The Thirty-Nine Steps

The Thirty-Nine Steps is an adventure novel by John Buchan that 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 five novels featuring Richard Hannay, an all-action hero with a stiff upper lip and a miraculous knack for getting himself out of sticky situations.

The novel formed the basis for a number of film adaptations, notably: Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 version; a 1959 colour remake; a 1978 version which is perhaps most faithful to the novel; and a 2008 version for British television.

The Thirty-Nine Steps is one of the earliest examples of the 'man-on-the-run' thriller archetype subsequently adopted by Hollywood as an often-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."

Richard Hannay continued his adventures in four subsequent books. Two were set during the war when Hannay 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 post war period when Hannay's opponents were criminal gangs.

Major-General Sir Richard Hannay, KCB, OBE, DSO, Legion of Honour, is a fictional secret agent and army officer created by Scottish novelist John Buchan. In his autobiography, Memory Hold-the-Door, Buchan suggests that the character is based, in part, on Edmund Ironside, from Edinburgh, a spy during the Second Boer War.

Richard Hannay was one of the first modern spy thriller heroes and as such has heavily influenced the genre. Today, considered in the light of mainstream espionage fiction, Hannay appears to be badly clichéd, although, as he was created well before his attributes became clichéd, Hannay could be more accurately described as a seminal character of the spy thriller genre.

John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir PC GCMG GCVO CH (26 August 1875 – 11 February 1940) was a Scottish novelist, historian and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the 15th since Canadian Confederation.

After a brief legal career Buchan simultaneously began both his writing career and his political and diplomatic career, serving as a private secretary to the colonial administrator of various colonies in Southern Africa. He eventually wrote propaganda for the British war effort in the First World War. Once he was back in civilian life Buchan was elected Member of Parliament for the Combined Scottish Universities, but he spent most of his time on his writing career, notably writing The Thirty-Nine Steps and other adventure fiction.

Starta din 14 dagars gratis provperiod

  • Full tillgång till hundratusentals ljudböcker och e-böcker i vårt bibliotek
  • Skapa upp till 4 profiler—inkl. barnprofiler
  • Läs och lyssna offline
  • Abonnemang från 139 kr per månad
Prova gratis nu

Avsluta när du vill

The Thirty-Nine Steps

The Thirty-Nine Steps is an adventure novel by John Buchan that 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 five novels featuring Richard Hannay, an all-action hero with a stiff upper lip and a miraculous knack for getting himself out of sticky situations.

The novel formed the basis for a number of film adaptations, notably: Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 version; a 1959 colour remake; a 1978 version which is perhaps most faithful to the novel; and a 2008 version for British television.

The Thirty-Nine Steps is one of the earliest examples of the 'man-on-the-run' thriller archetype subsequently adopted by Hollywood as an often-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."

Richard Hannay continued his adventures in four subsequent books. Two were set during the war when Hannay 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 post war period when Hannay's opponents were criminal gangs.

Major-General Sir Richard Hannay, KCB, OBE, DSO, Legion of Honour, is a fictional secret agent and army officer created by Scottish novelist John Buchan. In his autobiography, Memory Hold-the-Door, Buchan suggests that the character is based, in part, on Edmund Ironside, from Edinburgh, a spy during the Second Boer War.

Richard Hannay was one of the first modern spy thriller heroes and as such has heavily influenced the genre. Today, considered in the light of mainstream espionage fiction, Hannay appears to be badly clichéd, although, as he was created well before his attributes became clichéd, Hannay could be more accurately described as a seminal character of the spy thriller genre.

John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir PC GCMG GCVO CH (26 August 1875 – 11 February 1940) was a Scottish novelist, historian and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the 15th since Canadian Confederation.

After a brief legal career Buchan simultaneously began both his writing career and his political and diplomatic career, serving as a private secretary to the colonial administrator of various colonies in Southern Africa. He eventually wrote propaganda for the British war effort in the First World War. Once he was back in civilian life Buchan was elected Member of Parliament for the Combined Scottish Universities, but he spent most of his time on his writing career, notably writing The Thirty-Nine Steps and other adventure fiction.


