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Fiction » Thrillers (Books)

The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan
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The Thirty-Nine Steps

by John Buchan

Recommendations from our site

“This book is about an old-fashioned Second World War hero and it was popular at the time but somehow it still resonates because it’s a damn good story.” Read more...

Jeffrey Archer on Bestsellers

Jeffrey Archer, Novelist

“Hitchcock said of The Thirty-Nine Steps that it was a wonderful book to film because you didn’t need to do a storyboard, it was all there already.” Read more...

The best books on Tintin

Michael Farr, Literary Scholar

“It is extraordinarily fast paced. A huge part of any good thriller is the chase, and this is very good on that.” Read more...

The Best Classic Thrillers

Sam Bourne, Journalist

“It’s quite a good book, but it’s got one great idea, and Hitchcock ran with it. When adapting a book it’s much better to take the thing that’s brilliant about it and polish it.” Read more...

The best books on Filmmaking

Frank Cottrell Boyce, Novelist

Award-winning actor Robert Powell, who also played Richard Hannay in the brilliant 1978 movie adaptation of The 39 Steps, is the narrator of the audiobook of John Buchan’s 1915 adventure novel (listening time: just under 4 hours).

Great Actors Read Great Books

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  • The Day of the Jackal
    by Frederick Forsyth

  • The Thirty-Nine Steps
    by John Buchan

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