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The Thirty-Nine Steps

John Buchan

The Thirty-Nine Steps

Original publication
1915
Bilingual edition
June 12, 2026
Pages
231
Difficulty
★☆☆
Genres
Crime and Thriller, Adventure
Translated from
English

Book summary

Richard Hannay, an ordinary man, becomes unwittingly involved in an international espionage case after a dangerous revelation. Forced to flee, he crosses England while escaping his pursuers. Alone against all, he must thwart a plot that threatens the country’s security. The pace is fast and the tension constant. This thriller blends suspense, pursuit, and strategic intelligence. The author constructs an efficient plot where every decision can be fatal.

The plot

On the run to Scotland. Richard Hannay is bored in London. One evening, his neighbour asks Hannay to hide him: he has uncovered a spy plot.

The world of the book

1914: a war is coming to Europe. In the spring of 1914, the great powers of Europe distrust one another. In Britain, many people fear German spies. The hero of the book flees to Galloway, a region of empty hills in…

The author

John Buchan 1875 – 1940. The son of a Scottish minister, John Buchan spent his childhood summers walking in the hills. At 26, he went to work in southern Africa, where the book’s hero also lived. One day he ran out of…

The benefits of the bilingual method with Line-by-line synced layout

Every line of the original has its translation directly beneath it, at the same height. You never lose your place: your eye drops one line and lands on exactly the sentence it just read. This is the layout that lets you open a book in a language you barely know without ever giving up, and compare the two texts almost word for word.

Reader reviews

5 out of 51 review

  1. ★★★★★John✓ Verified purchase

    Posted on October 7, 2026 · Hungarian – English edition

    This book is a great read filled with suspense!

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Only customers who bought a book on our website can review it: every review carries the “Verified purchase” label. Ratings on their own appear straight away; comments and first names are checked before publication — automatically, and by a person when in doubt — whatever the rating given. Reviews are shown from newest to oldest. We only refuse or remove a review if it is abusive, vulgar, off-topic, promotional or contains personal data, and we then tell its author why. Nothing is offered in exchange for a review. Comments are translated automatically; the original can be read under each review. To report a review: [email protected].

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