Författare:

Längd:

  • 101 sidor

Språk:

Engelska


Relaterade kategorier


  1. Something Wicked: 560+ Horror Classics, Macabre Tales & Supernatural Mysteries : The Call of Cthulhu, Frankenstein, Dracula, The Murders in the Rue Morgue, Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde…

    H.P. Lovecraft, H.G. Wells, Edgar Allan Poe, Henry James, Hugh Walpole, M. R. James, Wilkie Collins, E F Benson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ambrose Bierce, Arthur Machen, William Hope Hodgson, Arthur Conan Doyle, Grant Allen, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker, Théophile Gautier, Richard Marsh, Joseph Sheridan Fanu, Thomas Hardy, Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling, Guy De Maupassant, Elizabeth Gaskell, Mark Twain, Daniel Defoe, Jerome K Jerome, Fitz-James O’Brien, Catherine Crowe, Émile Erckmann, Alexandre Chatrian, Pedro De Alarçon, Amelia B. Edwards, Washington Irving, John Meade Falkner, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Mary E. Freeman, Louisa M. Alcott, Edith Nesbit, Mary Louisa Molesworth, Francis Marion Crawford, John Kendrick Bangs, John Buchan, Sabine Baring-Gould, Cleveland Moffett, Louis Tracy, Nikolai Gogol, James Malcolm Rymer, Thomas Peckett Prest, Frederick Marryat, Oscar Wilde, Robert Louis Stevenson, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, W. W. Jacobs, Wilhelm Hauff, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Robert W. Chambers, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Thomas De Quincey, William Makepeace Thackeray, E. T. Hoffmann, Robert E. Howard, David Lindsay, Marie Belloc Lowndes, Edward Bellamy, Jack London, Pliny the Younger, Helena Blavatsky, Fergus Hume, Florence Marryat, Villiers l'Isle de Adam, William Archer, William F. Harvey, Katherine Rickford, Ralph Adams Cram, Leopold Kompert, Brander Matthews, Vincent O'Sullivan, Ellis Parker Butler, A. T. Quiller-Couch, Fiona Macleod, Lafcadio Hearn, William T. Stead, Gambier Bolton, Andrew Jackson Davis, Nizida, Walter F. Prince, Chester Bailey Fernando, Leonard Kip, Frank R. Stockton, Bithia Mary Croker, Catherine L. Pirkis, Leonid Andreyev, Anatole France, Richard Le Gallienne, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Stanley G. Weinbaum, Horace Walpole, William Thomas Beckford, Matthew Gregory Lewis, Ann Radcliffe, Jane Austen, William Polidori, Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, Walter Hubbell, George W. Reynolds, M.P. Shiel, Adelbert von Chamisso, Saki, H. H. Munro

    book
  2. Tales of Scottish Highlands & Moors – 70+ Historical Novels, Adventure Classics & Victorian Romances : Kidnapped, Waverley, Ivanhoe, The Thirty-Nine Steps, Midwinter, Penny Plain, Robert Falconer

    Walter Scott, John Buchan, Robert Louis Stevenson, George MacDonald, J.M. Barrie

    book
  3. The Power of Darkness: 560+ Supernatural Thrillers, Macabre Tales & Eerie Mysteries : The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Sweeney Todd, Frankenstein, Dracula, The Haunted House, Dead Souls…

    Wilhelm Hauff, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Adelbert von Chamisso, Oscar Wilde, Robert Louis Stevenson, Edgar Allan Poe, William Hope Hodgson, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, John Buchan, Louis Tracy, Bram Stoker, Anatole France, Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, Jack London, Henry James, Théophile Gautier, Arthur Conan Doyle, Richard Le Gallienne, Jane Austen, Ralph Adams Cram, Thomas De Quincey, John Meade Falkner, Guy De Maupassant, Thomas Hardy, William Archer, Daniel Defoe, John Kendrick Bangs, Cleveland Moffett, Brander Matthews, Marie Belloc Lowndes, Horace Walpole, Rudyard Kipling, Lafcadio Hearn, Hugh Walpole, Ambrose Bierce, Frederick Marryat, Ellis Parker Butler, Washington Irving, Leonid Andreyev, David Lindsay, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Grant Allen, Arthur Machen, Wilkie Collins, William Makepeace Thackeray, Thomas Peckett Prest, James Malcolm Rymer, Fergus Hume, Edward Bellamy, Walter Hubbell, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Leopold Kompert, Richard Marsh, Florence Marryat, Catherine Crowe, John William Polidori, Vincent O'Sullivan, H.G. Wells, Robert W. Chambers, W. Jacobs, M.P. Shiel, E F Benson, Jerome K Jerome, M. R. James, E. T. A. A Hoffmann, Stanley G. Weinbaum, George W. M. M Reynolds, H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, Edith Nesbit, Sabine Baring-Gould, William Thomas Beckford, Francis Marion Crawford, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Mary Louisa Molesworth, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, Nikolai Gogol, Mary Shelley, Elizabeth Gaskell, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Frank R. Stockton, A. T. Quiller-Couch, Ann Radcliffe, Louisa M. Alcott, Amelia B. Edwards, Leonard Kip, Matthew Gregory Lewis, Fitz-James O’Brien, Katherine Rickford, Bithia Mary Croker, Catherine L. Pirkis, Émile Erckmann, Alexandre Chatrian, Pedro De Alarçon, H. H. Munro (Saki), Pliny the Younger, Helena Blavatsky, Villiers de l'Isle-Adam, William F. Harvey, Fiona Macleod, William T. Stead, Gambier Bolton, Andrew Jackson Davis, Nizida, Walter F. Prince, Chester Bailey Fernando

    book
  4. Pumpkins' Glow: 200+ Eerie Tales for Halloween : Horror Classics, Mysterious Cases, Gothic Novels, Monster Tales & Supernatural Stories

