The Thirty-Nine Steps & Greenmantle

Richard Hannay #1-2

by John Buchan

When Richard Hannay is warned of an assassination plot that has potential to take Britain into a war, and then discovers in his flat the murdered body of the American that warned him, he becomes a prime suspect. He flees to the moors of Scotland and a spirited chase begins as he is pursued by the police and the German spies involved with stealing British plans. Buchan's tale unfolds into one of the seminal and most influential 'chase' books, mimicked by many, yet unrivaled in the tension and mystery created by his writing

Genres: Fiction, Classics, Mystery, Thriller, Historical Fiction, Novels, Adventure

405 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1915

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

John Buchan was a Scottish novelist, historian, and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the 15th since Canadian Confederation.
As a youth, Buchan began writing poetry and prose, fiction and non-fiction, publishing his first novel in 1895 and ultimately writing over a hundred books of which the best known is The Thirty-Nine Steps. After attending Glasgow and Oxford universities, he practised as a barrister. In 1901, he served as a private secretary to Lord Milner in southern Africa towards the end of the Boer War. He returned to England in 1903, continued as a barrister and journalist. He left the Bar when he joined Thomas Nelson and Sons publishers in 1907. During the First World War, he was, among other activities, Director of Information in 1917 and later Head of Intelligence at the newly-formed Ministry of Information. He was elected Member of Parliament for the Combined Scottish Universities in 1927.
In 1935, King George V, on the advice of Canadian Prime Minister R. B. Bennett, appointed Buchan to succeed the Earl of Bessborough as Governor General of Canada and two months later raised him to the peerage as 1st Baron Tweedsmuir. He occupied the post until his death in 1940. Buchan promoted Canadian unity and helped strengthen the sovereignty of Canada constitutionally and culturally. He received a state funeral in Canada before his ashes were returned to the United Kingdom.

Reviews

[G. Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

I say! What a dashed ripping yarn old chap!
I enjoyed this book greatly. It's short, a novella really, but a great little read. Very of its time, and has now produced in me an urge to talk like George from Blackadder Goes Forth. Sure it will wear off eventually...
Loved all the trickery, escape and running over the Scottish moors, topping fun, wot?

[Alan Cotterell · Rating 4 out of 5]

RTC

[Pauline Reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Thirty-Nine Steps was gifted and recommended to me by Ellen Read (author).

This isn't the edition I have, mine is a Collins Classics, but I couldn't find it on Good Reads.

Mr Scudder, from the flat above, politely invites himself inside Richards Hannay flat. He makes himself at home and lives there for a few days.

One day Richard comes home and finds Mr Scudder dead.

Richard has a cunning plan, which starts with the milkman coming to his door. This is where the chase begins, when Richard looks like he has been framed for the murder. Richard enters another world chopping and changing his identity and he suspects everyone around him.

I most certainly enjoyed The Thirty-Nine Steps, so much. It held my attention through out the whole book. It is a very fast paced book. I certainly admired the style of writing John Buchan produced. It was thoughtfully planned out amazingly well, so well infact, that most of the plot twists seemed plausible.

I would recommend The Thirty-Nine Steps to anyone who loves spy/thrillers, who likes to keep quessing who is who and what is what and anyone who doesn't get lost on complicated busy plot twists and anyone who likes fast paced books.

[Ken Pelham · Rating 3 out of 5]

The murder of an old acquaintance sends two-dimensional action figure John Hannay on the run through the English and Scottish countryside, trying to elude both the police and the actual murderers. Plots are afoot to plunge the continent into war, mirroring the actual sequences of avoidable tragedies and willful stupidities that started the Great War in 1914. Hannay created the "man on the run" thriller with this novel. At times, the book is successful and entertaining, yet slips over the edge of implausible (even laughable) coincidences too often.

