and also that there is a scheme afoot to steal British plans that have been prepared in the event of an outbreak of war. Scudder is discovered murdered the next day in Hannay’s flat and Richard, a likely suspect in the murder flees, managing to evade the Germans who are watching him. A sense of obligation and duty compels Hannay to try and thwart the assassination attempt. With three weeks to lay low until the events Scudder has outlined are scheduled to begin, Hannay takes a train to Scotland to kill time. Having taking Scudder’s notebook when fleeing London and deciphered his coded notes, these appear to contradict what Scudder previously told him. Over the next week or two he is relentlessly pursued both by aeroplane and car, by both the Germans and the police, still anxious to arrest Hannay for murder. His adventures see him posing as a road-mender at one time and unbelievably making a political speech for a prospective politician, Sir Harry at a rally. Having taken Harry into his confidence, Harry fortuitously has a relative in the Foreign Office and writes Hannay a letter of introduction. Still on the run, Hannay survives being taken prisoner by the enemy. After managing to escape, Richard returns to London and contacts Harry’s relative – Sir Walter Bullivant; unburdening himself of his secrets. The Greek PM still gets assassinated. Our erstwhile hero still feels there is more at risk and gatecrashes a meeting at Bullivant’s house where he catches a glimpse of one of his Scottish pursuers in disguise. Hannay’s adversary is now in possession of material damaging to Britain’s war plans.Hannay works with British military leaders to discover the significance of Scudder’s phrase – The Thirty Nine-Steps in a bid to save the day.Overall verdict – I really liked this one. It felt a bit like a Boys Own adventure and to be honest there’s a place in my reading schedule for books of this type occasionally. One criticism would be that Buchan does seem to rely on some rather unlikely coincidences to help Hannay (and the author?) out of a jam at times. Last minor gripe would be the one of language with references made to “the Jew” and a “Jewish plot.” I wouldn’t dare to tar Buchan with an anti-semite brush, but 100 years after this was written it sits a little bit uncomfortably with me. Happily, reading this managed to tick a number of boxes for me. I have a couple of signed-up for challenges that this meets the criteria for, plus one of my own.Read Scotland – tick.Vintage Mystery – Golden – tick (not quite sure which box on my bingo card I will be ticking just yet)Espionage Challenge – tickIn addition, my son’s Christmas present to both my wife and me were tickets to see the West End production of The Thirty-Nine Steps last Saturday, something I will briefly cover in my next blog post. I managed to read the book before seeing the show, spoilsport that I am.4 from 5I do have a paperback copy of this around the house somewhere, but couldn’t locate it, so I got a free version from Amazon UK for my kindle. There are a couple of other Buchan/Hannay books on the site available for nowt, so I now have Greenmantle and Mr Standfast waiting.

[mrsrk-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent book, and I enjoyed it from beginning to end. This is actually a series of five books. Following this one are: Greenmantle (1916), Mr. Standfast (1919), The Three Hostages (1924) and The Island of Sheep (1936). What led me to read “The 39 Steps” was James Hawes’ 2008 movie version starring Rupert Penry-Jones. I tried to watch Hitchcock’s version but couldn’t finish it, it was THAT bad. Although I enjoyed the modern movie, both fell very far from Buchan’s plot; there are so many changes the original story is barely recognizable. I can’t find a reasonable explanation for both directors adding female characters to the story; there were none in the book and no need for their addition. In fact, the Victoria Sinclair character of Hawes actually pushed Richard Hannay’s almost to second fiddle, when in the original story he was always the main character—and a very good one. Oddly, in the 2008 movie, all the glory goes to her—who did not even grace the original story. (Makes me wonder why the new 007 movies have a woman embodying “M,” when he was clearly a male in the original books…)

[michael8xolotl · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

2.75 stars. Contrived and repetitious but fairly entertaining in places. The play's better. ;)

[elizajane_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I thought this would be fun, having seen the Hitchcock film numerous times but it was an utter disappointment. I had to really force myself to finish the book. It followed a chapter by chapter formula of Hannay on the run, meets with character, gets fed, gets new disguise, talks about case, gets sent off to next person who will help him on the way. Next chapter, repeat. Each chapter title even tells you who he is going to meet: The Adventure of the Literary Innkeeper, Radical Candidate, Spectacled Roadman, and so on. It was very tedious reading and I honestly kept forgetting what the plot was each time I picked up the book. Even though it's such a short book I had to take it in small bites. I'm the last person to judge older books by modern sensibilities, but even I found its flippant empirical racial quips hard to swallow including coming from the time it was written. "'I haven't the privilege of your name, Sir, but let me tell you that you're a white man." Anyway, it was boring and I can't see myself ever picking up a book by Buchan again.

