Reseña: The Thirty-Nine Steps is an adventure novel by
the Scottish author John Buchan. It is the first of five
novels featuring Richard Hannay, an all-action hero with
a a miraculous knack for getting himself out of sticky
situations.The novel is set during May and June 1914; war
was impending in Europe, Richard Hannay the protagonist
and narrator, an expatriate Scot, returns to his new
home, a flat in London, after a long stay in Rhodesia to
begin a new life. One night he is buttonholed by a
stranger, a well-travelled American, who claims to be in
fear for his life. The novel formed the basis for a
number of film adaptations: Alfred Hitchcock"s 1935
version; a 1959 colour remake; a 1978 version which is
perhaps most faithful to the novel; and a 2008 version
for British television.
