John Buchan's The Thirty-Nine steps is a 1915 spy novel set in London and Scotland, during the few weeks preceding the outbreak of World War One. Made famous by Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 cinematographic adaptation, The Thirty-Nine steps is Buchan's most famous work. Originally an attempt at creating a “dime-novel” or a “shocker”, the novel is often considered as one of the greatest adventure or spy novels of all times, and it probably invents the genre. Rediscover The Thirty-Nine steps with its original preface and biography in this new edition by Les Éditions de Londres.