Had Buchan been a better writer and more astute observer of the crisis engulfing the world all around, and less of a rah-rah nationalist, we might have had a great novel in this. But it is what it is, to use a manager-speak phrase that I absolutely hate.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lot of negative reviews on this. I guess those folks didn't understand what they were reading. This is virtually the first of its kind. Okay, it is a little cheesy but it rattles along. It also contains more sex and extreme violence than you would expect of a book from this time.

[Ellen Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good old-fashioned thriller. I loved it.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perhaps it isn't a good idea to read both of these in a row.
The Thirty-Nine Steps - 3.4 stars (Pretty good but it starts out better than it finishes)
Greenmantle - 2.8 stars (A sequel that's over twice the length and has an even weaker finish than "Thirty-Nine Steps")
These are worth reading if you're a fan of the spy genre, as they might be among the first of their kind. IMO, this genre takes a leap forward in 1939 with Geoffrey Household's novella, "Rogue Male" and from that point we move into Fleming's world in the late 1950s.

[Ashley Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun read. It moved along well and was interesting. I enjoyed Buchan's descriptions of the natural landscapes. It allowed the reader to visualize them well. I would recommend it...especially if you're a Hitchcock fan :)

[Morgan Gallagher · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 and a half stars really. Okay, it's an old book. It's also more of a novella than a novel. Which make the first chapter even more complicated as it takes too long putting in a massive back story. It's also difficult to get past the casual racist phrases of the time. However, it does then pick up and clip along nicely. Until it gets to the end, where it limps home.

Alas, if you are looking for the Richard Hannay of film fame, you'll discover that your memories of Hannay come via Hitchcock, and Charles Bennet, who wrote the original screenplay, and not John Buchan. Hannay does escape across Scottish moorland but never gets anywhere near the Forth Rail Bridge. The thirty-nine steps are no where near London and Hannay never hangs off the minute arm of the clock of Big Ben. There is no romance either, but that was no loss.

But the language is good, and there is some excitement and worth in terms of the moor chase. Buchan does draw a fine character very quickly and his description of countryside is vivid and interesting. Plot is unbelievable, even within the genre, at several points of deus ex machina, hence the novella comment. But in the right mood you can romp through it in a couple of hours.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this quick read. I see many are giving poor reviews because of the unbelievable coincidences and the simplicity of the tale. I find this foolish. Consider that this tale was constructed a hundred years ago. Take it for what it's worth. A good trend setter to the spy/mystery genre.

[Val · Rating 4 out of 5]

This classic spy novel has just been re-released. It was first published in 1914 and is a template for many of the thrillers and spy novels written after. Some of the travels are difficult to follow, not knowing the Scottish countryside. Even so, it was fascinating and a good read.

[Lee Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun, short, Scottish spy adventure book which was less than a hundred pages.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and managed to find a movie version of this to watch too. There are differences between the book and the movie so be aware of that.

[Βασίλης Μέγας · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant, breath-taking, full of suspense and mystery. In my humble opinion this is the foundation stone of spy fiction.

[Jacobo Garcia]

Book report.
Jacob García.

The thirty-nine steps.

John Buchan.

78 pages read.

Suspense

Summary:
The story was in the War´s epoch in Europe, the protagonist Richard Hannay returned to his home after living a long time in Rhodesia. So he was very bored with his work there, because his work was to talk with strangers to help them with situarions, but one day he decided to pray to God if it was a good idea to left the country, but since that moment he prayed to God, a lot of stranger things started to happen in Hannay's life.

Theme:
I think that the theme of my book is Adventure, but why? Is because in this book Hannay that is the principal character, is passing by a very difficult situation that is about thinking to left his country, so he passed by a lot of adventures trying to find a new work, and solving a lot of problems he had.

Opinion:
My opinion of my book is that is very good, for example if you are a person that like the suspense where a person tried to give all to save his work, i think you might read this book, almost the language is a language easy to understand and you try to enter in the story.

Recommendation:
I recommend this book, becuase this book left us a very beautiful story, all the time i read this book i didn't have problems, almost i recommend it because is a book that people of any age can read, and because it didn't have bad words. So i want to congratulate the author by a very good book, and thank you by giving us a little of suspense.

