A thrilling blend of adventure and spy novel, The Thirty-Nine Steps has been continuously in print since first publication in 1915 and has been adapted for stage and screen multiple times, including Alfred Hitchcock’s famous film adaptation.
‘Ordinary fellow’ Richard Hannay returns home one night and is horrified to find a dead body. He recognizes the murdered man as his American neighbour who, just a few days earlier, had warned him about a secretive organization planning an assassination which threatens to plunge the country into war. Fearful of becoming a suspect, but resolved to scupper the plot, Hannay escapes in disguise and goes on the run. Hunted from England to Scotland by police and villains alike, he is determined to outwit his enemies and secure his country’s safety.
Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library, a series of stunning, cloth-bound, pocket-sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover.
Editorial Reviews
Review
Buchan was a major influence on my work — Alfred Hitchcock
Between Kipling and Fleming stands John Buchan, the father of the modern spy thriller — Christopher Hitchens
About the Author
John Buchan was born in Perth in 1875, the son of a Church of Scotland Minister. After being educated locally, he attended Glasgow University and Brasenose College Oxford. He exchanged comparative poverty for affluence by his success as an author, but it was as a lawyer that his reputation began. He went to South Africa to serve as private secretary to the British Colonial administrator, Alfred, Lord Milner and assisted in reconstruction of the country after the Boer War. He entered publishing in 1906 as partner in the firm of his friend Thomas Nelson and married Susan Charlotte Grosvenor, cousin of the Duke of Westminster, in 1907. They had four children. Buchan was elected to Parliament in 1911, served in various capacities during the First World War, including writing speeches for Sir Douglas Haig and taking on the role of Director of Information under Lord Beaverbrook. He returned to the House of Commons in 1927 and then in 1935 he was appointed Governor-General of Canada and became Lord Tweedsmuir. He died in 1940. John Buchan was a prolific author and wrote poetry and biographies as well as novels, but he is still best remembered for his adventure stories and in particular the five Hannay novels: The Thirty Nine Steps, Greenmantle, Mr Standfast, The Three Hostages, and The Island of Sheep.