[bensdad00 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A classic of mystery, intrigue and adventure; set in a world immediately familiar and yet unfathomably foreign.

[seriousgrace · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It's May 1914 in London, England. Scottish expatriate Richard Hannay has a troublesome visitor. That's the first thing I would say about The Thirty Nine Steps. An American stranger has come to him with a wild tale of espionage and knowledge of a planned assassination. Because he was in the know, according to this stranger, Mr. Scudder, he had to fake his own death. He has come to Hannay to hide himself and his little coded book of secrets. However, imagine Hannay's surprise when that same man is found with a knife so thoroughly through the heart it skewered him to the floor! Needless to say, Hannay is now on the run...with the cipher of secrets. With Mr. Scudder dead on his floor, surely he will be the number one suspect. The rest of the short book is Hannay's attempts to hide out in Scotland, a place he hasn't seen since he was six years old, thirty one years ago. The key to the whole mystery is a reference to "39 steps" in Scudder's little book.

[shanaqui_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Before I write my review, I like to poke around and read other reviews, on amazon and goodreads and by searching google. I like to see if anyone's picked up something I missed that's worth thinking about, or if people are being perfect idiots about it. I've read that this book is terribly boring and you'd be better off reading a cereal box, I've read that this book is not suitable for girls, and I've read that it isn't suitable for Americans because the spelling is "weird".

Note my gender.

And the interesting fact that I'm supposed to deal with American spelling, but the Americans can't deal with ours... Ah, hypocrisy.

Anyway! The Thirty-Nine Steps is, apparently, one of the first spy novels. It's not a genre I'm incredibly interested in, but usually when I come across a mystery novel or whatever, I can get engrossed in it. This one's a very quick read, my copy is only a little over a hundred pages long, though the writing is quite small and close, which was a liiiittle irritating. Couldn't actually read it in bed without my glasses on!

That aside. It's quite a fun little story: tightly plotted, with several daring escapes and breathless moments. Suspension of disbelief is necessary, but not too necessary. The main character isn't the most likeable man in the world -- rich, bored, quite skilled at deceit, quick-tempered, a little whiny... But he isn't that bad, either. At least, I didn't particularly want him to get caught and killed. The writing was readable, too, quite immediate despite the past tense, and I didn't notice any particularly clunky parts.

It didn't bowl me over, not to the extent that I'd say "it was amazing" (five stars), but yeah, I "really liked it" (four stars).

[amerynth · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I thought John Buchan's "The Thirty-Nine Steps" was just okay. Written as an early thriller, it features adventurer Richard Hannay, who gets embroiled in espionage and must escape the clutches of both the local police and some more sinister characters who are following him about.The book was pretty fun initially, and I thought the framing of the story was really interesting. After Hannay's gazillionth escape from the people chasing him, it got a bit tired. It's odd to say that a 115-page book felt too long, but it did. This might have worked better as a short story. The story ties up neatly in the end and made for a decent and fast read. It didn't, however, inspire me to read the remaining four books featuring Hannay.

[sueincyprus · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The book, as is stated at the beginning, was deliberately written as an implausible adventure story where the hero keeps on escaping by the skin of his teeth, rather like the comic strip stories that appeared in weekly magazines. It's set in the year 1914.

Richard Hannay is the protagonist, a wealthy engineer who has been living in London for a while but is bored with the lifestyle. Then, as he’s about to give up his flat and leave, a stranger arrives on his doorstep with a worrying story about international politics and intrigue…

Over the next few weeks, Hannay's life is far from mundane. He flees to Scotland, and takes refuge with a series of unlikely people. He dons many disguises, and, in teenage adventure story style, escapes each scenario by cleverness or luck, before finally returning to London. The story is told in the first person, so it's not a spoiler to say that he escapes.