    Wilhelm Hauff, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Edgar Allan Poe, William Hope Hodgson, John Buchan, George MacDonald, Bram Stoker, Anatole France, Jack London, Henry James, Théophile Gautier, Arthur Conan Doyle, Richard Le Gallienne, Ralph Adams Cram, Guy De Maupassant, Thomas Hardy, William Archer, Daniel Defoe, Brander Matthews, Lafcadio Hearn, Ambrose Bierce, Ellis Parker Butler, Washington Irving, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Grant Allen, Arthur Machen, Wilkie Collins, Thomas Peckett Prest, James Malcolm Rymer, Fergus Hume, Walter Hubbell, Leopold Kompert, Florence Marryat, John William Polidori, Vincent O'Sullivan, W. Jacobs, M.P. Shiel, M. R. James, H.P. Lovecraft, Francis Marion Crawford, Mary Shelley, Margaret Oliphant, Frank R. Stockton, A. T. Quiller-Couch, Leonard Kip, Katherine Rickford, Bithia Mary Croker, Catherine L. Pirkis, Pedro De Alarçon, Pliny the Younger, Helena Blavatsky, Villiers de l'Isle-Adam, William F. Harvey, Fiona Macleod, William T. Stead, Gambier Bolton, Andrew Jackson Davis, Nizida, Walter F. Prince, Chester Bailey Fernando

    book
  5. Witch Wood

    John Buchan

    audiobookbook
  6. Mr. Standfast

    John Buchan

    audiobookbook
  7. Beware The Silence : Ultimate Collection of Horror Classics, Macabre Tales & Supernatural Mysteries

    Wilhelm Hauff, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Adelbert von Chamisso, Oscar Wilde, Robert Louis Stevenson, Edgar Allan Poe, William Hope Hodgson, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, John Buchan, Louis Tracy, Bram Stoker, Anatole France, Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, Jack London, Henry James, Théophile Gautier, Arthur Conan Doyle, Richard Le Gallienne, Jane Austen, Ralph Adams Cram, Thomas De Quincey, John Meade Falkner, Guy De Maupassant, Thomas Hardy, William Archer, Daniel Defoe, John Kendrick Bangs, Cleveland Moffett, Brander Matthews, Marie Belloc Lowndes, Horace Walpole, Rudyard Kipling, Lafcadio Hearn, Hugh Walpole, Ambrose Bierce, Frederick Marryat, Ellis Parker Butler, Washington Irving, Leonid Andreyev, David Lindsay, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Grant Allen, Arthur Machen, Wilkie Collins, William Makepeace Thackeray, Thomas Peckett Prest, James Malcolm Rymer, Fergus Hume, Edward Bellamy, Walter Hubbell, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Leopold Kompert, Richard Marsh, Florence Marryat, Catherine Crowe, John William Polidori, Vincent O'Sullivan, H.G. Wells, Robert W. Chambers, W. Jacobs, M.P. Shiel, E F Benson, Jerome K Jerome, M. R. James, E. T. A. A Hoffmann, Stanley G. Weinbaum, George W. M. M Reynolds, H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, Edith Nesbit, Sabine Baring-Gould, William Thomas Beckford, Francis Marion Crawford, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Mary Louisa Molesworth, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, Nikolai Gogol, Mary Shelley, Elizabeth Gaskell, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Frank R. Stockton, A. T. Quiller-Couch, Ann Radcliffe, Louisa M. Alcott, Amelia B. Edwards, Leonard Kip, Matthew Gregory Lewis, Fitz-James O’Brien, Katherine Rickford, Bithia Mary Croker, Catherine L. Pirkis, Émile Erckmann, Alexandre Chatrian, Pedro De Alarçon, H. H. Munro (Saki), Pliny the Younger, Helena Blavatsky, Villiers de l'Isle-Adam, William F. Harvey, Fiona Macleod, William T. Stead, Gambier Bolton, Andrew Jackson Davis, Nizida, Walter F. Prince, Chester Bailey Fernando

    book
  8. Greenmantle

    John Buchan

    audiobookbook
  9. Brothers & Sisters - John & Anna Buchan Edition (Collection of Their Greatest Works) : Spy Thrillers, Historical Novels & Romance Novels (With Biographies and Memoirs)

    John Buchan, Anna Buchan

    book
  10. De 39 stegen

    John Buchan

    audiobook
  11. The 39 Steps

    John Buchan

    audiobookbook