The Thirty-Nine Steps

By John Buchan

I know what it is to feel lonely and helpless and to have the whole world against me, and those are things that no men or women ought to feel. When adventurer Richard Hannay is alerted of an assassination plot that could completely take down Europe, he finds himself caught in a tangled web of politics and must run to his home of Scotland to evade arrest. In order to prevent his arrest and the destruction of his country, he must figure out what the baffling clue is that will determine the fate of millions: the thirty-nine steps.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dreamscape Media
• Release date: Jul 5, 2022
• ISBN: 9781666567687

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.

Book preview

Chapter I.

The Man Who Died

I returned from the City about three o’clock on that May afternoon pretty well disgusted with life. I had been three months in the Old Country, and was fed up with it. If anyone had told me a year ago that I would have been feeling like that I should have laughed at him; but there was the fact. The weather made me liverish, the talk of the ordinary Englishman made me sick. I couldn’t get enough exercise, and the amusements of London seemed as flat as soda-water that has been standing in the sun. Richard Hannay, I kept telling myself, you have got into the wrong ditch, my friend, and you had better climb out.

It made me bite my lips to think of the plans I had been building up those last years in Buluwayo. I had got my pile—not one of the big ones, but good enough for me; and I had figured out all kinds of ways of enjoying myself. My father had brought me out from Scotland at the age of six, and I had never been home since; so England was a sort of Arabian Nights to me, and I counted on stopping there for the rest of my days.

But from the first I was disappointed with it. In about a week I was tired of seeing sights, and in less than a month I had had enough of restaurants and theatres and race-meetings. I had no real pal to go about with, which probably explains things. Plenty of people invited me to their houses, but they didn’t seem much interested in me. They would fling me a question or two about South Africa, and then get on to their own affairs. A lot of Imperialist ladies asked me to tea to meet schoolmasters from New Zealand and editors from Vancouver, and that was the dismalest business of all. Here was I, thirty-seven years old, sound in wind and limb, with enough money to have a good time, yawning my head off all day. I had just about settled to clear out and get back to the veld, for I was the best bored man in the United Kingdom.

That afternoon I had been worrying my brokers about investments to give my mind something to work on, and on my way home I turned into my club—rather a pot-house, which took in Colonial members. I had a long drink, and read the evening papers. They were full of the row in the Near East, and there was an article about Karolides, the Greek Premier. I rather fancied the chap. From all accounts he seemed the one big man in the show; and he played a straight game too, which was more than could be said for most of them. I gathered that they hated him pretty blackly in Berlin and Vienna, but that we were going to stick by him, and one paper said that he was the only barrier between Europe and Armageddon. I remember wondering if I could get a job in those parts. It struck me that Albania was the sort of place that might keep a man from yawning.

About six o’clock I went home, dressed, dined at the Café Royal, and turned into a music-hall. It was a silly show, all capering women and monkey-faced men, and I did not stay long. The night was fine and clear as I walked back to the flat I had hired near Portland Place. The crowd surged past me on the pavements, busy and chattering, and I envied the people for having something to do. These shop-girls and clerks and dandies and policemen had some interest in life that kept them going. I gave half-a-crown to a beggar because I saw him yawn; he was a fellow-sufferer. At Oxford Circus I looked up into the spring sky and I made a vow. I would give the Old Country another day to fit me into something; if nothing happened, I would take the next boat for the Cape.

My flat was the first floor in a new block behind Langham Place. There was a common staircase, with a porter and a liftman at the entrance, but there was no restaurant or anything of that sort, and each flat was quite shut off from the others. I hate servants on the premises, so I had a fellow to look after me who came in by the day. He arrived before eight o’clock every morning and used to depart at seven, for I never dined at home.

I was just fitting my key into the door when I noticed a man at my elbow. I had not seen him approach, and the sudden appearance made me start. He was a slim man, with a short brown beard and small, gimlety blue eyes. I recognized him as the occupant of a flat on the top floor, with whom I had passed the time of day on the stairs.

Can I speak to you? he said. May I come in for a minute? He was steadying his voice with an effort, and his hand was pawing my arm.