Inevitably most of the other people in the story are caricatured like comic strip stereotypes. But the writing is good, albeit a bit dated, but that's hardly surprising. It's fast-paced and exciting, with just enough description to set each scene. In many places there is politically incorrect commentary, but that’s par for the course with this era and style of writing.

‘The Thirty-Nine Steps’ is just over 100 pages long so I read it in a few hours. The ending is rather abrupt; but the final paragraph slots extremely well into the realities of world history.

This isn’t a thriller in the modern sense of the word, but it’s one of the earliest of the genre, now considered a classic, and may have inspired subsequent novels on similar themes. It has to be taken with a very large pinch of salt, but still, I would recommend it to anyone, teen or adult, who is interested in literature from this era.

[davros410 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Interesting adaptation, although I don't understand why it was updated to being set in 1950 rather than just before World War I. Was this when it was first adapted by Classics Illustrated?It's not as good as the original novel, but is a good taster.

[eadieb-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this book very much. It was a very good, fast read with classic, historical importance. It held my interest from start to finish. If you like spy mysteries, then I would highly recommend this book.

[bookconcierge · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The time is 1914; the setting England and Scotland. Richard Hannay is back in London after making his money in South Africa, but he finds the city life rather boring. He has made up his mind to seek adventure elsewhere when a man from his apartment building asks for his help – there are men waiting to kill him and he needs a place to hide for a few days. Thus begins an adventure that involves German spies, international intrigue, unknown moles, a couple of murders, train rides, car chases, narrow escapes and a great deal of good luck. Hannay is charming, intelligent and resourceful, and the reader is in for a great ride.This is a classic espionage novel. If you’ve seen the Alfred Hitchcock movie of the same title – forget it (other than the name of the leading man and the basic German spy plot it has NO resemblance to the book). The Masterpiece Theater presentation (a BBC film) is closer to the book, but still markedly different. There is NO love interest in Buchan’s book at all.

[hardlyhardy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"The trouble about him was that he was too romantic. He had the artistic temperament, and wanted a story to be better than God meant it to be." -- John Buchan, "The Thirty-Nine Steps"John Buchan's words above, from his most famous novel, "The Thirty-Nine Steps," describe one of his characters, not himself. Buchan was not one to try to make a story "better than God meant it to be." His 1915 novel, in the version I read, is just 120 pages long, a fraction of what most espionage thrillers run today. Buchan, a pioneer in the genre, told just the basic story. A full century later the story still makes exciting reading, even if for anyone who has seen Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 movie based on the book, it feels like something is missing.That's because Hitchcock, who had an artistic temperament, added embellishments that Buchan, who was still living at the time, may have considered an attempt to make it better than God meant it to be. There's no woman, no character for Madeleine Carroll to play, in Buchan's novel. Nor is there a character called Mr. Memory, who reveals the 39 steps at the climax of the film. In Buchan's story, the 39 steps are, in fact, 39 steps, a staircase leading down to the beach, where spies plan to rendezvous.The basic plot remain unchanged in the film version. Richard Hannay learns of a German plot to learn British secrets before the outbreak of war. A murder in his flat sends him on the run, both to escape the German spies and to escape the police, who consider him the prime suspect in the murder. The story is mostly a long chase, with several narrow escapes.Hitchcock's movie would probably not be regarded as the classic it is today had it not been for the embellishments the director added. Yet the original novel reads just fine the way it is, as God, or at least John Buchan, intended.

[johnthefireman · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Not only is it a classic and a great thriller, but it also features a lot of action on a train. What more could one want?

