This exciting adventure story was first published
in book form in October 1915, soon after it had run as a serial in Blackwood’s
Magazine under the pseudonym H. de V. during July, August and September of that
year.
Surprisingly, the very first appearance of
The Thirty-Nine Steps was in the American magazine All-Story Weekly. It was
published in two instalments, in the June 5th and June 12th 1915 issues:
The Thirty-Nine Steps was an immediate and
great success.
John Buchan went on to write more books about
the adventures of Richard Hannay. Unlike some of these later stories, The
Thirty-Nine Steps does not contain much material that is directly relevant to
this blog; it may however have some subtle messages for us.
All the world’s a stage
Perhaps there is a message in what Richard
Hannay says about playing a part and how you have to think yourself into it.
You must convince yourself that you are it and stay in part all the time,
always behaving as if enemies were watching.
Both Richard Hannay and his enemies give very
convincing imitations of ordinary people, hiding their true identities and
their allegiance to good and evil causes.
Hannay gives a great performance
impersonating Alexander Turnbull the roadman. I like reading the details of his
transformation. He rubs dust into his face and makes his nails ragged; he scuffs
his boots. He fools the Germans who are looking for him. They drive off, only
to soon return for a double check. They find the old roadman still wheeling his
barrow full of stones: Hannay had carried on as if they were still watching
him.
Then it is Hannay’s turn to investigate some
people, to determine whether they really are the harmless Englishmen that they
appear to be. They keep up their performance so well and for so long, even
though they have no reason to believe that anyone is spying on them, that,
despite much evidence of their involvement in espionage, Hannay starts to
believe that he has made a very big mistake.
He goes into their house to talk to them.
They put on a very good act indeed, and he soon feels that he has made a complete
fool of himself.
Then one of them gives himself away; the
spell is broken. The clock strikes and the masks slip, revealing the cruelty
and ruthlessness behind them. Hannay now knows that he was right all along.
The game is up for the German spies.
Mind-power and disguises
There is no direct suggestion that anything
other than very good, very convincing, acting is at work, but Hannay does
mention feeling mesmerised once or twice. It all seems like a kind of dream
until a shadow lifts from his brain. Perhaps this is the forerunner of the mind-control
that we see in The Three Hostages.
Perhaps John Buchan is telling us that many
people are not what they seem to be. They are devils in disguise; they are agents of evil hidden in plain sight. We should not
let them fool us with their camouflage and smokescreens. No matter how correctly
and convincingly they speak and behave, we should watch them carefully, trust
our instincts and consider the evidence against them.
Hannay says that the Germans work to a plan;
is this a way of saying that evil operates by the book?
Symbols and coincidences
In The Thirty-Nine Steps, the Black Stone is
the collective name for the enemy, the ring of conspirators who are spying for
Germany. It is a name designed to convey a message and appeal to readers who
want excitement and adventure; it denotes a sinister gang; it is a name similar
to the Black Hand.
The 39 steps lead down to the sea from the cliff-top
house on the Kent coast where members of the Black Stone live.
John Buchan took his family to Broadstairs on
the Kent coast for a holiday in August 1914. He visited family members who had
a villa on the cliff top, one of the many with varying numbers of wooden steps
zigzagging down to the sea.
August 26th 1914 was his 39th birthday.
August 26th 1914 was his 39th birthday.
By coincidence, there is another place where
39 steps and a black stone are connected and have sinister associations: Hebden Bridge in Yorkshire.
“The nearby Stoodley Pike Monument, a stone
obelisk, is reported as being a Masonic construct, a beacon for UFOs and a
magnet for black magic rituals. It contains a spiral staircase of – 39 steps.
By coincidence, Blackstone Edge is not far away to the south, and there is a Blackstone
House in the town.”
Black stones have an association with Saturn.
John Buchan mentions Saturn in The Power House. Although the reign of Saturn represents a
golden age to some people, it obviously meant something very different to him:
Books, films and TV
The Thirty-Nine Steps has never been out of
print. It has been published in many different editions, with covers of varying
attractiveness and relevance to the story.
The book has been adapted for films and TV.
Some of these productions are highly thought of, but I find them all very
disappointing and annoying. I hate the way that additional characters,
dialogues and scenes have been introduced. There is a lot of miscasting too. I
would much rather read the book. It can be read at no cost on Project Gutenberg,
Richard Hannay is the archetypal innocent man-on-the-run:
