4 h 40 minAudiobook15 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 4 h 40 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A dead man in his London flat leaves Richard Hannay with a secret notebook—and nowhere safe to turn.
Richard Hannay, a mining engineer back from southern Africa, finds London dull. Then his American neighbour, Franklin P. Scudder, claims to know of a plot to murder a foreign statesman. When Scudder is killed in Hannay’s flat, boredom gives way to danger: the police suspect Hannay, and the killers want the dead man’s secrets.
Hannay heads north into the Scottish hills, with police and foreign agents on his trail. He changes his appearance, sleeps in barns and cottages, and relies on quick thinking to keep moving. In John Buchan’s short spy novel, a cryptic puzzle—the thirty-nine steps—may hold the key to stopping a national disaster.
What you’ll discover
- A reluctant man of action Watch a restless engineer discover what his wits and outdoor skills can do under pressure.
- Escape across the moors Follow Hannay through open country where pursuit comes by land and air.
- A dead man’s notebook Trace the clues Scudder leaves behind as Hannay searches for the plot beneath them.
- Danger behind every disguise A milkman’s coat offers one escape, but staying ahead demands fresh invention.
- A calm, dry voice Hannay tells his own story with understated humour that makes each wild scrape feel believable.
Who will love it
You will love this if you enjoy fast chases, clever disguises, wide Scottish landscapes, secret codes and an ordinary man rising to a big task.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A bored man meets a man who is dead
- Hannay disguises himself and slips out north
- An innkeeper, a cipher, and a stolen car
- A candidate's coat and a roadman's hat
- A kind old man with hooded eyes
- A fisherman on a bridge whistles Annie Laurie
- Acting a part is the book's way of surviving
- An ordinary man in a hurry, and a country unprepared
- A shocker told fast, in one dry and honest voice
Who’s who
- Richard HannayA bored mining engineer from Rhodesia who is drawn into a spy plot and must stay free and alive until the fifteenth of June.
- Franklin ScudderAn American wanderer and amateur spy who comes to Hannay for shelter and leaves behind a coded notebook.
- Sir HarryA cheerful, inexperienced young Liberal candidate who lends Hannay clothes and a letter to his godfather.
- Sir Walter BullivantA senior Foreign Office official who fishes quietly, weighs Scudder's story, and becomes Hannay's powerful ally.
- Alexander TrummleA drunken roadman who swaps places with Hannay and later nurses him without asking a single question.
- Marmaduke JopleyA snobbish stockbroker whose car and coat help Hannay escape, and who holds a grudge afterwards.
- The old man with hooded eyesThe calm, bald leader of the Black Stone, who helps fugitives at his door and then holds them for his own purposes.
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The Thirty-Nine Steps
by John Buchan · 1915
Bored Richard Hannay finds a dead man in his flat and runs across Scotland with spies on his trail.
Medium level2–5 hours to readItaliano
Excellent
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In short
Richard Hannay is bored. He is a thirty-seven-year-old mining engineer from Rhodesia, back in London, and the city has let him down.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A bored man meets a man who is dead
Hannay is wealthy, healthy and thoroughly fed up. He made his pile in Bulawayo and came to London expecting wonders. He gives the Old Country one more day to find him a purpose, or he will take the next boat to the Cape.
That evening a slim man with a short brown beard catches him at his front door. He dashes inside, fastens the chain, drinks a whisky in three gulps, and says that at this moment he happens to be dead. His name is Franklin Scudder, an American who has wandered Europe watching politics.
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- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 15 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1915
- Language
- Italiano
- Reading time
- 3 h 0 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Buchan, John. The Thirty-Nine Steps. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-thirty-nine-steps.
Buchan, J. (2026). The thirty-nine steps. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-thirty-nine-steps (Original work published 1915)
Buchan, John. The Thirty-Nine Steps. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-thirty-nine-steps.
@book{buchan2026thirtynine,
author = {Buchan, John},
title = {The Thirty-Nine Steps},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-thirty-nine-steps},
note = {First published 1915}
}
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What is The Thirty-Nine Steps about?
It follows Richard Hannay, a bored man in London, who is given a secret by a neighbor and then must flee across Scotland. Spies and police hunt him while he tries to deliver a warning before the fifteenth of June.
When was The Thirty-Nine Steps written and is it a true story?
John Buchan wrote it in 1915, during the first year of the First World War, and the dedication calls it a shocker. The plot is invented, but it uses real fears of the time about spies and war.
Who is Richard Hannay?
He is a thirty-seven-year-old mining engineer who made his fortune in Rhodesia and then grew bored in London. He has strong nerves, sharp eyes, and bush skills, and he tells the whole story in his own voice.
The author
John Buchan
1875–1940 · Scottish novelist and politician
John Buchan (1875–1940) was a Scottish author and politician, born in Perth. He wrote novels, histories and biographies. His novels include The Thirty-Nine Steps (1915), Mr. Standfast (1919) and Huntingtower (1922). He lived in Britain and served as Governor General of Canada from 1935 until his death in Montreal.
More by John Buchan
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