THE THIRTY-NINE STEPS by John Buchan.

Title: The Thirty-Nine Steps.

Author: John Buchan
Edit. Oxford Bookworms Library 4 level.
Readers: Adapted book for teenaged readers of 1º bachillerato.

SUMMARISING:

Richard Hannay, a former intelligence officer in South Africa, has returned to Britain but is
bored with his life there.
One day, his neighbour tells him about a plot to assassinate a Greek political leader and to
involve Britain in a world war. When Hannay later finds his neighbour murdered, he decides that he
must prevent the assassination.
This involves him in hiding from both the police and a dangerous group of enemy agents.
Will Hannay succeed in stopping the assassination?

Opinion and Critic:

This book is a very interesting work for eveybody, but the book I have read is adapted in
English for teenagers of 16 years old. It is a thriller, the reader is enjoying the story in every
moment, each page is full of action.
The plot is set in the United Kindom, Just before the First World War, Mr Hannay is an
adventurous man, who has previously worked in South Africa in very dangerous missions. Hannay
´s moves to London, a boring city, according to the main character´s opinion. But his opinion is
going to change one day, after receiving the visit of a neighbour, who happens to be a spy
threathened by a group of killers: the “Black Stone”.The book narrates about the atmosphere in the
prewar Europe, and describes about the Scottish landscapes, besides the style of life of the peaceful
people living in the moors.Thanks to Hannay´s intelligence, German spies are caught.
Reading this enjoyable novel young students can find more curiosity to learn and reseach
about the First World War, about its causes and consequences, not only as a history lesson but for
this fantastic book too.

DESCRIPTION OF THE MAIN CHARACTERS:

Richard Hannay:
He is a former intelligence officer in South Africa, who has returned to Britain but is bored with
life there. Hannay is adventurous and brave, He enjoys working in different and dangerous
missions. He was born in Scotland, then he moved to Rhodesia, and now he lives in a flat in
London.
Scudder:
He is Hannay´s neighbour, Scudder has been working in Europe, he is a spy who tries to avoid the
First World War. He asked Hannay for help, Scudder has some crucial information for English
Goverment.

The “Black Stone” group:

It is a German Group of spies, who go after Scudder to kill him before he could pass that crucial
information to his British Goverment.

Sir Harry Andrews:

He is the young man who helped Hannay in the car accident. Sir Harry Andrews is a Politician who
has an uncle in the Goverment.

Alexander Turnbull:
He is the roadman who is replaced by Hannay when the inspector was checking the road works.

Sir Walter:
He is Sir Harry Andrews´s uncle.Sir Walter works in the Goverment and Knows about Europe
plans for the inminent war.

QUESTIONS:
1. Where was ,Hannay, the main character, born?.
He was born in Scotland, and he moved to Africa when he was six years old.

2. In which city is he living in the last time?.

He is living in London in the last part.

3. Did he consider London an interesting city at the beginning?

No, he considers London very boring at the beginning, he even wants to move back to
Africa if anything interesting happens.

4. Who arrived to his apartment one day?

The man who was living in a flat on the top floor of his building.

5. Who was this man really?

He was Franklin P. Scudder, an American who has been working in south-east Europe for
several years.

6. What had Franklin P. Scudder discovered by accident?

He had discovered a group of people who were working secretly to push Europe towards a
war. These people were clever, and dangerous. Some of them wanted to change the world
through war; others simply wanted to make alot of money, and there is always money to be
made from war. They planned to get Russia and Germany at war with each other.

7. Why had Scudder faked his suicide?

Because he was in danger,somebody was following and watching him, so he pretended to be
dead, committing suicide.

8. What happened to Scudder in the end?

He was killed really in Hannay´s apartment. Hannay found him lying on his back with a
long knife through his heart, pinning him to th floor.
9. What did Hannay think when he discovered Scudder murdered?
He thought that the next victim would be himself, the murders of Scudder could guess that
Scudder had told him the whole story, in that case, he was now in real danger, he should
escape as sooner as possible from London.

10. What did Hannay find in Scudder´s belongings?

He found a little black book with some notes: thirty nine steps, high tide, 10:17, and Black
Stone.

11. How could Hannay escape from his apartment without the murderers didn´t see him?
He asked the milkman who came every morning to lend him his coat, hat and empty milk
bottles, Hannay explained him that it was a bet, the milkman accepted and Hannay got to
deceive the murderers.

12. Where did Hannay decide to hide?

He decided to go to the moors in Scotland for a time.

13. Why Did Hannay have to go off the train near the station?
Because a dog started to bark him, then he went off the train and fell down the hill, people
thought he tried to commit suicide.

14. Who did Hannay find in the little hotel?

A young man who was the owner of the hotel, they made friends, Hannay told him about his
life in Africa because the young wanted to write about interesting stories, in turn, the young
helped him when two men were asking for Hannay.

15. Who arrived to the little hotel and how did Hannay get to escape from there?
The two men who had killed Scudder arrived to the hotel asking for Hannay to the young
owner, he lied them telling that Hannay had just left in the morning. Then Hannay asked the
young man to give a paper with some notes to the two men, explaining them that Hannay
probably forgot it there before leaving, the owner asked them to give it back if they found
Hannay. Obviously, it was a trick. Eventually, Hannay got to run away in the two men´s car.

16. What was going to happen on the 15th of June?

The Greek Prime Minister Karolides was going to be assassinated, and a war was going to
start in Europe.

17. What happened to Hannay with the stolen car?

The police was looking for him, so Hannay was driving very fast and had a car accident,
fortunatelly, a young man rescued him, offering his house, at the same time that Hannay
supported the young man in a conference about Australia. The young man was a politician
and had some contacts who could help Hannay in his mission.

