The Thirty Nine Steps

A Richard Hannay Thriller, Book 1

By: John Buchan

Narrated by: Peter Joyce

Among the first espionage thrillers and an acknowledged classic, The Thirty-Nine Steps well deserves its accolades as one of the best adventure stories of all time. Leaving aside the improbable denouement, the fast paced, brilliantly conceived narrative still excites and carries one along with the sheer suspense of the manhunt - a recurring theme in literature - and Hannay’s struggle against the evil that is the ‘Black Stone'.

May 1914: Europe is close to war and spies are everywhere. Richard Hannay has arrived back in London to begin a new life, when a spy called Scudder asks for help to uncover a German plot to murder the Greek prime minister in London and to steal British plans for the outbreak of war. He claims to be following a ring of German spies called the Black Stone. A few days later, Scudder is murdered. Hannay is forced to continue Scudder’s work and is chased across Scotland both by police and German spies. The solution to the mysterious phrase 'Thirty-Nine Steps' is a thread that runs through the whole story.

About Assembled Stories: Over the years the national press have reviewed Assembled Stories titles as ‘excellent’, ‘remarkable’, ‘entrancing’, ‘superb’, ‘magic for sure’, ‘masterly’, ‘wonderful’, ‘a class act’ and ‘a splendid example of audio at its best’.

©1993 John Buchan (P)2007 Assembled Stories

Critic reviews

"Peter Joyce is the most remarkable one-man band in audiobook publishing. Joyce, an experienced actor, reads them all himself." ( The Independent)

exciting plot, but not the telling

On first "reading," the story/plot is fabulous (I see why it inspired several film adaptations),and I felt positively thrilled at the end, but the telling itself seemed so lackluster that I had to force myself to keep listening at several points. The narrator certainly wasn't the problem. His performance was excellent!

I know the book is in an older style, but that has never bothered me in other older adventure stories. Perhaps knowing it and books like it influenced Tolkein and his "Inklings," and the fact that it has been listed among the most beloved British books of all time, my expectations were so high, it caused the disappointment.

I'm glad I read it from a literary history point of view, though, and I'll probably listen again to see if my mood today affected my enjoyment. I'm also going to check out radio drama and film versions of the story. However, I just wasn't as impressed as I thought I would be.

A good story, a flawless interpretation, and a suspenseful end.

A flawless performance of a good, classic spy romance.
It shows its age a bit in the sometimes (for me) too detailed descriptions of the irish landscape. Some words referring to the peasant lifestyle sent this non-native scrambling after their meaning, and the otherwise nonstop action sometimes slowed to a crawl. The fact that I interrupted its listening daily after listening to small portions may be the culprit, though it picked up pace towards the end, making it worth it.

Pleasant Accident

This was an oops.
I was intending to get Greenmantle by De Lint, but Audible did not have it and had Buchan's which I did not notice (how many Greenmantles does one expect). I did notice it was book two, so got this (book one of the Richard Hannay series).

This is far from the perfect suspense novel. It has numerous unlikely encounters to move the story yet I enjoyed the action, characters dynamics, and pre-WWI history.

Although this was not the series I intended, I also enjoyed Greenmantle (Buchan) and may finish this series of five.

The narration was excellent for the novel. Perhaps overplayed, but it was appropriate for the story.

A Fun Listen

If you like a visit to England and Scotland (circa 1914) and don't concern yourself too much with the plot, you'll enjoy this. But, you'll get even more pleasure is you can find Alfred Hitchcock's 39 Steps. It's wonderful.

Interesting museum piece

Well read. But the story itself hasn't aged well. Still, nice to know what was popular at the time and may have influenced writers like Christie and Sayers.

One of my favorite listens ever!

So I took a chance with this one for a road trip I was driving on solo. I absolutely loved it! excellent story line and performance. If you want to hear a great story check this out, you wont be disappointed.

John Buchan

What made the experience of listening to The Thirty Nine Steps the most enjoyable?

I have read this book several times. I also watched the movies. Listening to the story while reading made it very pleasurable.

What other book might you compare The Thirty Nine Steps to and why?

There are 5 Hannay books. Hannay is the protagonist in all 5 books. I have read them all and although the stories reflected the attitudes regarding racial predjudics and the religiou s beliefs and I cringed at reading them. I am mature enough to understand that that was the way it was. The books were written at least one hundred years ago and the stories are of that time.

Which character – as performed by Peter Joyce – was your favorite?

Hannay

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Surely. But life goes on and there are more things to do.

Any additional comments?

I stumbled my way into John Buchan. The 39Steps was a free ebook @Gutenberg Press. I thought that it was the story behind the Hitchcock movie. Twas better. One of the most unexpected things was the female character and the role she portrays in the story. There are very strong characters and this book is definitely a thriller.

Excellent noir

A "written for Hitchkock" feel permeates throughout the intriguing, if somewhat drawn out narrative. A lot of fun nonetheless. A must for all who appreciate the noir sensibility.

Gripping story and narration

Would you listen to The Thirty Nine Steps again? Why?

I would listen to it again. It has a great pace, wonderful characters, and Peter Joyce's voice and style are perfect for the tale.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Thirty Nine Steps?

Many -- I think my favorite is his explanation of why he becomes sure the culprits are truly who he is looking for

Have you listened to any of Peter Joyce’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No. But I would like to and will

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It kept me enthralled and I did listen to it much faster than other books

Dastardly spies and intrigue, pre WWI

A fine classic tale, one of the first English espionage thrillers, originally written in 1915, this recording from the early 2000's. Narrator Peter Joyce does a fine, classic reading, easily slipping into the accents and stations of the characters.

Sure, by today's standards this story and characterizations are a bit antique and clunky, but nevertheless, there are some fine chases over the moors of Great Britain as WW dawned, dire predicaments, crafty German spies and of course danger! to keep the story racing along. I thoroughly enjoyed my listen.