The Thirty-Nine Steps (Lady Valkyrie Classics)

In this classic and timeless novel, adventurer Richard Hannay has just returned to London from Rhodesia in order to begin a new life, when a freelance spy called Franklin P. Scudder calls on him to ask for help. Scudder reveals to Hannay that he has uncovered a German plot to murder the Greek Premier and steal British plans for the outbreak of war. Scudder claims to be following a ring of German spies called the Black Stone. A few days later, Hannay returns to his flat to find Scudder murdered. If Hannay goes to the police, he will be arrested for Scudder’s murder. So Hannay decides to continue Scudder’s work and his adventure begins. He escapes from the German spies watching the house and makes his way to Scotland, pursued both by the spies and by the police. But what is the secret behind the mysterious Thirty-Nine Steps and will Hannay resolve the mystery before disaster strikes?

John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir, was a Scottish novelist, historian, and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada. Once he was back in civilian life, Buchan was elected Member of Parliament for the Combined Scottish Universities, but he spent most of his time on his writing career, notably writing The Thirty-Nine Steps and other adventure fiction. Buchan’s legacy comprises over 100 works, including nearly thirty novels, seven collections of short stories, and biographies of Sir Walter Scott, Caesar Augustus, and Oliver Cromwell.