I got my door open and motioned him in. No sooner was he over the threshold than he made a dash for my back room, where I used to smoke and write my letters. Then he bolted back.

Is the door locked? he asked feverishly, and he fastened the chain with his own hand.

I’m very sorry, he said humbly. It’s a mighty liberty, but you looked the kind of man who would understand. I’ve had you in my mind all this week when things got troublesome. Say, will you do me a good turn?

I’ll listen to you, I said. That’s all I’ll promise. I was getting worried by the antics of this nervous little chap.

There was a tray of drinks on a table beside him, from which he filled himself a stiff whisky-and-soda. He drank it off in three gulps, and cracked the glass as he set it down.

Pardon, he said, I’m a bit rattled tonight. You see, I happen at this moment to be dead.

I sat down in an armchair and lit my pipe.

What does it feel like? I asked. I was pretty certain that I had to deal with a madman.

A smile flickered over his drawn face. I’m not mad—yet. Say, sir, I’ve been watching you, and I reckon you’re a cool customer. I reckon, too, you’re an honest man, and not afraid of playing a bold hand. I’m going to confide in you. I need help worse than any man ever needed it, and I want to know if I can count you in.

Get on with your yarn, I said, and I’ll tell you.

He seemed to brace himself for a great effort, and then started on the queerest rigmarole. I didn’t get hold of it at first, and I had to stop and ask him questions. But here is the gist of it:

He was an American, from Kentucky, and after college, being pretty well off, he had started out to see the world. He wrote a bit, and acted as war correspondent for a Chicago paper, and spent a year or two in South-Eastern Europe. I gathered that he was a fine linguist, and had got to know pretty well the society in those parts. He spoke familiarly of many names that I remembered to have seen in the newspapers.

He had played about with politics, he told me, at first for the interest of them, and then because he couldn’t help himself. I read him as a sharp, restless fellow, who always wanted to get down to the roots of things. He got a little further down than he wanted.

I am giving you what he told me as well as I could make it out. Away behind all the Governments and the armies there was a big subterranean movement going on, engineered by very dangerous people. He had come on it by accident; it fascinated him; he went further, and then he got caught. I gathered that most of the people in it were the sort of educated anarchists that make revolutions, but that beside them there were financiers who were playing for money. A clever man can make big profits on a falling market, and it suited the book of both classes to set Europe by the ears.

He told me some queer things that explained a lot that had puzzled me—things that happened in the Balkan War, how one state suddenly came out on top, why alliances were made and broken, why certain men disappeared, and where the sinews of war came from. The aim of the whole conspiracy was to get Russia and Germany at loggerheads.

When I asked why, he said that the anarchist lot thought it would give them their chance. Everything would be in the melting-pot, and they looked to see a new world emerge. The capitalists would rake in the shekels, and make fortunes by buying up wreckage. Capital, he said, had no conscience and no fatherland. Besides, the Jew was behind it, and the Jew hated Russia worse than hell.

Do you wonder? he cried. "For three hundred years they have been persecuted, and this is the return match for the pogroms. The Jew is everywhere, but you have to go far down the backstairs to find him. Take any big Teutonic business concern. If you have dealings with it the first man you meet is Prince von und zu Something, an elegant young man who talks Eton-and-Harrow English. But he cuts no ice. If your business is big, you get behind him and find a prognathous Westphalian with a retreating brow and the manners of a hog. He is the German business man that gives your English papers the shakes. But 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 who is ruling the world just now, and he has his knife in the Empire of the Tsar, because his aunt was outraged and his father flogged in some one-horse location on the Volga."

I could not help saying that his Jew-anarchists seemed to have got left behind a little.

Yes and no, he said. They won up to a point, but they struck a bigger thing than money, a thing that couldn’t be bought, the old elemental fighting instincts of man. If you’re going to be killed you invent some kind of flag and country to fight for, and if you survive you get to love the thing. Those foolish devils of soldiers have found something they care for, and that has upset the pretty plan laid in Berlin and Vienna. But my friends haven’t played their last card by a long sight. They’ve gotten the ace up their sleeves, and unless I can keep alive for a month they are going to play it and win.