[joririchardson · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Richard Hannay is an engineer who has traveled the world, and now finds himself living in London. He also finds himself bored with life, and having nothing to do. But that very night, a mysterious little man named Scudder appears at his doorstep, and tells him a tale of spies, running from the German secret service, faked suicides, and codes. Hannay agrees to help the man by hiding him in his apartment, but on returning home the next day, he finds Scudder killed and his home torn apart. After investigating a bit, he finds a black book that belonged to his murdered house-guest, filled with an illegible code. Knowing this to be what the killers were searching his home for, he assumes that they will be after him next. He also assumes that the London police will find evidence enough to convince everyone that it was he who murdered Scudder. Believing himself to have no choice, he leaps aboard a train to Scotland. He journeys about the countryside on foot, in disguises, on bicycles, and in stolen expensive cars, all the while deciphering the code in Scudder's black book and unraveling the mystery of what is going on around him.Knowing absolutely nothing of the genre, I was curious to read this book, which even I know is famous for inspiring the spy / thriller genre. Minus the hot girl on our heroes arm, I certainly could find a lot of similarities to other spy movies I've seen (I have to limit my knowledge to movies, as I haven't read nearly enough books to make comparisons). This was a little dryer than what I expected, and there was never any tone of desperation or stress, like I would expect from a man running from two formidable enemies. Even when he is captured, Richard seems to look upon all of the events with a collected, factual state of mind.This book was very unrealistic - and I know that spy stories always are, but this was different.Such as, wouldn't it have been better for Richard to disappear in London (where he already was) instead of head for the country? He is always bemoaning the fact that there is nowhere to hide there, while in London, this would certainly not have been the case.Also, a suspiciously high number of absolute strangers were willing to help, and sometimes take risks for, Richard. This was, of course, highly unlikely, but the main character never seemed to see anything odd in it.Little things like this really took my mind away from the story, and annoyed me. There is a difference between probable (boring) and believable (well written).At first, this book started off at a racing pace. Within just a few pages, Scudder has appeared at Richard's door, with tales of spies and intrigue, and a few pages later, he is murdered and Richard goes on the run. I absolutely loved it. It was Victorian with a dash of James Bond.However, after this point, the book got progressively more and more boring up until the very end. The middle is all just about Richard traveling, and besides the stolen cars, most often not in very glamorous or "thrilling" ways. At one point, he is even riding a bicycle.I actually wondered, after Richard had been traveling for awhile, if the author was tricking us, and the spies actually didn't exist at all. In fact, I found myself surprised when the spies finally materialized later, and proved themselves to be, indeed, real.Scudder was the very best part of this book, and I fervently wish that he had lived, and gone traveling with Richard. That would have been interesting, as the man got to know his traveling companion without revealing too much, keeping Richard and the reader in constant suspense.Though it did not lend itself to the "fleeing" scenes (code here for peaceful bicycle rides in the charming countryside), the British writing was a good combination in the more exciting scenes. Again, the beginning was the best portion of this little book, and I loved the tone, pace, and overall feeling of the writing style.An average book, or perhaps even a bit below.

[dbsovereign · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The classic later filmed by Alfred Hitchcock, this book is an adventure/romance whose hero/narrator exposes a spy ring and saves Britain from an invasion.

[castlelass · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Published in 1915, this book is considered one of the earliest spy novels. Robert Hannay has moved from Rhodesia back to London and is becoming bored with routines. One day, his American neighbor, Franklin Scudder, tells Hannay a story about a German spy network that is plotting to steal Great Britain’s naval defense plans. When Scudder is murdered, Hannay decides to flee for fear of becoming the prime suspect. Thus begins Hannay’s wild adventure, which becomes increasingly outlandish. I found it entertaining and worth reading for its contribution to the genre, but it will require a significant suspension of disbelief.

[mkfs-354306 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An enjoyable yarn about a man on the run.

While this could easily have been a dated pre-War thriller, its self-consciousness ("I say sir, the story you tell sounds like one of those Haggard novels!") endears it to the modern reader.

[rosands-494665 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved the book. Action from start to finish. 5 Star book.

[vesper1931 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Richard Hannay has recently returned from South Africas but quickly becomes bored with the shallow life of London. Then he meets an American who has a fanastic tale to tell him. Soon Hannay is on the run and no longer bored.
An enjoyable thriller. Certainly different from the various film versions I have seen

[carol420 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Though it takes place before World War I… it offers insight into the view of what was happening at that time making the tale timeless. With some minor changes, it could easily be a thrilling espionage adventure told in modern day. All books deserve, and should be judged, for their context…. and while most do…we all know that some don't. The fact that this one has a solid four-star average after hundreds of reviews…easily says how much fun this was to read. The book differs from Alfred Hitchcock’s adaptation in that there is no love interest for Hannay here… because it simply isn’t needed.

