Books by John Buchan

The first adventure of Scots lawyer and MP Sir Edward Leithen whose daily routine of flat, chambers, flat, club is enlivened by the sudden disappearance of an Oxford contemporary. As the investigation into the disappearance develops Leithen finds himself pitted against a terrifying international anarchist network called The Power-House.

Three high-flying men who suffer from boredom concoct a plan to cure it. They inform 3 Scottish estates that they will poach from each two stags and a salmon. They sign collectively as 'John McNab' and await the responses. Part of the "Leithen Stories" series, this novel discusses the hunting, shooting and fishing lifestyle in Highland Scotland.

Richard Hannay finds a corpse in his flat, and becomes involved in a plot by spies to precipitate war and subvert British naval power. The resourceful victim of a manhunt, he is pursued by both the police and the ruthless conspirators.

Contains: The Thirty-Nine Steps, Greenmantle, Mr Standfast, The Three Hostages and The Island of Sheep

Richard Hannay has just returned to England after years in South Africa and is thoroughly bored with his life in London. But then a murder is committed in his flat, just days after a chance encounter with an American who had told him about an assassination plot which could have dire international consequences. An obvious suspect for the police and an easy target for the killers, Hannay goes on the run in his native Scotland where he will need all his courage and ingenuity to stay one step ahead of his pursuers.

"I returned to the City about three o‘clock on that Monday afternoon pretty well disgusted with life. I had been three months in the Old Country, and was fed up with it." So opens John Buchans The Thirty-Nine Steps and with it he creates a whole new genre: the adventure novel. Richard Hannay, the protagonist, finds himself reluctantly drawn into a chain of events that drags him away from the civilisation of London and into the Scottish wilderness, where he is chased both by villains and by policemen.This book has been adapted countless times, the most famous one certainly being Alfred Hitchcock‘s 1935 version. Full of excitement and good humour, The Thirty-Nine Steps is a modern classic you‘ll never want to put down.John Buchan (1875-1940) was a Scottish writer, historian and unionist. Born in Perth, he grew up in Fife where he developed the keen love for the Scottish nature that can be found in his work. After graduating from Oxford with a degree in Classics, he became the personal secretary of Alfred Milner, the Secretary of State of War and for the Colonies. Later he wrote for the British War Propaganda Bureau and was a correspondent in France for The Times. In 1935, he became viceregal representative in Canada, where he passed away five years later. He wrote throughout his life, leaving behind him hundreds of works, including novels, short shorties, and biographies of famous men such as Walter Scott and Oliver Cromwell, and he was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 1928. Yet Buchan remains most famous for his spy thriller adventures, which have delighted readers for generations.

En stilfærdig englænder bliver en aften opsøgt af en mand, der beder ham om en samtale. Den fremmede kommer med en noget overraskende udmelding, idet han forklarer sin tilhører: ”De må undskylde, at jeg er lidt nervøs i aften. Sagen er den, forstår De, at jeg er afgået ved døden.”Denne påstand kaster kort efter den stilfærdige eng-lænder ud i en hæsblæsende flugt, hvor han selv er efterlyst for mord – samtidig med, at han må jagte den rigtige morder.John Buchan (1875-1940), skotsk forfatter, historiker og politiker. Han var ufatteligt produktiv som forfatter af spændingsromaner ved siden af sin politiske karriere, og De 39 trin (1915) er en af hans mest kendte og anerkendte romaner.