But I thought you were dead, I put in.

"Mors janua vitæ, he smiled. (I recognized the quotation: it was about all the Latin I knew.) I’m coming to that, but I’ve got to put you wise about a lot of things first. If you read your newspaper, I guess you know the name of Constantine Karolides?"

I sat up at that, for I had been reading about him that very afternoon.

He is the man that has wrecked all their games. He is the one big brain in the whole show, and he happens also to be an honest man. Therefore he has been marked down these twelve months past. I found that out—not that it was difficult, for any fool could guess as much. But I found out the way they were going to get him, and that knowledge was deadly. That’s why I have had to decease.

He had another drink, and I mixed it for him myself, for I was getting interested in the beggar.

"They can’t

Reviews for The Thirty-Nine Steps

[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.

[deltaqueen50 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Thirty-Nine Steps is an adventure story and is probably what John Buchan is most known for even though he was a well recognized historian, accepted a peerage as Lord Tweedsmuir and served as a governor-general of Canada. This short adventure thriller is famous for it’s “man-on-the-run” action story and for the many films it has inspired.The story opens with Richard Hannay, an Englishman who grew up in South Africa, finding his life in London rather boring and so is very open to becoming involved in uncovering an anarchist plot when he is approached by a nervous American. This American all too soon turns up dead and left in Hannay’s apartment. Now implicated in murder, Hannay decides to travel to Scotland to hide from both the British police and a very powerful German spy ring until the appropriate authorities can be advised of the situation. The story moves quickly as Hannay relies on the help of various people that he meets in the Scottish highlands and ultimately he turns the tables on the spies by helping to hunt them down.The Thirty-Nine Steps is a very quick read and has the hero dashing around in the heather and peat bogs of the Scottish Highlands for most of the book. Set in the weeks prior to the opening of World War I, the author captures the nationalistic feelings and the political blunders that help to set up this occurrence. Although somewhat dated, I enjoyed this story.

[aront-2 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I heard this book read as an audio book on the best audio books' classic tales podcast. That's the only thing that made it bearable (check out the podcast it's excellent). Well the mercifully short ending helped. The fact that Hitchcock managed to make this into a fantastic film proves once again that books and their films are as closely related as a man and his fifth cousin twice removed.

[gypsysmom_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

At the beginning of this book there is a note from the author to a friend: MY DEAR TOMMY You and I have long cherished an affection for that elementary type of tale which Americans call the 'dime novel' and which we know as the 'shocker' -- the romance where the incidents defy the probabilities, and march just inside the borders of the possible. During an illness last winter I exhausted my store of those aids to cheerfulness, and was driven to write one for myself. This little volume is the result, and I should like to put your name on it in memory of our long friendship, in the days when the wildest fictions are so much less improbable than the facts. J.B. And so that is the genesis of one of the first spy novels. It is set in Britain just before World War I. A middle-aged man, Hannoy, has made his fortune in Africa and is living in London and getting thoroughly bored with his new life. Then his sedate existence is overturned when his upstairs neighbour asks for help. He claims to be in fear of his life because he has learned some information about Germany's intentions to start a war. Hannoy allows him to stay in his flat and listens to his tale but is sceptical about it. Then he comes home one night and finds his house guest stabbed to death. He realizes he will be next so he flees to Scotland where he manages to stay one step ahead of German agents and British police by effecting a number of disguises. He has managed to decipher the little black book his guest had always carried with him but he is still unclear as to the event which the spy said would take place on June 15th. The clue is in the phrase "Thirty-nine Steps" and once that is figured out the German plot can be foiled. This reminded me quite a bit of H. Rider Haggard's classic King Solomon's Mines which I read last year. Male-dominated adventure yarn but fun to read.

[benuathanasia · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Thoroughly enjoyable and fun from the start. Despite being rather dated and quite predictable, I couldn't put it down. Sadly, the audiobook was very obviously corrupted, so I'm not certain if I indeed got to hear the whole thing or if there were pieces missing, but at least I have an obvious excuse to re-read it!

