The Thirty-Nine Steps (annotated)
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Review
"a spiffing, well-loved Boy's Own sort of read" --Daily Mail, January 2011
"This latest edition of the novel have been redesigned, resulting in an authentic looking cloth-bound book... Exciting and thrilling, this should be read by all" --The Sun, 28 January 2011 --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
"This latest edition of the novel have been redesigned, resulting in an authentic looking cloth-bound book... Exciting and thrilling, this should be read by all" --The Sun, 28 January 2011 --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Product Description
Richard Hannay has just returned to England after years in South Africa and is thoroughly bored with his life in London. But then a murder is committed in his flat, just days after a chance encounter with an American who had told him about an assassination plot which could have dire international consequences. An obvious suspect for the police and an easy target for the killers, Hannay goes on the run in his native Scotland where he will need all his courage and ingenuity to stay one step ahead of his pursuers.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
It must be over sixty years since I last read this book, and it is even better than I remembered: a gripping, crisply-told suspense story. Not all of my favourite childhood authors stand the test of time- Stevenson and Haggard come to mind- but Buchan does. I read the book in a single session, and will now re-read the other Hannay novels.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
First published in 1915 when Europe was locked in conflict triggered by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in the Balkans, John Buchan's Thirty-Nine Steps takes the tensions and conspiracies which led Europe to war as the backdrop for his timeless adventure story.
The lead character Richard Hannay, is simply a bored Gentleman in London pining for South Africa and his native Scotland until a man is murdered in his flat after pouring out in panic the details of a conspiracy which threatened war against the United Kingdom. Richard Hannay effortlessly takes up the dead man's position as he attempts to prevent national disaster whilst hunted by foreign conspirators and British police alike.
The author describes his novel, in a dedication to his friend Thomas Nelson at the beginning of the book, as a ``shocker' - the romance where the incidents defy the probabilities, and march just inside the borders of the possible'. Certainly Richard Hannay has a remarkable ability to extract himself from the most difficult of situations throughout the tale.
The Thirty-Nine Steps is truly an adventure story because it takes an ordinary person as its hero. Richard Hannay is plunged into the adventure as suddenly as the reader and so there is an immediate connection. The author shamelessly betrays his love for the genre citing Rider Haggard and Conan Doyle as masters of adventure and crime writing within the book. This passion for the genre is very apparent and Buchan writes with a subtle humour throughout, evidence of how much he clearly enjoyed creating the story. Equally apparently is his love of the Scottish countryside which is described delightfully throughout and poetically at times, as are the host of minor characters which populate the landscape.
The story develops at pace and Hannay's chase from London across Scotland and back down to the South Coast means that without warning the reader finds himself tearing through the final chapter for resolution. The fact that the book is over all too soon can hardly be seen as a fault and whilst it could be said that Buchan's style can at times be rushed The Thirty-Nine Steps is a classic which should be approached without too much cynicism. Read it as it was read by soldier's in the trenches in a Europe where it must have constantly have felt that dark subversive forces were at play, forces which, it must have been felt, would prosper were it not for the improbable heroics of brave Brits like Richard Hannay.
The lead character Richard Hannay, is simply a bored Gentleman in London pining for South Africa and his native Scotland until a man is murdered in his flat after pouring out in panic the details of a conspiracy which threatened war against the United Kingdom. Richard Hannay effortlessly takes up the dead man's position as he attempts to prevent national disaster whilst hunted by foreign conspirators and British police alike.
The author describes his novel, in a dedication to his friend Thomas Nelson at the beginning of the book, as a ``shocker' - the romance where the incidents defy the probabilities, and march just inside the borders of the possible'. Certainly Richard Hannay has a remarkable ability to extract himself from the most difficult of situations throughout the tale.
The Thirty-Nine Steps is truly an adventure story because it takes an ordinary person as its hero. Richard Hannay is plunged into the adventure as suddenly as the reader and so there is an immediate connection. The author shamelessly betrays his love for the genre citing Rider Haggard and Conan Doyle as masters of adventure and crime writing within the book. This passion for the genre is very apparent and Buchan writes with a subtle humour throughout, evidence of how much he clearly enjoyed creating the story. Equally apparently is his love of the Scottish countryside which is described delightfully throughout and poetically at times, as are the host of minor characters which populate the landscape.
The story develops at pace and Hannay's chase from London across Scotland and back down to the South Coast means that without warning the reader finds himself tearing through the final chapter for resolution. The fact that the book is over all too soon can hardly be seen as a fault and whilst it could be said that Buchan's style can at times be rushed The Thirty-Nine Steps is a classic which should be approached without too much cynicism. Read it as it was read by soldier's in the trenches in a Europe where it must have constantly have felt that dark subversive forces were at play, forces which, it must have been felt, would prosper were it not for the improbable heroics of brave Brits like Richard Hannay.
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Small as it is (barely a hundred pages), this book amply makes up for that lack of quantity by its sheer quality. Richard Hannay has just returned from South Africa and is barely back in London when a man is found murdered in his rooms ('There was a long knife through his heart which skewered him to the floor.' Don't you just love this kind of stuff? I know I do!). He sets out for his native Scotland, always just a step ahead of the police... not once does the pace of the story slacken until the very end, and you'll be reading it teeth on edge.
'The thirty-nine steps' was first published in 1915, but in my opinion it's still one of the very best suspense stories ever!
'The thirty-nine steps' was first published in 1915, but in my opinion it's still one of the very best suspense stories ever!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
must read
An old book which is worth reading over and over again. I bought this for my son's birthday as he enjoys reading classic novels. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Sal
The Heart of Edwardian Clubland
Although the most exciting action in the book takes place on the Scottish moors, the whole story is permeated by the smell of cigar smoke and the leather of the club chairs. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Clive A. H. Still
Definitely a good read.
It's worth reading this original story, especially after you have seen one or all of the 3 versions of the film "The Thirty Nine Steps". Read more
Published 4 months ago by Roderick Chevallier
a real classic, written before its time
This was recommended by a friend as one of those books you have to read in your lifetime, I was not disappointed!
Published 4 months ago by Anthony Butler
Not my favourite classic.
The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan
This is my second book of this year's challenge and my first 'Classic' of the year. Read more
This is my second book of this year's challenge and my first 'Classic' of the year. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Paul H
Fast, frantic, a bit absurd - and then there's that aeroplane...
Richard Hannay is bored out of his skull in London, and about ready to head abroad again in search of a more diverting life. But lo! Read more
Published 16 months ago by Miss E. Potten
Patriotism and Suspense
"The Thirty-Nine Steps" is a widely known and critically acclaimed suspense novel written by John Buchan, 1st Lord Tweedsmuir, in 1915 during the First World War and set in 1914,... Read more
Published 16 months ago by FTW vgs
Avidreader. York
Very much a novel of its age, an early chase story with very little plot to provide interest. Successors such as Robert Ludlam with Bourne provide much more exitement with modern... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Mr. K. Wareham
Very Dated and Nothing Like the Movie
I love the movie so wanted to read the book, but was very disappointed. Many of the key and memorable movie moments are not actually in the book which therefore becomes a bit of a... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Kborom
brilliant.
bought this for my husband when he was laid up in bed as he gets bored very easily-he loved it! said it was possibly better than the film. as he couldn't watch tv,this was ideal. Read more
Published 18 months ago by suzyq
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