Author

John Buchan

1875-1940 · Scottish novelist, historian and politician, Governor General of Canada

About John Buchan

John Buchan (1875-1940), son of a Free Church of Scotland minister, was a Scottish lawyer, publisher, historian, war propagandist and politician who wrote more than a hundred books. The Thirty-Nine Steps introduced Richard Hannay, who returned in Greenmantle (1916), Mr Standfast (1919), The Three Hostages (1924) and The Island of Sheep (1936). Created Baron Tweedsmuir in 1935, Buchan served as Governor General of Canada from 1935 until his death in 1940.

Notable works

  • The Thirty-Nine Steps (1915)
  • Prester John (1910)
  • Greenmantle (1916)
  • Mr Standfast (1919)
  • Huntingtower (1922)
  • The Three Hostages (1924)

Frequently Cited

“the romance where the incidents defy the probabilities, and march just inside the borders of the possible”
The Thirty-Nine Steps, Dedication
“I was the best bored man in the United Kingdom.”
The Thirty-Nine Steps, Chapter I
“the secret of playing a part was to think yourself into it.”
The Thirty-Nine Steps, Chapter V
“But I had done my best service, I think, before I put on khaki.”
The Thirty-Nine Steps, Chapter X

On this site

The Thirty-Nine Steps

John Buchan

1915 · Early 20th Century · Novel

Richard Hannay, a thirty-seven-year-old Scottish-born mining engineer who has made his money in Rhodesia, has come home to London in the spring of 1914 and finds himself bored almost to despair. One May evening a neighbor from the top floor of his building, an American named Franklin P. Scudder, begs to be taken in.

low medical relevanceHeroismIdentity SelfWar Violence