The Thirty-Nine Steps is an adventure novel by Scottish author John Buchan. It was serialized in All-Story Weekly (June 5 and June 12, 1915) and Blackwood's Magazine (credited to "H de V.", July - September 1915) before being published in book form in October 1915 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 tricky situations. The novel has been the basis for many ...
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The Thirty-Nine Steps is an adventure novel by Scottish author John Buchan. It was serialized in All-Story Weekly (June 5 and June 12, 1915) and Blackwood's Magazine (credited to "H de V.", July - September 1915) before being published in book form in October 1915 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 tricky situations. The novel has been the basis for many successful adaptations, including several films and a long-running stage play. In 2003, the book was listed on the BBC's The Big Read poll of the UK's "best-loved novels." The Thirty-Nine Steps is one of the earliest examples of the '"man-on-the-run" thriller archetype subsequently adopted by film makers as a much-used plot device. In The Thirty-Nine Steps, Buchan holds up Richard Hannay as an example to his readers of an ordinary man who puts his country's interests before his own safety. The story was a great success with the men in the First World War trenches. One soldier wrote to Buchan, "The story is greatly appreciated in the midst of mud and rain and shells, and all that could make trench life depressing." Hannay continued his adventures in four subsequent books. Two were set during the war, when he continued his undercover work against the Germans and their allies the Turks in Greenmantle (1916) and Mr Standfast (1919). The other two stories, The Three Hostages (1924) and The Island of Sheep (1936) were set in the postwar period, when Hannay's opponents were criminal gangs. The novel has been adapted for multiple media; many of these versions depart significantly from the text-for example, by introducing a love interest absent from the original novel and inspired by Hitchcock's film. In most cases, the title is often abbreviated to The 39 Steps, but the full title is more commonly used for the book and 1978 film adaptation. (wikipedia.org)
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Add this copy of The Thirty-Nine Steps to cart. $14.55, new condition, Sold by Ingram Customer Returns Center rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from NV, USA, published 2023 by Bibliotech Press.
Add this copy of The Thirty-Nine Steps to cart. $23.34, new condition, Sold by Russell Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Victoria, BC, CANADA, published 2023 by Bibliotech Press.
Add this copy of The Thirty-Nine Steps to cart. $25.62, new condition, Sold by Ria Christie Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Uxbridge, MIDDLESEX, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2023 by Bibliotech Press.
I was delighted to find a first edition, second printing copy of 39 steps at such a great price and in such good condition. It starts to make up for the disappointment of the copy of Greenmantle that I got through you which was very poor - I thought much worse than the description had led me to expect.
These 2 books are the invention of the spy thriller, and anyone not familiar with them should try this bit of history.
ghmus7
Dec 2, 2007
One of the Greatest of Suspense novels
If Buchan had written only this book, and possibly one other, such as "The Three Hostages" he would live in literary fame. As it is, he wrote dozens of books, as well as experiencing a very sucessful career in canadian politics. This book is a riviting accout of a life and death chase. In typical style, Buchan spares no excitment from the reader, and his vivid and wide-ranging imagination is put to good use. The dialect of the 'local color' add to the reaslism and pleasure of the book. Surley one of the Greatest of Suspense novels, at least Hitchcock thought so!