As war looms in Europe, Richard Hannay returns from Rhodesia to his home in London. His neighbor, an American freelance spy named Franklin Scudder, claims to know of an assassination plot to destabilize Europe. When Hannay finds Scudder dead in his flat he is drawn into a fast-paced labyrinthine adventure that takes him from the hills of Scotland to an unassuming location by the sea. The progenitor of the classic man-on-the-run thriller, The Thirty-Nine Steps first appeared as a serial adventure story in Blackwood’s Magazine from August to September 1915 and in book form in October of that year. Since its publication it has never been out of print and has been frequently adapted for television, radio, theater, and film, including quite famously a 1935 film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. John Buchan (1875–1940) was a Scottish novelist, historian, barrister, and politician. After studying at Glasgow and Oxford, he served as private secretary to the High Commissioner for South Africa from 1901 to 1903. On his return to the UK he pursued politics and a literary career. During the First World War he was a war correspondent before being appointed Director of Information for the British Army Intelligence Corps. From 1935 to his death in 1940 he was the Governor General of Canada. He is best known as the author of The Thirty-Nine Steps and other adventure fiction. This Warbler Classics edition includes an extensive biographical timeline of the author's life and work. “John Buchan’s espionage thriller, with its sparse, contemporary prose, is hard to put down.” —The Guardian “The father of the modern spy thriller.” —Christopher Hitchens, The Atlantic "John Buchan's espionage thriller, with its sparse, contemporary prose, is hard to put down." -The Guardian "The father of the modern spy thriller." -Christopher Hitchens, The Atlantic John Buchan (1875-1940) was a Scottish novelist, historian, barrister, and politician. After studying at Glasgow and Oxford, he served as private secretary to the High Commissioner for South Africa from 1901 to 1903. On his return to the UK he pursued politics and a literary career. During the First World War he was a war correspondent before being appointed Director of Information for the British Army Intelligence Corps. From 1935 to his death in 1940 he was the Governor General of Canada. He is best known as the author of The Thirty-Nine Steps and other adventure fiction.