Richard Hannay is bored. He’s bored out of his mind, sitting in a London flat in May 1914, thinking that the "Old Country" is way too quiet after his years in Rhodesia. Then a man named Franklin P. Scudder shows up at his door, starts talking about a political assassination plot that could trigger a world war, and gets murdered in Hannay’s parlor. Suddenly, boredom isn't the problem. Survival is.
This is the frantic setup of The Thirty Nine Steps novel, a book that basically wrote the blueprint for every "man on the run" story you’ve ever loved. If you’ve seen a James Bond flick or watched a Bourne movie, you’re looking at the DNA of John Buchan’s 1915 masterpiece. It’s short. It’s punchy. It’s also kinda weird when you dig into the history of how it was written.
A Thriller Born in a Sickbed
John Buchan didn't write this to change literature. He was stuck in bed with a duodenal ulcer right as World War I was kicking off. He was miserable. To distract himself from the pain and the grim news from the front, he decided to write what he called a "shocker"—a story where the events are so unlikely they’re basically impossible, but the characters act so realistically you believe every second of it.
He finished it in about three months.
When you read The Thirty Nine Steps novel today, the first thing you notice is the pacing. It’s breathless. Hannay flees to Scotland, dodges airplanes (a terrifyingly new technology at the time), hides in moors, and assumes various disguises to escape both the police—who think he killed Scudder—and the German spies who actually did it. Buchan wasn't trying to be deep. He was trying to stay entertained while he couldn't eat solid food.
The "Man on the Run" Trope
Before this book, adventure stories usually happened in far-off lands. Think H. Rider Haggard or Robert Louis Stevenson. Buchan changed the game by bringing the danger to the English countryside. He made the familiar seem hostile.
Hannay isn’t a superhero. He’s a guy with a decent amount of grit and a lot of luck. He uses his surroundings—the mist, the heather, the rocky crags of the Borders—to disappear. This "ordinary man in extraordinary circumstances" vibe became the bread and butter of Alfred Hitchcock, who later adapted the book into a legendary film (though he changed a ton of the plot, including adding a love interest that isn't in the book at all).
What the Heck Are the "Thirty-Nine Steps" Anyway?
Most people who know the title from pop culture expect some grand, metaphorical meaning. Honestly? It’s literal. In the book, the steps are a physical set of wooden stairs leading down to the sea at a coastal villa in Kent.
The spies are using these stairs to reach a boat.
That’s it.
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The simplicity is what makes it work. In a world of complex codes and international conspiracies, the big secret turns out to be a count of stairs. It’s a grounded, tactile detail in a story that’s otherwise filled with high-stakes espionage. Buchan’s daughter later claimed her father actually counted the steps at a real private nursing home where he was staying in Broadstairs, which just goes to show how much he pulled from his immediate, boring surroundings to fuel his imagination.
Reading Between the Lines: The 1914 Context
You have to remember that when this was published, the world was actually falling apart. The Thirty Nine Steps novel was serialized in Blackwood's Magazine in mid-1915 before coming out as a book. Readers were sitting in trenches or waiting for news of loved ones. They needed a hero who could outwit the "Black Stone" (the spy ring in the book) because the real-world stakes were so terrifyingly high.
There’s a tension in the writing that reflects that era's anxiety. Buchan was an insider—he eventually became the Governor General of Canada—and he understood the geopolitical jitters of the British Empire. He captured that feeling that the "civilized" world was just a thin veneer over total chaos.
The Problematic Side of a 1915 Classic
Look, we have to talk about it. If you pick up an unedited copy of the book today, some of the language is going to make you cringe. It’s a product of its time, which means there are moments of casual anti-Semitism and colonialist attitudes that were standard for a British aristocrat in the early 20th century. Specifically, Scudder’s initial rant about a Jewish conspiracy is pretty ugly.
Modern readers usually approach this in one of two ways. Some see it as a historical artifact that shows how even the "heroes" of the time held bigoted views. Others find it a dealbreaker. It’s worth noting that as the Richard Hannay series progressed (there are four sequels), Buchan’s own views seemed to evolve, and the later books are generally seen as less offensive, but the first one definitely carries the baggage of its era.
Why It Still Works (And Why You Should Read It)
You can finish this book in an afternoon. It’s barely 100 pages depending on the font size. But in those pages, Buchan manages to create a sense of scale that most modern thrillers struggle to match with 500 pages.
The scene where Hannay is trapped in a room with a political leader who he realizes is actually a spy in disguise? Pure tension. The moment he has to pretend to be a roadman fixing a highway to hide from a search party? Iconic.
The Thirty Nine Steps novel works because it understands the psychology of being hunted. It’s not about the gadgets. It’s about the feeling of your heart hammering against your ribs while you’re lying in a ditch hoping the shadow passing over you isn't an enemy scout.
Differences from the Hitchcock Film
If you’ve seen the 1935 movie, you don't know the book. Hitchcock took the title and the basic "spy chase" premise and threw the rest out.
- The Love Interest: In the book, there isn't one. Hannay is solo. He doesn't get handcuffed to a beautiful woman.
- The Memory Man: Mr. Memory is a Hitchcock invention. In the book, the "Thirty-Nine Steps" are found through Scudder’s notebook and good old-fashioned detective work.
- The Ending: The book ends on the coast of Kent, while the movie ends in a London music hall.
Buchan actually liked the movie, which is rare for an author. He understood that film is a different medium and that Hitchcock’s "MacGuffin" style was a perfect match for his own "shocker" philosophy.
How to Experience The Thirty Nine Steps Today
If you want to get into the Hannay universe, don't just stop at the first book. While The Thirty Nine Steps novel is the most famous, Greenmantle is often considered the better piece of literature. It’s a sprawling spy epic set across Europe and the Middle East during the war.
But start with the original. It’s the source code.
Actionable Insights for Readers and Writers:
- Study the Pacing: If you’re a writer, look at how Buchan uses short, punchy chapters to keep the reader turning pages. He never lets Hannay stay in one place for more than a few pages.
- Context Matters: Read the book alongside a history of the lead-up to WWI. Understanding the "Prester John" anxieties and the fear of German naval power makes the plot much more impactful.
- Check the Public Domain: Because the book is over a century old, it’s in the public domain. You can find high-quality, free versions on Project Gutenberg or Standard Ebooks if you don't want to buy a physical copy.
- Compare the Adaptations: Watch the 1935 Hitchcock version, the 1959 version, and the 1978 version (which is actually the most faithful to the book’s ending). Seeing how different eras interpret Hannay tells you a lot about how our definition of a "hero" has shifted over time.
Basically, go read it. It’s the reason we have the thriller genre as we know it today. Just be prepared for a bit of 1915 grit along the way.