Buchan, J: Thirty-Nine Steps

en Limba Engleză Paperback – 28 mar 2003

In this fast-paced spy thriller, a self-described "ordinary fellow" stumbles upon a plot involving not only espionage and murder but also the future of Britain itself. Richard Hannay arrives in London on the eve of World War I, where he encounters an American agent seeking help in preventing a political assassination. Before long, Hannay finds himself in possession of a little black book that holds the key to the conspiracy and on the run from both the police and members of a mysterious organization that will stop at nothing to keep their secrets hidden.
This is the first of five novels in John Buchan's "Greenmantle" series, featuring the adventures of the stalwart and resourceful Richard Hannay. Originally published in 1915, it also served as the basis for several movies and plays, including Alfred Hitchcock's classic cinematic adaptation."

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Descriere

John Buchan wrote The Thirty-Nine Steps while he was seriously ill at the beginning of the First World War. In it he introduces his most famous hero, Richard Hannay, who, despite claiming to be an 'ordinary fellow', is caught up in the dramatic race against a plot to devastate the British war effort. Hannay is hunted across the Scottish moors by police and spy-ring alike, and must outwit his intelligent and pitiless enemy in the corridors of Whitehall and, finally, at the site of the mysterious thirty-nine steps. The best-known of Buchan's thrillers, The Thirty-Nine Steps has been continuously in print since first publication and has been filmed three times. In this, the only critical edition, Christopher Harvie's introduction interweaves the writing of the tale with the equally fascinating story of how John Buchan, publisher and lawyer, came in from the cold and, via The Thirty-Nine Steps, ended the war as spymaster and propaganda chief.

Cuprins

I The Man Who Died II The Milkman Sets Out on His Travels III The Adventure of the Literary Innkeeper IV The Adventure of the Radical Candidate V The Adventure of the Spectacled Roadman VI The Adventure of the Bald Archaeologist VII The Dry-Fly Fisherman VIII The Coming of the Black Stone IX The Thirty-Nine Steps X Various Partied Converging on the Sea

Notă biografică

John Buchan (1875-1940) was born in Perth, Scotland and educated at Oxford where he published five books and won several awards, including one for poetry. He went on to be a barrister, a member of parliament, a soldier, a publisher, a historical biographer, and - in 1935 - he became the Govenor-General of Canada. Today he is best remembered as the author of his perennially popular adventure novels.