The writing is also noticeable, however, for lyrical descriptions of the Scottish border country in which Buchan himself grew up. Although the book is an exciting, if occasionally implausible, adventure story, it may be marred for a modern readership by the racism and anti-Semitism it expresses, though this was not exceptional for the period. This is the first of five novels in which Richard Hannay, formerly a mining engineer in colonial Africa, now a patriotic gentleman of leisure, finds himself pitted against the enemies of the British Empire.

The novel charts the electrifying story of an ordinary man caught up in a sinister international plot.

It is the first of five novels featuring Richard Hannay, an all-action hero with a steely determination and an extraordinary knack for getting himself out of sticky situations. John Buchan (1875-1940) was Governor General of Canada. The 39 Steps remains his most famous work. This exciting action-adventure story was the inspiration for Alfred Hitchcock’s 1939 classic film of the same name. Curiously, although all keep the theme of German espionage which will trigger a world war, none of them sticks at all closely to Buchan's original plot. Richard Hannay’s boredom is soon relieved when the resourceful engineer is caught up in a web of secret codes, spies, and murder on the eve of WWI. This spy story of 1915 by John Buchan (1875–1940) is an archetype of the genre, but may be better known today through its film and television versions (especially that of Alfred Hitchcock in 1935). The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Thirty-Nine Steps, by John Buchan This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. Description Product filter button Description John Buchan (18751940) led an interesting and varied life as a statesman, barrister.

The 39 steps by john buchan