[violetbramble · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A month after reading this one I can't remember that much about it. A man who has just returned to the UK from Africa is approached by another man staying at the same hotel. For no reason at all this man tells him about a planned assassination. When this second man ends up murdered our narrator goes on the run -- from the police and the presumably German spies who don't want anyone to find out about their assassination plans. He starts out on trains, then on foot, by truck and car. Along the way he stays in a small hotel and, later, when injured, in the home of a road worker. He tells everyone his story -- or as much as he knows-- and they believe him and hide him. Eventually he makes his way to London, finds some big wig in the British military, tells him the story and practically gets to run the scheme to catch the spies. Seriously. I was left with the impression that people in 1915 were either incredibly trusting or incredibly naive. I'm glad to be able to check this one off my reading list, but, I didn't like or believe much of it.

[ericlee_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

John Buchan was, according to Christopher Hitchens, "the father of the modern spy thriller". But, as the introduction to this, his most famous novel, explains, he was a writer "of his time". That's code for "bigoted". In a famous passage in this novel -- the conspiracy theory par excellence -- a leading character tells the book's hero that "if you're on the biggest kind of job and are bound to get to the real boss, ten to one you are brought up against a little white-faced Jew in a bath-chair with an eye like a rattlesnake. Yes, sir, he is the man ruling the world just now ..." Stuart Kelly's introduction dismisses this as the ranting of a character which will be dismissed later in the book, but the narrator himself has throw-away lines like "when a Jew shoots himself in the City and there is an inquest, the newspapers usually report that the deceased was 'well-nourished'."It may well have been the basis of a classic Hitchcock film, but this 1915 novel has little by way of plot (basically, the hero is running away from villains, escaping them by a combination of his own brilliance at disguise, and dumb luck). Not convincing, not interesting, and "of its time" in the very worst sense of the word.

[streamsong_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Although this feels like ‘nothing new’ it’s amazing to think it was all new when it was written in 1915.It’s fun to have read the beginning of a genre.

[leslie398 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

2020 reread via audiobook narrated by Stephen Crossley:
Despite having read this book before, I was still surprised by how different it is from the Hitchcock classic movie adaptation! Of course, Hitchcock had to add in a romantic subplot which Buchan hadn't had but I kept expecting certain scenes which never occurred. Buchan's plot is actually much more probable (though it still abounds with coincidences that a critic could say were unreasonable).

[haloedrain · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I was expecting more of a thriller, but after a while I stopped worrying about Hannay because the author keeps throwing him exactly what he needs, no matter how improbable.

[yhgail · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Fast paced mystery. Entertaining. I read it as I enjoyed the Masterpiece Mystery production. However, the diversion of the two stories is significant. Both are enjoyable.

[lisamorr · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Bored Richard Hannay has already had enough of London, after returning from a life abroad. But then a neighbor drops by and Richard's life becomes very exciting, very fast. The coincidences are unbelievable at times in this espionage thriller as Richard becomes embroiled in trying to stop a secret plot to undermine the British war effort as Europe marches towards WW1. Still it was a fun ride as Richard races across Scotland by train, car and on foot as he tries to shake his pursuers and expose the plot.

[encephalical · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I commend Keegan's introduction to the Penguin Classics edition for not only not containing any spoliers, but for calling out those which do.

[thornton37814 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It’s 1914, and World War I is eminent. Richard Hannay (a Scot) sets up house in London, having returned from Rhodesia. He meets a fearful American spy named Franklin P. Scudder who believes a plot is afoot to assassinate the Greek premier when he visits London. Scudder claims to be following a German spy ring. He allows him to stay with him. Soon two deaths, including Scudder’s occur in the building. Hannay worries he will be next for the assassins, but he must investigate himself, since he is the chief suspect. Hannay pores over Scudder’s notes, once he has broken the cipher. They mention “39 steps.” After being introduced to the Foreign Office by a local aspiring politician, his heroic actions prevent England from divulging secrets to the Germans. I listened to an audio version taken from the Golden Age of Radio with an introduction by Orson Wells and performed by a theatrical company. One had to listen quite carefully over the crackles to hear the soft voices of the actors. The recording quality is quite bad, and I recommend that persons wanting to listen to this one do so sitting in their living room as the original radio broadcasts were heard.