40 pages • 1 hour read
John BuchanThe Thirty Nine Steps
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1915A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Historical Context: Globalization and World War I
Like other young men in the early 20th century, Hannay feels drawn to both international intrigues and industrial pursuits. Globalization is central to Richard Hannay’s experiences and the political machinations within the novel. Hannay made his living in British colonies. Though he tires of being asked about those experiences, the repetition indicates Britain’s awareness of its colonial standing after the Victorian era and before modern reforms would inspire decolonization. Hannay also utilizes skills he gained abroad, such as decoding and detonation, to survive his adventure. During that adventure, he casually interacts with several modern technologies, especially airplanes and trains, which would become more widely used during the war. Additionally, he demonstrates a casual awareness of European politics in Chapter 1 when he reads about Constantine Karolides. This awareness aids him in deciphering Scudder’s notebook and unraveling the Black Stone’s plot, leading to the climactic confrontation in Chapter 10.
The fictional Karolides is assassinated as part of the Black Stone’s destabilization efforts, which mirrors the real-life murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Though the specific entities are fictionalized, the parallel conspiracies enhance to the novel’s believability. Another real-world phenomenon reflected in the novel is the association of certain traits with different nationalities. Several times, Hannay identifies the Germans based on their precise haircuts. These stereotypes came into widespread use to praise allies and defame enemies during the World Wars.
The World Wars inspired shared contribution from all citizens in the home countries. This assistance is echoed in the working-class Scottish citizens who offer Hannay shelter and demonstrate political engagement. The call to service further informs the theme of Individualism Versus Bureaucracy, which Buchan emphasizes and Hannay embodies. The novel ends with Hannay both calling counterespionage his “best service” and joining a more traditional military service. These passages suggest fulfillment of national duty can take different forms.
Authorial Context: John Buchan
John Buchan was born in Perth, Scotland, in 1875. His father was a minister and Border ballad enthusiast, while his mother emphasized the need for social respectability. His parents instilled Buchan with ideals of service, dedication, humor, and social propriety. These traits appear in the role of loyalty and exploration of social class in The Thirty-Nine Steps. Hannay never questions his responsibility to defend England’s secrets, and he interacts casually with both upper- and lower-class citizens. Though Buchan’s health prevented him from serving in combat, in 1916 he joined Britain’s Intelligence Corps. Buchan’s beliefs about ordinary people and patriotic individualism also echo across his writing. His 1935 essay “The King’s Grace, 1910-1935” celebrated the reign of George V with a deference to institutions of power. It also argued that English social class barriers shifted with World War I, suggesting individual choice and opportunity mean more than birth.
Additionally, the settings in the novel are grounded in Buchan’s experiences. When Buchan was an infant, his family moved to Fife, Scotland, and began visiting relatives at their farm in the Border region. Hannay traverses the Borders landscape in Chapters 3-6. Buchan lived in Portland Place for a time, which is where Hannay’s apartment is situated. At the novel’s climax, the 39 steps are found in the fictional town of Bradgate. This town is believed to be modeled on Broadstairs, where Buchan holidayed with his family in 1914 and which has steps down to Stone Bay.
In addition to more than 20 novels, Buchan published short stories, histories, and biographies. He also served in high political office as a member of parliament in London and ultimately Governor General of Canada. In 1935, Buchan was ennobled by King George V as Baron Tweedsmuir of Elsfield. Recent critics have faulted Buchan for putting racial slurs in the dialogue of some of his novels and for his support of British colonialism and its supposed “civilizing” mission. Yet his spy novels, which he referred to as “shockers,” remain enduringly popular.
Cultural Context: Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps
While Buchan’s novel has been adapted for the screen several times, the most famous and highly regarded version is director Alfred Hitchcock’s film from 1935. The British Film Institute ranked it as the fourth-best British film of the 20th century. The movie retains the thrills and much of the humor of the novel, yet Hitchcock and screenwriter Charles Bennett altered major elements of Buchan’s narrative, making the story more plausible and potentially more appealing to a film audience. Most significantly, they added two female leads. Scudder is replaced by a daring female spy-for-hire named Annabella Smith. And, while on the run in Scotland, Hannay meets a love interest named Pamela, who does not appear in the novel. Smith is killed by rival spies, just as Scudder is in the novel. But she dies holding a map of Scotland with a location circled. This sequence covers a major implausibility in the novel when Hannay enters a random house in the Scottish countryside only to find it is the home of the enemy spy he is seeking. In the film, Smith’s map leads him there. Hitchcock returned frequently to the elements of Buchan’s novel—an ordinary man or woman thrust by chance into dangerous international intrigue—notably in two versions of The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934 and 1956) and his 1959 masterpiece North by Northwest.