5 vocabulary words.
1-) Dejection: Unhappy or dissapointment. N.
Sentence: I had a dejection with my boss, so he kicked me out.

2-) Eminence: A position or rank or superiority. N.
Sentence: My family always had eminence here in the town.

3-) Knavery: A dishonest act. Verb.
Sentence: I had a knavery with my dad so i can go out.

4-) Mite: Very small amount of money. Adj.
Sentence: you have a mite amount of 20 dollars bills.

5-) Perjury: The practice of lying. Verb.
Sentence: My perjury always is to have my cellphone back.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Thirty-Nine Steps:
"It wasn't the best story I've ever read, but considering how much was packed into just 115 pages, five stars."

Greenmantle:
"Greenmantle was weaker than its predecessor, and maybe full of a little too much convenience, but what it lacked it made up for in its likable characters."

[Gautam Sasidharan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Richard Hannay, an expatriate, gets embroiled in a murder scenario in Scotland. Unwilling to get trapped in the hands of law and more eager to safeguard the secret the murdered has handed over to him, he is on the run. Along the run, he ends up with different people, takes different guises, up until he falls into safe hands. But that doesn't ensure that the danger has been averted. For that, he has to find the thirty nine steps. He finds it, but what does it signify and is he sure that it is the right one? For that and many other answers, read the book.

The Thirty Nine Steps, written in 1915, narrates an adventure in the backdrop of Scotland. Before reading this book, be cautioned to make no comparisons to the adventure thrillers of today. Written during times when the World War was impending, the story is endearing. The most beautiful part is the descriptions of the countryside and the author's ability to show us the life of those days. The story has very less drama and violence, and is perfectly harmless.

The only aspect which may seem as a drawback is the missing action or the laid back style of writing. This can be overcome, as mentioned before, by tuning our mental setup to those times and the understanding that it was one of the first in its genre.

This book is the first among the series of books featuring the protagonist Richard Hannay. It needs to be mentioned that these books were the source of adaptation of a Alfred Hitchcock movie. That itself, makes the book a must read. I really don't know whether the movie is better than the book, as I haven't seen it. Nevertheless, it is a must read, one to chew and digest.

[Carl Alves · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Thirty-Nine Steps was written and is set in World War 1 era Europe, where conspiracies of worldwide war are at work. The story’s main character, Richard Hannay is leading a typical middle class life when he gets thrust in the middle of it all as a stranger shows up telling him of this conspiracy. When the stranger winds up dead, Richard takes it upon himself to bring the killers to justice and prevent the war from happening.

This novel is part thriller, part spy novel. In comparison to other novels from that era, this is written at a fairly fast pace. Although conspiratorial in nature, it was interesting how many of the things written in the book came to pass and how true to life the novel was. Buchan shows a high skill-level in his writing. Richard Hanney is a bit of an everyman—someone who gets thrust into a crazy situation and rises to the occasion. My only real complaint is that the villains in the story weren’t terribly well-developed and their motives seemed a bit shaky. The final confrontation made me feel a bit ambivalent. This was a good read. I’m generally not into fiction written over a century ago, but I think this novel works.

Carl Alves – author of Two For Eternity

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book back in 2011. It was a great thriller. This is one of John Buchan's popular Richard Hannay novels.

One night, a man named Franklin Scudder comes to Hannay's apartment for help. Scudder has already left a dead body in his own apartment so that his enemies would think Scudder is dead. He knew about a secret mission in which a notable Greek man called Constantine Karolides is going to be assassinated in London. That is why Scudder is also the target of this group. By staging his death, he has escaped for the time being but his freedom is short lived as Hannay finds Scudder killed and his apartment rummaged. Now Hannay's life is in danger too. There begins the journey of Hannay trying to save his life as well that of Karolides.

