The 39 Steps
Ratings18
Average rating3.3
15
Ratings18
Average rating3.3
Published in 1915, this is still, for my money, one of the best spy thrillers ever written. Introducing the adventurous and thoroughly British Richard Hannay, it carries the reader through one exciting escapade after another, with a genuine atmosphere of threat and fear pervading every chapter. The hero's flight from pursuers through the hills of Scotland, his vital ability to blend in with his surroundings in times of peril to save his life, his encounters with the arch-enemy, his ingenuity in escaping from certain death, and the last thrilling rush to discover the secret of the 39 Steps themselves before it is too late, never fail to enthral. Yes, by modern standards it is perhaps a little jingoistic, but what book written at the outbreak of World War I was not? A book should never be judged by the opinions of later times.
One can only ask why, why, WHY the directors of so many film and TV versions always find it necessary to change that original ending for something silly or over-melodramatic. John Buchan's mysterious steps were a stroke of genius - actors hanging from the hands of Big Ben or falling off boat piers are just silly. We still await a filmed version that is true to Buchan's masterpiece.
Reviews with the most likes.
An involving tale of intrigue, well written and well paced, with an engaging main character, Richard Hannay. Perhaps little dated, being set just before the outbreak of World War I. The plot is driven by just one or two too many coincidences to be completely convincing.
Still, a worthwhile read. I plan to add some of Buchan's other novels featuring Richard Hannay to my list of books to read, perhaps as a guilty pleasure.
The Thirty-Nine Steps is an adventure novel by the Scottish author John Buchan. It first appeared as a serial in Blackwood's Magazine in August and September 1915 before being published in book form in October that year by William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh. It is the first of the five novels featuring Richard Hannay, an all-action hero with a stiff upper lip and a miraculous knack for getting himself out of delicate situations.
The plot of the book isn't anything like the movie adaptation. Its basically the hero is running away from villains, escaping them by a combination of his own brilliance at disguise and dumb luck. Plus there are some remarkable coincidences (he meets an familiar acquaintance in the wilds of Scotland and then again later in London).
The character of Hannay is not entirely sympathetic, possessing a view of Jews and foreigners that grates but is characteristic of the period. As with other books of this vintage the dialogue is a bit overblown. But it's a ripping yarn, a quick read, and a taste of a period where these tales were lapped up.
Series
5 primary booksRichard Hannay is a 5-book series with 5 primary works first released in 1915 with contributions by John Buchan.
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