Review: The Thirty-Nine Steps

The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Possibly a re-read; I have a vague idea that I did read it many years ago, but can't be certain.

This is the best-known of Buchan's books, probably because of the Hitchcock film, which I have seen (but which doesn't bear much relationship to the book). The author says in his dedication that he ran out of sensational fiction and had to write his own, but he's too modest. It's a fine early example of the thriller genre, which drives the reader through a number of well-paced, varied action scenes. Hero Richard Hannay, entrusted with the secret of a sinister conspiracy by a random neighbour who is subsequently murdered, goes on the run both from the police (who think he did it) and the conspirators (who are setting out to steal important British naval plans). It looks, early on, as if it's going to be anti-semitic, but it turns out that's just the odd prejudice (called out as such) of the murdered neighbour.

There's a good deal of coincidence and unearned trust used to keep the plot in motion and Hannay out of the hands of his pursuers, starting with the inciting incident itself; Hannay apparently just gives off a vibe of being trustworthy, and he keeps encountering people who he trusts and who trust him enough to help him without question. One of these people happens to be the godson of an important person in the Foreign Office, who happens to be one of the very few people who knows the secrets that are being targeted by the conspiracy. But it isn't all managed by coincidence; Hannay protagonizes too, with plenty of clever and daring escapes and impostures, and figures out the plot - which is not what his original informant said it was - using considerable intelligence. His background as a mining engineer in Africa, who has knocked around a good deal, fought in a small war, been friendly with a wide range of sometimes dubious people, and survived on the veldt, helps him a lot. He's also brave, though he doesn't think he is and several times confesses to being frightened (but then goes on and does the right thing anyway).

It's very much of its time, in that British people are the best kind of people, foreigners are dastards, women are scene extras, and people trust each other because they're the right kind of people and a certain standard of behaviour is expected of them. But it's also a well-constructed thriller with a somewhat more rounded hero than a lot of the contemporary pulps could offer.

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