This is a really short book and through its pages the reader meets several memorable characters. This is a really great book and I am truly sad that it has not reached a lot of readers.😐

[Farhan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Buchan's attempt to write a 'dime novel,' as he put it, might read as a tad too simplistic and implausible yarn of adventure by the high standards of the modern reader of the thriller genre, but it is still entertaining and reminds one of a more innoncent world. Also, considering the fact that it was written way back when in 1914, and that the author paved the way for the thriller/espionage genre, one has to concede that at the time the novel was a trendsetter, and a valiant attempt at telling a good, focused story without any padding that might come in the way of the pace of the book.

[Aaron Barnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fast paced and enjoyable romp through the Scottish countryside. It's worth bearing in mind when this was written, and the fact it was a pioneer of the "spy" genre.
The narrative is easy to read and Buchan has a nice pace about his writing. The book is good fun but the plot is rather too contrived in places; people and places pop up far too conveniently to move the story on (Dues ex machina).
Despite this, the book is good fun and an enjoyable read. It's also rather short and can be rattled through in a few hours.
A good introduction to the lesser known Hanney novels which follow

[Sash · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a novella written in 1921, one of the first few of it's kind, The Thirty-Nine Steps is a riveting page turner.

Richard Hannay as an ordinary man turned hero is a believable character, free from ostentation and very proactive.

The fast paced nature of the plot along with Hannay's quick thinking deductions create suspense worth mulling over.

Furthermore the novella's style, its narrative not lost in excessive technical jargon create a sense of timelessness.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always find it interesting to read novels that have been turned into movies which become classic films such as this one which has had various incarnations as a film the most famous being the great Hitchcock version. One begins to appreciate the difficulties in turning books into film as plots, points of view, narrators, characters and places have to be corralled into a cohesive whole while maintaining the original intent of the original source material.

[Karen]

* 1000 novels everyone must read: the definitive list: Crime

Selected by the Guardian's Review team and a panel of expert judges, this list includes only novels – no memoirs, no short stories, no long poems – from any decade and in any language. Originally published in thematic supplements – love, crime, comedy, family and self, state of the nation, science fiction and fantasy, war and travel – they appear here for the first time.

[Gibin Mathew · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Riveting read !

A wonderful thriller with a powerful narration.You won't get bored at any stage of its presentation. Lot of twists wait you at in its discourse but the end is quiet predictable.The story is small around 160 pages and you could finish it in a single go.

This is my first read of John Buchan,and I enjoyed it thoroughly. The language is little tough with lot of Scottish dialogues (slang/phrases). For its story line and engaging narration ,I will rate it 3.5/5

[Will · Rating 2 out of 5]

This classic espionage tale is high on intrigue and drama; a mixture of Sherlock Holmes. However, I had the same problem that I had when reading Childres "The Riddle of the Sands", another WWI espionage book. The book is dominated by a "dastardly Germans" theme in which noble British boys try to prevent the evil Huns from spreading their dark empire. Whereas, naturally, the book is a product of its time, its still difficult to get past.

[Harsha Gurnani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fast-paced (incidental-)spy thriller. The author wrote this with an intention to make the story-line as implausible and outrageous as possible. He did a good job of that.
Interesting. Also I love how the author makes an effort to explain the fortunes of our hero, and remembers to propose explanations, no matter how serendipitous.

3.5 stars

[Amanda Gorry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this action adventure spy story. It may have been written eons ago but it still works and the language was easy to understand and not the usual flowery language from days gone by. Lots of intrigue, murder and chases - worth reading

[Todd Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Thirty-Nine Steps is fun little spy novel that features a ridiculously improbable series of coincidences that, while laughable, keep the plot moving along. The book was written in 1915 and represents one of the earliest examples of the spy thriller, man-on-the-run genre.

[Simeon Brazzell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one. I know it's a little silly and utterly ridiculous in the number coincidences. But you have to think about the day and age it was written in.

Just an idea, but it'd make an excellent slapstick spy comedy if you did it right.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rollicking yarn, one of the first chase stories this novel defined a genre. Although it's so of its time it can almost read like a spoof in parts, the story is engaging and keeps a good pace throughout.