The Thirty-Nine Steps de John Buchan: Resumen, Personajes y Trama

The Thirty-Nine Steps

• Title: The Thirty-Nine Steps
• Editorial: Burlington Books
• Author: John Buchan
• Year: 1915

Plot

Richard Hannay, a former intelligence officer, is bored with his life in Britain. One day, his neighbour tells him about a plot to assassinate a Greek political leader and drag Britain into a world war. Hannay later finds his neighbour murdered and he must hide from both the police and a dangerous group of enemy agents as he tries to prevent the assassination.

Summary

Set in the weeks immediately before the outbreak of the First World War, the story concerns a young South African mining engineer of Scottish extraction: Richard Hannay. He arrives in London, rich and bored, and is suddenly engulfed in a German plot to destroy the British Fleet. Suspected of the murder of Scudder, he is a photographer and free-lance spy and has information about a plot by the German spy ring, the Black Stone, to steal the British plans for war.

Hannay leaves London pursued by police and the Black Stone Gang, heading for the nearest wild and unpopulated regions of Scotland. After some days spent on the moors and hills of Galloway, he steals a car at Bargrennan and drives north-west towards the headwaters of the River Tweed. Hannay later finds Scudder dead in his flat and decides he must carry on Scudder's work. With both German spies and the police after him, Hannay must solve the riddle of the thirty-nine steps alone.

Main Characters

• Richard Hannay: An engineer from East Africa who goes back to England to visit his homeland. He seeks out something interesting to do and ends up involved in a world of spies. He manages to survive by moving from one place to another and often by changing his identity. He is given the job of stopping some German spies from capturing vital defence information. It is a job which he accomplishes; however, his efforts are futile because the war cannot be stopped.
• Franklin P. Scudder: An American spy who learns important information about Germany's plans to start a major war in Europe and around the world. He writes down all the information he has learnt in a black code book. He meets Hannay because they are neighbours and spends some time living with him. He tells Hannay all about his work and what he has done to avoid the Black Stone. He is murdered in Hannay's apartment in Portland Place.
• Constantine Karolides: The Greek Prime Minister who is murdered by the Black Stone. At the very beginning of the story, he is the only one who can prevent the war. His death is the starting point for all the events which lead to the war.
• Paddock: The name of an old soldier who cleaned Richard Hannay's apartment at Portland Place.
• Julia Czechenyi: The name is the key to Scudder's notebook.
• Sir Harry: Also known as the foolish politician. He has a car accident in which Hannay is involved. He invites Hannay to deliver a speech at a political gathering and then invites him to his house. He listens to Hannay's story and decides to help him by passing the information on to his uncle, Sir Walter Bullivant, who worked in the Foreign Office.
• Sir Walter Bullivant: Sir Harry's uncle. He was informed about Richard Hannay by Scudder and also by his nephew. He thanks Hannay for keeping the code book safe and for helping the police capture the German spies.
• Sandy Turnbull: A roadmender who changes places with Richard Hannay. He also helps Hannay when he is ill. Specky or Ecky are his nicknames.
• Marmaduke Jopley: A young businessman. He was not on very good terms with Richard Hannay, who stole his car and clothes. He chases Hannay around London because he still believes him to be the Portland Place murderer.
• Royer: The French defence chief.
• Lord Alloa: The Navy chief. He is ill on the day of the secret meeting between France and England. He is substituted during the meeting by a German spy who impersonates him.
• Whittaker: Another official from the Navy present during the secret defence meeting.
• Sir Arthur Drew: An official from the Defence present during the secret defence meeting.
• General Winstanley: One of the people present during the secret defence meeting.
• MacGillivray: Head of crime at Scotland Yard. Works closely with Richard Hannay to capture the German spies.
• Mr Appleton: The false name taken by a member of the Black Stone. He was the owner of Trafalgar Lodge, which had the famous thirty-nine steps leading down to the sea, from where the German spies were going to escape.
• Franz: The name of one of the German spies. He manages to escape from Trafalgar Lodge and make his way to the Ariadne, but he soon finds out that the ship has already been captured by the British police.

Historical Context

Seven weeks later, as the world knows, Europe was at war. This is the conclusion of The Thirty-Nine Steps, which is presented as a series of events that led to World War I. The real events that led to the outbreak of World War I were different from those mentioned in the book, yet they are very similar to what happened in reality. There is no doubt that John Buchan used his vast experience as a member of the Army Intelligence Corps, and real events he had read about, to inspire him to write this novel.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I can say that this book, which I have read, is very exciting because Hannay experiences many adventures, and these adventures are very entertaining. I always just want to know what happens to Hannay next. For this reason, I can say that this book is one of the best books in English I have ever read.