John Buchan wrote The Thirty-Nine Steps while he was seriously ill at the
beginning of World War I. In it, he introduces his most famous hero, Richard
Hannay, who, despite claiming to be an ordinary fellow, is caught up in the
dramatic race against a plot to devastate the British war effort. Hannay is
hunted across the Scottish moors by police and a pitiless enemy in the corridors
of Whitehall and, finally, at the site of th mysterious 39 steps. The best-known
of Buchan's thrillers, this novel has been continuously in print since first
publication and has been filmed three times. In this critical edition,
Christopher Harvie's introduction interweaves the writing of the tale with the
story of how John Buchan, publisher and lawyer, came in from the cold and, via
The Thirty-Nine Steps, ended the war as spymaster and propaganda chief. Other
Buchan World Classics include Witchwood and Greenmantle. -