18. What did Hannay do after leaving the young politician´s house?
The young politician gave him a bicycle, and he escape to hide in the moors.

19. Who did Hannay find in the road?

He found a roadman who worked mending the road.

20. Was the roadman happy in his job?

No, he was not happy, he regretted having left the farm where he used to work.
21. Why did Hannay offer the roadman to work in his place for the whole day?
Because the roadman was really tired since he had been in his daughter´s wedding just the
night before, and that day he had to be working on the road because a new inspector was to
come, the man was very bad, he needed to sleep, and they arranged that Hannay could
disguise as him and do his homework until the inspector passed.

22. Did the inspector recognize him?

No, he did not. The inspector really thought that he was the roadman.

23. Who passed by car later?

He was Jopley, a man Hannay disliked alot, Jopley was a person who always was interested
in rich people.

24. What did Hannay did then?

He asked Jopley his clothes and took his car to escape from there.

25. What happened later?

Hannay arrived to a house where a bald man invited to spend the night and hide of the
police.

26. Who was that bald man?

He was the German spy that Scudder described to him.

27. Why couldn´t Hannay escape from that house?

He couldn´t escape from there because there were two men with guns watching him.

28. What did these two men do then?

They put Hannay in a dark locked room.

29. How could Hannay go out from there?

By means of some packets of explosives he found in the room, Hannay had knowledge
about explosive since he was in Africa.

30. What happened after leaving the farm of the spies?

He spent a long time hidden on the roof of a tower, then he escaped from there and found a
little house, he asked the woman to stay there because he had sufered an accident and the
woman helped him.

31. What did the woman offer to him?

She offered some food, milk and whisky, and later she gave him some clothes of her
husband. .Now Hannay looked like a Scottish man.

32. Where did Hannay go after leaving the little house of the woman?
He addressed himself to the roadman´s house, to get his clothes and belongings.

33. What did the roadman do then?

As Hannay was ill, he had fever, probably the malaria he took in Africa had come back, the
roadman cared of him until Hannay recovered.

34. Who did Hannay find in the river when he was singing the song “Annie Laurie”?
He found a tall fisherman who started to sing the same song, he was the contact Sir Henry
 had talked about.

35. What did Hannay do then?

He told “ the fisherman” Sir Walter all the story from the beginning, Sir Walter knew
Scudder and also Knew that Hannay was a friend.

36. Did Sir Walter believe the idea that Karolides was going to be killed?
No, he didn´t, he said that it was impossible.

37. Was Karolides killed in the end?

Yes, he was shot dead.

38. What did Hannay do after talking to the police?

He decided to go for a walk in London and have lunch in a good restaurant.

39. What happened after walking in the streets of london?

His enemy Jopley saw him and called the police accusing Hannay of Murder.

40. Is Hannay taken into prison?

No, he is not, he got to escape running among the crowded streets.

41. Where did he go then?

He went to Sir Walter´s house to avoid the police.

42. Where was Sir Walter at that moment?

He was in a meeting, talking about Karolides and war matters.

43. Who did Hannay see there?

He saw the First Sea Lord, Lord Alloa.

44. What happened with Lord Alloa?

He was not the real one but an impostor. Hannay explained to Sir Walter and the other men
that the real Lord Alloa was ill at home and that the man who attended the meeting was an
impostor, a member of the Black Stone group.

45. Why were Sir Walter and the rest of men so frightened?
Because now the impostor knew all about their plans in the war.

46. How could the impostor memorise all the information?

A spy normally has an excellent photographic memory, and he can get all the information
just having a look to the papers and maps.

47. What did they decide to do then?

Accordind to Sir Royer, a spy never send a letter with the information he has got, he always
gives it personally and get his pay then, so there was still a possibility to catch him before
leaving England.

48. What did Hannay suggest to find the spy?

Hannay remembered Scudder´s book he found in his apartment, in it, Scudder said
something about thirty-nine steps, I counted them,15 of June, hide tide and 10:17 pm, they
could be some clues to get the point of leaving England from the coast.
49. What did they do then?
They looked for a place in the east coast where at 10.17, the tide was high, and they should
find a path to go down to the shore with thirty-nine steps. There, the German spies would
had to take a boat and sail towards Germany with the information.

50. Who helped them?

An old sailor who knew a lot about tides in England.

51. Where did they go?

They went to Bradgate in Kent, they were looking for an area called the Ruff, it was a
residential neibourhood for rich people in the coast.

52. How did they try to guess who the German spies were?
They tried to talk to local people , searching for somebody talking with a German accent.

53. Did they discover anybody talking with a German accent?

Yes, they did, he was a fat old man and two younger men.

54. What was the great secret for a great spy?

He didn´t have to disguise and behave in adifferent way, but he had to be himself just living
in a different place, in this way, nobody could recognise nor suspect of you.

55. What did Hannay then?

He went into the house of the fat old man and the other two young men, they were sat at the
table, Hannay accussed them of killing Scudder.

56. What did the men answer?

They pretended not to understand anything.

57. What did Hannay decide to do?

He doubted about the three men behaviour, he had no proofs, but he suspected of them,
Hannay stayed playing card with them for a while.

58. Why should the thin dark man take a train?

Because he was supposed to go to London that night, but Hannay didn´t let him it.

59. What did the men do then?

The thin dark man run away and explode the path of thirty- nine steps to get to the boat.

60. What happened in the end?

Hannay, previously had asked the police to wait in a boat in the sea, so the thin dark man
was captured inmediatelly, as well as the other two men.
A few days later the war started in Europe, Hannay joined the army, but felt that his best
help had been to catch the three murderers spies.