Cover of The Thirty-Nine Steps

The Thirty-Nine Steps

John Buchan, 1915

British novelist, 1875–1940.

The Thirty-Nine Steps is a 1915 novel by John Buchan.

  • Critics' Darling

In thrillers and spy fiction

On 2 of the 15 lists it was eligible for.

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At a glance

Author
John Buchan
First published
1915
Length
160 pages (UK paperback)
Genre
Thrillers and spy fiction, Adventure, War and conflict
Series
Book 1 of Richard Hannay

Is The Thirty-Nine Steps worth reading?

2 of the 15 best-of lists it could have made include it: The 100 best novels written in English (The Guardian / Observer) and The 100 greatest novels of all time (The Observer).

ListPlaceOriginal
The 100 best novels written in English (The Guardian / Observer, 2015)ListedSee the list
The 100 greatest novels of all time (The Observer, 2003)ListedSee the list

Best edition of The Thirty-Nine Steps

The edition we link to is the Polygon (An Imprint of Birlinn Limited) paperback (2011), 160 pages.

Publisher
Polygon (An Imprint of Birlinn Limited) (paperback, 2011)
Pages
160
ISBN
9781846971983

How critics and readers rate The Thirty-Nine Steps

Critics rate it most highly: it earned 14% of the points available on critics' lists, against 0% on readers' and booksellers' lists.

Critics
14%
Prizes
Not eligible for any of these lists yet
Readers and booksellers
0%

Share of the available points it earned on each kind of list it was eligible for. How the scores work

Books like The Thirty-Nine Steps

If you liked The Thirty-Nine Steps, try The Hound of the Baskervilles or Atlas Shrugged.

Lists used on this page