The Thirty Nine Steps

Retold By Pauline Francis

Description

Classic novels

Sujets

• Literacy
• Easy Reader
• Classics
• ELT

Informations

• Publié par: Read Zone
• Date de parution: 01 septembre 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781783227372
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

THE 39 STEPS


Retold by Pauline Francis
ReadZone Books Limited


First published in this edition 2014

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of ReadZone Books Limited.

© copyright in the text Pauline Francis, 2014
© copyright in this edition ReadZone Books Ltd 2014

The right of the Author to be identified as the Author of this work had been asserted by the Author in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Printed in Malta by Melita Press

Every attempt has been made by the Publisher to secure appropriate permissions for material reproduced in this book. If there has been any oversight we will be happy to rectify the situation in future editions or reprints. Written submissions should be made to the Publishers.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data (CIP) is available for this title.

ISBN 978-1-78322-737-2

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THE 39 STEPS
Chapter One    The Man who Died
Chapter Two    On the Run
Chapter Three A Secret Code
Chapter Four   Help at Last
Chapter Five    Disguise
Chapter Six     A Dangerous Escape
Chapter Seven Assassination!
Chapter Eight Black Stone
Chapter Nine   The Thirty-Nine Steps
Chapter Ten    Facing the Enemy
Introduction
John Buchan was born in Scotland in 1875, the eldest son in his family. His first adventure story was published when he was twenty years old. He spent two years working in South Africa and joined a publishing company when he returned to England. He also married and had children.
Buchan was ill when World War One broke out, in 1914. While recovering in bed, he began to write The Thirty-Nine Steps . It was published in 1915, and was the first of five novels with the hero, Richard Hannay.
This novel is set against the outbreak of World War One, when Britain entered the war against Germany to protect Belgium and France. Richard Hannay is a Scotsman, who has made money as a mining engineer in Africa. He returns home to enjoy life in London, only to be caught up in a dangerous plot by German enemies. Events move swiftly between England and Scotland, and involve murder, espionage, journeys, car chases, explosions, disguises and political plots.
John Buchan wrote novels all his life, alongside many demanding jobs. The Thirty-Nine Steps is his best known novel since it was made into a film by Alfred Hitchcock.
He died in 1940, at the age of sixty-five, when he was Governor-General of Canada.
CHAPTER ONE
The Man who Died
I had only been back in England for three months, and already I was sick of it. Everything was wrong: the awful weather, the awful conversation and the lack of exercise. Even London seemed as unexciting as lemonade that had lost its fizz.
‘Richard Hannay,’ I said to myself. ‘All those years when you were working in Africa, you dreamed of what you would do when you came back. You’d better do something about it.’
But what could I do? My father had taken me from Scotland to Africa at the age of six, and I had been there ever since. Yet, in my dreams, I had always imagined settling back in Britain for ever.
So, here I was: thirty-seven years old, healthy, with enough money saved not to have to work – and bored stiff.
‘Perhaps I’ll just go back to Africa,’ I told myself. One May evening, I was returning late to my flat in Portland Place, when I noticed a man standing just behind me as I put the key in the door. He was slim with a short beard and blue eyes. I recognised him as the tenant of the flat above mine.
‘My name is Scudder. Can I have a word with you?’ he asked, pulling at my arm.
As soon as I opened the door, he rushed inside. ‘Are all the doors locked?’ he cried. ‘I’m so sorry, but would you do something for me?’
‘I’ll listen to you,’ I replied, worried by his nervousness. He gulped down a glass of whisky. ‘At the moment, I am dead.