The Thirty-Nine Steps is an adventure novel by the Scottish author John Buchan, first published in 1915 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 habit of 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.Literary significance and criticismThe 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 and Mr Standfast. The other two stories, The Three Hostages and The Island of Sheep were set in the post war period when Hannay's opponents were criminal gangs.John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir GCMG GCVO CH PC (26 August 1875 – 11 February 1940) was a Scottish novelist and Unionist politician who, between 1935 and 1940, served as the 15th Governor General of Canada.After a brief career in law, Buchan simultaneously began writing and his political and diplomatic career, serving as a private secretary to the colonial administrator of various colonies in Southern Africa, and eventually wrote propaganda for the British war effort following the outbreak of the First World War. Once back in civilian life, Buchan was elected the Member of Parliament for the Combined Scottish Universities, but spent most of his time on his writing career. He wrote The Thirty-Nine Steps and other adventure fiction.On the recommendation of Canadian Prime Minister Richard Bennett, Buchan was appointed by George V, the king of Canada, as the Canadian viceroy, succeeding in that role the Earl of Bessborough. Buchan proved to be enthusiastic about literacy as well as the evolution of Canadian culture. He died in 1940, suffering the consequences of a stroke at Rideau Hall. He received a state funeral in Canada, and his ashes were returned to the UK and interred at Elsfield, Oxfordshire
The Thirty-Nine Steps is a 1978 thriller directed by Don Sharp, based on the novel The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan.IntroductionThis version of Buchan's tale starred Robert Powell as Richard Hannay, Karen Dotrice as Alex, John Mills as Colonel Scudder, and a host of other well-known British actors in smaller parts. It is generally regarded as the closest to the novel, being set before World War I. The early events and overall feel of the film bear much resemblance to Buchan's original story, albeit with a few changes such as the introduction of a love interest and a different meaning for the "39 steps". It is well remembered for the famous Big Ben end sequence.Powell later reprised the role in the ITV series Hannay in 1988 (six episodes) and 1989 (seven episodes).PlotIn 1914, Prussian spies are everywhere. After a spate of assassinations of important British politicians, a retired British intelligence officer, Colonel Scudder, realises his life and his mysterious black notebook are in danger. He turns to Richard Hannay, a mining engineer who is visiting Britain for a short time before returning to South Africa, who happens to live in a neighbouring apartment. Scudder tells Hannay of a plot by Prussian 'sleeper' agents, who are planning to pre-start World War I by murdering a foreign minister.Hannay reluctantly gives Scudder shelter in his apartment, despite his initial distrust of him. In the morning, Hannay leaves to purchase Scudder a train ticket to Scotland. Scudder also leaves the apartment to post a parcel, but he is spotted and follows Hannay to the railway station to supposedly give him the black book.However, before he can reach Hannay, Scudder is murdered and Hannay is framed for the death by the 'sleepers'. Hannay manages to get Scudder's notebook, but this turns out to be a dummy, with only a code in it to find his real book, which he has posted to Scotland. Hannay flees to Scotland on a train, but he is forced to make a daredevil escape on a bridge when police board.Hannay attempts to solve the mystery whilst on the run from the police, led by Chief Supt Lomas (Eric Porter), and the Prussian agents, led by Edmund Appleton, a Prussian sympathiser highly placed in the British government.With the aid of Alex Mackenzie and her fiance, David Hamilton, whom Hannay meets on the Scottish moors, claiming to be taking part in a wager, Scudder's book is found, the coded information partly deciphered and the true plans of the Prussian agents are revealed. The agents intend to murder the visiting Greek Prime Minister, leading to unrest in the Balkans and thus World War I, by planting a bomb in parliament. The "Thirty-Nine Steps" refers to the number of stairs in the clock tower of Big Ben and Hannay realises that the bomb is to be set off by the clock at 11.45.When he reaches the top of the clock tower, the agents have already planted the bomb and have locked the clock room. Hannay is forced to break the glass of the clock-face and physically stop the clock hands, leading to the iconic final sequence.
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