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The Thirty-Nine Steps

Authorised Edition
By John Buchan
Series: The Richard Hannay Adventures
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3.59 goodreads logo

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Check link for latest rating. ( 45,398 ratings, 3,922 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan is a classic adventure novel following Richard Hannay, an ordinary man who becomes embroiled in an espionage conspiracy. After discovering a plot that threatens national security, he is forced to go on the run across the Scottish countryside, pursued by both the police and a dangerous syndicate. Hannay uses his wits to untangle the mystery whilst evading capture.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you're a fan of classic adventure novels filled with suspense and espionage. Set in the days leading up to World War I, it offers an exciting chase and a gripping plot, perfect for those who enjoy tales of intrigue and clever plotting.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

The Thirty-Nine Stepsis the original spy thriller and the inspiration for countless books, films and games.Adventurer Richard Hannay is bored with life, but after an encounter with an American who informs him of an assassination plot and is then promptly murdered in Hannay's London flat, he becomes the suspect and is forced to go on the run.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Recently returned from South Africa, adventurer Richard Hannay is bored with life. After a chance encounter with an American who informs him of an assassination plot and is then promptly murdered in Hannay's London flat, he becomes the obvious suspect and is forced to go on the run.

He heads north to his native Scotland, fleeing the police and his enemies. Hannay must keep his wits about him if he is to warn the government before all is too late.

The Thirty-Nine Steps is a thrilling chase story that combines mystery, excitement, and suspense in the best tradition of adventure fiction.

Series: The Richard Hannay Adventures

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    Richard Hannay is tasked to investigate rumours of an uprising in the Muslim world. He embarks on a hair-raising journey through German-occupied Europe to meet up with his old friend Sandy Arbuthnot in Constantinople. There, they must thwart the Germans' plans to use religion to help them win the war. Set during World War I, Greenmantle is a powerful meditation...
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  • A Very Dangerous Pursuit
    Adventure can be a deadly business. It began in the manner of all the very best adventures: in a coffee house. When one Richard Hannay—intrepid, inquisitive, and on the hunt for intrigue—encounters an old acquaintance in Constantinople, he has an inkling that something thrilling is afoot. Charged with an item of great mystery and import—a washbag, no less!—he soon finds...
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    The Island of Sheep is the fifth, last, and most unusual of the Hannay books. Having returned once again to a quiet life at Fosse Manor, Hannay's life is shaken a final time when the son of an old acquaintance from Africa asks for his help in finishing a feud that goes back thirty years to a hilltop in Rhodesia....
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  • The Thirty-Nine Steps
    Recently returned from South Africa, adventurer Richard Hannay is bored with life. After a chance encounter with an American who informs him of an assassination plot and is then promptly murdered in Hannay's London flat, he becomes the obvious suspect and is forced to go on the run. He heads north to his native Scotland, fleeing the police and his...
    By John Buchan
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  • The Three Hostages
    After distinguished service in the First World War, Richard Hannay settles into peaceful domesticity with his wife Mary and their young son. However, news comes to him of three kidnappings. With no more than a few tantalisingly cryptic lines of verse as clues, he is soon on the trail of Dominick Medina—a charismatic polymath but a man 'utterly and consumedly...
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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

The Thirty-Nine Steps is praised for its influence on the spy thriller genre, bridging the gap between the works of Kipling and Fleming. Renowned figures like Alfred Hitchcock have acknowledged its significant impact on their own creative endeavours.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781846971983

Publisher: Birlinn General

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 17 May 2011

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Polygon An Imprint of Birlinn Limited

Edition: Authorised Edition

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 10.0mm

Width: 130.0mm

Height: 195.0mm

Weight: 118g

Pages: 160

Collections

Classic Crime & Mystery Fiction Classic Fiction Classic General Fiction Crime & Thriller Fiction General Fiction Historical Fiction John Buchan Literary Fiction Series: The Richard Hannay Adventures Spy & Espionage Thriller

About the Author

John Buchan was a Scottish diplomat, barrister, journalist, historian, poet and novelist, born in Perth in 1875. He published nearly 30 novels and seven collections of short stories. 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.

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