Books

Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood, 1915. Hardcover. Near Fine. First edition. General rubbing, hint of dampstaining to the rear board (not affecting the text), and light foxing to the pastedowns else near fine, lacking the rare dustwrapper (no jacketed copies have appeared at auction in the last quarter century). The first book featuring adventurer Richard Hannay, and a *Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone*. Basis for Alfred Hitchcock’s early masterpiece with Robert Donat and Madeleine Carol, easily one of the best mystery films ever made.

The Thirty-Nine Steps is an adventure novel by the Scottish author John Buchan. It first appeared as a serial in Blackwood's Magazine in August and September 1915 before being published in book form in October that year by William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh. It is the first of five novels featuring Richard Hannay, an all-action hero with a stiff upper lip and a knack for getting out of sticky situations.