The Thirty-Nine Steps (Penguin Popular Classics) Book

Why can't filmmakers leave well alone? There seem to have been countless productions of John Buchan's famous thriller, ranging from Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 big-screen adaptation to the confused and literally ridiculous BBC 2008 TV effort, but none have been able to resist the temptation to meddle with the plot. This is a distinct disappointment, since the book's plot is ideally suited to TV adaptation. Consequently, the original book still provides what is arguably the most satisfying entertainment.

The 39 Steps is Buchan's first outing for his hero Richard Hannay, here still single and spoiling for action. One has to recognise straight away that it doesn't have the same development, background, or-dare I say it-intelligence of the later Hannay novels. Buchan himself admitted he wrote it as a "dime novel". Nevertheless this can be regarded as a Good Thing: whereas some of the later novels, such as Greenmantle, suffered at times from dull passages of wordiness and analysis, here it's just action, action, action. That doesn't render it a one-read wonder: picking up it again in later years is still rewarding, by virtue of how easy it is to jump in and be gripped anew.

The book is very much episodic: four of the chapters sound as if they could belong to the hero of Buchan's contemporary author, Conan Doyle, with names such as "The Adventure of the Literary Innkeeper"; indeed, in the penultimate chapter, Hannay has to display mental agility which would make Mr Holmes proud. Since there isn't a lot of plot to divulge, I won't do so; suffice to say that it's a 1914 scramble through Scotland for an innocent man suspected of murder who also happens to have vital information for European peace. Yes, it's a touch contrived at times, but do remember that Buchan was just indulging his desire to write this type of simple tale, where, to quote his dedicatory note, "the romance where the incidents defy the probabilities, and march just within the borders of the possible".

The other thing to note is that it's the shortest of the Hannay adventures, and as such is a good starting point for the whole series: if you enjoy the style of The 39 Steps, you'll be likely to enjoy the more stimulating reads such as The Three Hostages; if you don't like '39', you haven't wasted too much time. Furthermore, Buchan later saw fit to include some of the other characters from The 39 Steps in his later Hannay novels; here you see them as they first appear, providing useful background.

Finally: there is no lead part for a girl in The 39 Steps, despite the continual efforts of the adaptations to insert one! Major female characters started to appear from Greenmantle onwards. Not The 39 Steps. Filmmakers, take heed.

Now, if only a director could make a truly faithful adaptation...until that time comes, there's only one thing for it. It's time to rebel against the unforgiveable story-mangling of the screen productions: do yourself a favour and learn what really happened in The 39 Steps.