[m_k_m_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

John Buchan knew how to write a rollicking adventure - Christopher Hitchens described him as the bridge between Kipling and Fleming. Perhaps because of the political situation (the novel was first published in 1915, and is set in May and June 1914), spy thrillers were hugely popular at the time - Arthur Conan Doyle's "His Last Bow" is much more a spy story than it is a detective one, as were some of Agatha Christie's earlier books (The Secret Adversary, The Man in the Brown Suit) - but it's the pace and charm of Buchan's that leaves his as the icon of the genre. Hitchcock made his own version of The Thirty-Nine Steps in the 1930s, of course, but you can see how it informed so much more of his work: the (extremely capable) Everyman dragged into a plot with international ramifications, put on the run across picturesque landscapes, relying on luck, skill and a large amount of authorial intervention. It's a terrific formula, giving someone almost exactly like the reader a reason to be chased by biplanes and blown up - it's informed just about any male-orientated YA novel you've read. I can ignore the plot holes and contrivances; it gives me a warm feeling to read a story that's informed so many others I've loved.

[troyka-3 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

very hard going when trying to understand dialect. it made it a chore for me, but its still a good book, just not dyslexia friendly.

[meredy_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Six-word review: Preposterous spy story furnishes lightweight diversion.Extended review:I'd call this very short novel a goofy romp, secret codes and murders and conspiracies and all. The wonder of it is that after a century it still has an audience. And it has.My only prior acquaintance with this yarn was the 1935 Hitchcock movie, which turns out not to have much in common with the novel. I recently read the author's first, Prester John, and this does have a lot in common with that, not surprisingly. In his dedication he affectionately likens it to the then-familiar American genre "the dime novel," what we would probably now call pulp fiction: sensational thrillers without much meat to them that deliver easy escapist entertainment.Published early in the second year of the first World War, the story takes place in the months leading up to it, when suspicion, fear, and paranoia on an international scale must have been very high indeed. The hero, Richard Hannay, is a daring adventurer who takes up the challenge of a spy mission after an agent is killed in his apartment. His escapades across the English countryside are as boldly executed as they are reliant on surpassingly mad coincidence and what must be an entire pantheon of friendly, or at least highly amused, deities. There is something of substance here, though, and it may be in part the hero's frank appetite for action, in part the sustained theme of imposture and disguise. There is also the better-than-competent prose, ensuring that despite the laughable improbabilities of plot, it remains exciting and absorbing. If you're in the right mood for it, it'll give you a few cheerful hours.

[sasham-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A fun adventure story full of the close encounters and unlikely coincidences that make great fiction

[terris-7 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

From Amazon: "In this fast-paced spy thriller, a self-described "ordinary fellow" stumbles upon a plot involving not only espionage and murder but also the future of Britain itself. Richard Hannay arrives in London on the eve of World War I, where he encounters an American agent seeking help in preventing a political assassination. Before long, Hannay finds himself in possession of a little black book that holds the key to the conspiracy — and on the run from both the police and members of a mysterious organization that will stop at nothing to keep their secrets hidden.
This is the first of five novels in John Buchan's Greenmantle series, featuring the adventures of the stalwart and resourceful Richard Hannay. Originally published in 1915, it also served as the basis for several movies and plays, including Alfred Hitchcock's classic cinematic adaptation." I really enjoyed this!

[carl_alves_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Thirty-Nine Steps was written and is set in World War 1 era Europe, where conspiracies of worldwide war are at work. The story’s main character, Richard Hannay is leading a typical middle class life when he gets thrust in the middle of it all as a stranger shows up telling him of this conspiracy. When the stranger winds up dead, Richard takes it upon himself to bring the killers to justice and prevent the war from happening.This novel is part thriller, part spy novel. In comparison to other novels from that era, this is written at a fairly fast pace. Although conspiratorial in nature, it was interesting how many of the things written in the book came to pass and how true to life the novel was. Buchan shows a high skill-level in his writing. Richard Hanney is a bit of an everyman—someone who gets thrust into a crazy situation and rises to the occasion. My only real complaint is that the villains in the story weren’t terribly well-developed and their motives seemed a bit shaky. The final confrontation made me feel a bit ambivalent. This was a good read. I’m generally not into fiction written over a century ago, but I think this novel works.Carl Alves – author of Two For Eternity

[joeld-2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I came across this book on The Classic Tales Podcast and listened to it that way. It's basically an enjoyable old spy thriller, not too long and with a straightforward, linear plot. The premise is sound and plausible, and the protagonist is well-sketched.

