The 39 Steps by John Buchan

March 9, 2020

The 39 Steps by John Buchan

Richard Hannay has just returned from working in South Africa and is finding London life dull and boring.  He encounters Scudder, his American neighbor, outside his flat, who invites himself in and tells Hannay a wild tale of an assassination plot and how he faked his own death.  He implores Hannay to let him stay in his apartment until he can get away from London.  The deception works well for a few days, until Hannay comes home from a dinner engagement to find Scudder murdered in his smoking room.  Hannay feels obligated to take over Scudder’s mission, and there begins his adventure of espionage and narrow escapes.  Be careful what you wish for.

This is the second of the twelve classics that I am planning to read this year.  I intended to do one per month, but February got away from me due to doctor appointments and medical tests.  I do love books set or written in the early decades of the 20^th century!  This is a classic old-fashioned spy thriller about an innocent man being hunted, like a precursor to Ian Fleming and John Le Carre.  International intrigue, proper British gentlemen, disguises, Scotland, exciting train journeys, shady German villains, wild coincidences, unbelievable escapes – this very short novel is fast-paced and reflects the POV of the wealthy British gentleman of the early 20^th century – at various points, I found myself wanting to have a cigarette and a whiskey (I don’t smoke or drink).  Some of the attitudes and stereotypes are outdated, but this book was written in 1915 and reflects the attitudes of the time.

One of the best quotations in the book is in the first chapter:  “You can always get a body in London if you know where to go for it.”