The 39 Steps

The first of five novels featuring action hero, and the basis for the classic Hitchcock film May 1914. Britain is on the eve of war with Germany. Richard Hannay is living a quiet life in London, but after a chance encounter with a mysterious stranger he stumbles into a hair-raising adventurea desperate hunt across the country and against the clock, pursued by the police and a cunning, ruthless enemy. Hannay's life and the security of Britain are in grave peril, and everything rests on the solution to a baffling enigma: what are the 39 steps?

John Buchan (1875–1940) led an interesting and varied life as a statesman, barrister, journalist, intelligence officer, Member of Parliament, historian, biographer, poet, and novelist. His work was a considerable influence on other novelists, including Graham Greene, Ian Fleming, and John le Carré.  He published his most popular novel, The Thirty-Nine Steps, in 1915, and it has never since been out of print. Stella Rimington is the author of At Risk and the former director general of MI5.