The thirty nine steps – John Buchan – Longman – 1998 – Blanda

**The thirty nine steps**: When Richard Hannay's neighbour. Scudder, tells him a secret, an exciting adventure begins.
One evening Hannay returns home and finds Scudder dead on the floor. Hannay knows that his own life is in danger.
He has to live if he is going to save his country. But who are his enemies? What are they trying to do? And what did Scudder mean when he wrote the words "thiry-nine steps" in his secret notebook?
Hannay needs to find the answers to these questions quickly. But his enemies are very dangerous and clever men who are prepared to kill anyone.

John Buchan (1875-1940), was a diplomat, statesman and writer best known for his swift-paced adventure stories. The Encyclopaedia Britannica says:
"His Thirty-Nine Steps (1915) was the most popular of his series of secret-service thrillers and the first of many to feature Richard Hannay.
The 1935 film of The Thirty-Nine Steps, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, is often acclaimed a classic motion-picture thriller."
The book was twice again taken to cinema, in 1959 (with Kenneth More) and in 1979, in a much transformed version with Robert Powell.
In 1935, Buchan was raised to the peerage (First Baron Tweedsmuir) and appointed governor-general (Head of State) of Canada.