The Thirty-Nine Steps By John Buchan 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. The Thirty-Nine Steps By John Buchan Richard Hannay finds a corpse in his flat and becomes involved in a plot by spies to precipitate war and subvert British naval power. The resourceful victim of a manhunt, he is pursued by both the police and the ruthless conspirators. The Thirty-Nine Steps By John Buchan This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. The Thirty-Nine Steps By John Buchan In May of 1914, war looms in Europe. Richard Hannay returns home to London after living in Rhodesia. One night his neighbor, an American who claims to be in fear for his life, visits Hannay. The man appears to know of an anarchist plot to destabilize Europe, beginning with a plan to assassinate the Greek Premier, Constantine Karolides, during his forthcoming visit to London. The Thirty-Nine Steps By John Buchan The man, named Franklin P. Scudder, is a freelance spy and reveals that he has faked his own death. Scudder claims to be following a ring of German spies called the Black Stone who are trying to steal British plans for the outbreak of war. Hannay, convinced of his honesty, lets Scudder hide in his flat. Police discover the fake suicide and suspect nothing, but Hannay finds Scudder murdered in his flat a few days later nonetheless. Feeling now part of the plot, Hannay takes up Scudder's encoded notebook and escapes his apartment by disguising himself as the milkman one day. The Thirty-Nine Steps By John Buchan Hannay takes a train leaving from London to Galloway, in southwest Scotland, believing it sufficiently remote to hide in until the fateful 15th of June (a date noted by Scudder relevant to the anarchist's plot). Hannay lodges in a shepherd's cottage and reads in a newspaper that the police are looking for him in Scotland, suspecting him of Scudder's murder. Hannay boards a local train heading east, but jumps off between stations to confuse his trail. He eventually finds an inn where he stays the night. He tells the innkeeper a modified version of his story, and the man is persuaded to shelter him. While staying at the inn, Hannay cracks the cipher used in Scudder's codebook. The next day two men arrive at the inn looking for Hannay, but the innkeeper sends them away. When they return later, Hannay steals their car and escapes. The Thirty-Nine Steps By John Buchan By this time, Hannay is being pursued by an airplane, and a policeman in a remote village tries to stop him as he drives through. He decides to stay off the main roads, but not knowing the area, nearly gets into a crash. To avoid it, he ditches the car, which falls off a cliff. The other driver, Harry Bullivant, a local landowner, and prospective politician, takes pity on him after seeing his dirty clothes and takes him home to clean up. When he learns of Hannay's experiences in South Africa, he invites him to address an election meeting that afternoon. Hannay's speech impresses Harry (and is far better than Harry's own), and Hannay feels able to trust him with his story. Harry writes an introductory letter about Hannay to a relation in the Foreign Office to thank him for his speech and help him with the plot. The Thirty-Nine Steps By John Buchan Hannay leaves Harry and tries to hide in the countryside, but is spotted from the airplane. Soon he spots a group of men on the ground searching for him. Miraculously, he meets a road mender out on the moor, and swaps places with him, sending the workman home. His disguise fools his pursuers, who pass him by. On the same road, he encounters an acquaintance from London (whom he hates) named Marmaduke Jolley. He takes his clothes and drives his car several miles away before leaving Jolley. The Thirty-Nine Steps By John Buchan Now back on foot, his pursuers find Hannay, and he runs off. He finds a cottage and enters, desperate for cover, and the occupant excitedly welcomes him. Unfortunately, the man turns out to be one of the enemies, and with his accomplices, he locks Hannay into his storage room. Fortunately, the room in which Hannay is locked is full of bomb-making materials, which he uses to break out of the cottage. Without cover or means to escape cars or the plane, Hannay hides on top of a building until nightfall then runs off. The Thirty-Nine Steps By John Buchan Hannay returns to and retrieves his possessions from the helpful road mender and stays for a few days to recover from the explosion. He departs by train to meet Harry's relative at the Foreign Office, Sir Walter Bullivant. As they discuss Scudder's notes, Sir Walter receives a phone call to tell him that Karolides has indeed been assassinated. Sir Walter and his cohort return to London with Hannay, where they clear his name at Scotland Yard and release him, apparently free of involvement in the plot. Hannay feels agitated and unfulfilled; he runs into Marmaduke Jopley again and starts a fight. With the police after him again, he flees to Sir Walter's home, where he finds him in a meeting with several officials, including the First Sea Lord. While Hannay waits for the meeting to end, the First Sea Lord leaves. They briefly make eye contact and Hannay is certain the man is one of his pursuers in disguise. They call the real First Sea Lord's home, where a servant informs them he is asleep in bed. The Thirty-Nine Steps By John Buchan Desperate to stop the imposter from escaping with their secrets, Hannay and the officials comb Scudder's codebook. The reason that the phrase "the thirty-nine steps," along with the date and tidal information (high tide at 10:17 PM) must indicate the location of the escape point for the conspirators. With the help of a coast guardsman, they set off for a quiet middle-class location by the sea. They find an area with several sets of steps, one of them having 39, and an anchored yacht called "Ariadne." They approach the yacht posing as fishermen and discover the officer on board is German. Hannay watches three men in a villa who match the description of his pursuers, but their normal behavior causes him to doubt their involvement. The Thirty-Nine Steps By John Buchan Despite his doubts, he confronts the men. A subtle gesture assures him that they are his pursuers, and his men enter to arrest them. Although one escapes, bound for the boat, Hannay reveals they have already taken the boat, and all three men are arrested. England enters World War I three weeks later, her secrets intact, with Hannay commissioned captain. The Thirty-Nine Steps By John Buchan