John Buchan

John Buchan was a Scottish novelist, historian, and politician who wrote some of the most influential adventure and espionage fiction of the early twentieth century. Born in Perth, Scotland, in 1875, he had a remarkable career as a diplomat, intelligence officer, and Governor General of Canada. The 39 Steps is one of the foundational texts of the thriller genre — a breathless chase novel following Richard Hannay, an ordinary man caught up in an extraordinary conspiracy, who must flee across the Scottish moors to clear his name and prevent a catastrophe. The novel was famously adapted by Alfred Hitchcock. The Richard Hannay adventures continue across several novels. Buchan died in 1940. His audiobooks and books offer listeners and readers the original adventure thriller — the novel that invented a genre and still delivers pure, breathless excitement over a century later.