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The Thirty-Nine Steps
John Buchan · 1915
In London in 1914, restless expatriate Richard Hannay takes in a stranger with a dangerous secret. After a murder leaves him marked as a suspect, he flees north through Scotland and must decipher a warning before powerful adversaries can act on it.
Inside this edition
Every LitLab edition is illustrated from the text itself — the world of the book mapped, its people drawn, its scenes staged. 50 plates are open to everyone in this book; here are 8 of them.
The Principal and Secondary Cast
Supporting Cast: The Road and the Border
Supporting Cast: Officials and Coast
The European Route and Britain
LondonHannay's flat is near Portland Place; Langham Place and the city's railway and official quarters shape his London route.
The Warning in London
The Stranger at the DoorOn a May night in London, Franklin Scudder appears at Richard Hannay’s flat and begs him to listen.
The Innkeeper’s StudyA young innkeeper welcomes Hannay into a study crowded with the books he hopes will take him out into the world.
This edition
- Title
- The Thirty-Nine Steps
- Author
- John Buchan (1875–1940)
- First published
- 1915
- Illustrated plates
- 99 original artworks · 50 open to everyone
- Chapters
- 10 · about 40,851 words
- Reading time
- 2 h 43 min
- Language
- EN
- Formats
- Read online · EPUB and PDF download with a subscription
- Publisher
- LitLab — The Illustrated Classics
- On LitLab since
- October 2026
- Rights
- Text in the public domain. Illustrations and edition © LitLab.
Neighbours in the library
Chosen by what they share with The Thirty-Nine Steps — the same author, the same years.