[dorritt_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Wow! This lovely, compact spy tale could well be the ur-text for all spy tales that have followed! It has everything – international conspiracy, adventure, villains, secret codes, disguise, foot/car/airplane chases, mistaken identity … even the requisite innocent outsider drawn into situation beyond their control. All stripped of unnecessary garnish and delivered at a breathtakingly brisk clip – so brisk that, by the end of the second chapter, our resourceful everyman protagonist, Richard Hanney, is already on the run from seemingly omnipotent villains intent upon killing him before he can reveal what he knows. When it comes to courage and resourcefulness, Jason Bourne has nothing on Hanney, but Ludlum could have learned a thing or two about pacing from John Buchan, the author of this suspenseful tale. Seriously, when was the last time you read a novel that was only 112 pages long? Nor should you be scared off by the novel’s 1915 publication date … believe me, this reads as briskly as a James Patterson and the international conspiracy at the core of the tale is as relevant today as it was back at the turn of the century. A terrific tale, well told … what more could you ask for?

[santhony_35 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

For Christmas, I ordered an mp3 player (Library of Classics) that was pre-loaded with 100 works of classic literature in an audio format. Each work is in the public domain and is read by amateurs, so the quality of the presentation is hit or miss. The Thirty Nine Steps is a suspense/mystery novel dealing with intrigue leading up to World War I. The British narrator receives a strange visitor who gives him sensitive information involving a possible assassination attempt on a Balkan dignitary. When the visitor is soon killed, the narrator realizes he is not only in trouble with the authorities (suspected of having murdered the victim), but even more so from the shadowy German organization who must silence him in order to proceed with their plans. The narrator leads the Germans on a merry chase, all the while trying to piece together their ultimate plan.This is not a bad piece of work, though it is relatively unremarkable. Very average in all respects.

[nmhale_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This adventure story is probably best known for its various movie adaptations, including Hitchcock's famous version. However, the story is significantly different. The main character has a different background and characterization, and the adventure is very focused on a rugged escapade in nature and matching wits against criminals.In essence, the story is about a young English Riched Hannay who is finding life in England unbearably stifling after his South African residence. This ennui is eradicated when a man living in a different floor in his building and asks for help. The American man reveals that he has stumbled upon an intricate plot to destabilize European government and power structure, starting with an attack against the British government. The man learned about a group of German spies called the Black Stone and he has been working on uncovering and thwarting them. He even faked his own death to throw his enemies off track. He has recently seen a dangerous adversary in town, however, and fears that he may be killed before he finishes his mission. He shows Richard his notebook full of encrypted clues, and asks for the favor of staying in Richard's flat for a few days.Richard thinks the man is a bit mad, but he allows him to stay with him.

[kvrfan9 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is one of those rare instances where the movie was definitely better than the book. I can't remember much from the Hitchcock version, but PBS Masterpiece broadcast an updated version of The 39 Steps which was engaging, witty, and fun.

The original source material has plenty of movement--it certainly doesn't bother with character--but it strangely lacks much excitement. Though fully the first half of the story involves one long chase, the circumstances are reported so matter-of-factly that they lack any tension.

The 39 Steps, written in 1915, is recognized as the book that launched the whole genre of spy thrillers. As such, it is to be respected for its historical import. But as a "good read" almost a century later, I would search for an alternative among its many descendents.

[kristelh_15 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A classic, published in 1915, It is 100 years old this year. I've always wanted to read it and it is very quick, an easy one to get off the list of 1001 Books. It is an espionage novel, written by John Buchan during a time when he was sick in bed and had read everything he could get his hands on. It's fast paced, you really never know why or what is really going on but the main character is running from the police and trying to avoid capture by the spies that killed a man in his apartment. He had been bored until this adventure overtook him.