THE THIRTY NINE STEPS.
Registered by K-i-s-m-e-t of Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada on 9/18/2016
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
2 journalers for this copy...
Part of the process of getting my mom's house ready to sell is finding new homes for the more than three thousand books that currently live on her shelves. This is one of those books. I hope you enjoy it. Happy reading!
Journal Entry 2 by K-i-s-m-e-t at Second Cup – Graham & Edmonton in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada on Sunday, September 18, 2016
Released 7 yrs ago (9/18/2016 UTC) at Second Cup – Graham & Edmonton in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
I'm taking this book with me to Cafe D'Amour this afternoon. If it doesn't go home with someone, it will remain on the shelf patiently awaiting a new reader. Happy reading!
I couldn't pass up this classic Canadian book since 2017 will be Canada's 150th birthday. I have read this but so long ago I figured it would be worth rereading before releasing in the Canada Days release challenge.
At the beginning of this book there is a note from the author to a friend:
MY DEAR TOMMY
You and I have long cherished an affection for that elementary type of tale which Americans call the 'dime novel' and which we know as the 'shocker' -- the romance where the incidents defy the probabilities, and march just inside the borders of the possible. During an illness last winter I exhausted my store of those aids to cheerfulness, and was driven to write one for myself. This little volume is the result, and I should like to put your name on it in memory of our long friendship, in the days when the wildest fictions are so much less improbable than the facts.
J.B.
And so that is the genesis of one of the first spy novels. It is set in Britain just before World War I. A middle-aged man, Hannoy, has made his fortune in Africa and is living in London and getting thoroughly bored with his new life. Then his sedate existence is overturned when his upstairs neighbour asks for help. He claims to be in fear of his life because he has learned some information about Germany's intentions to start a war. Hannoy allows him to stay in his flat and listens to his tale but is sceptical about it. Then he comes home one night and finds his house guest stabbed to death. He realizes he will be next so he flees to Scotland where he manages to stay one step ahead of German agents and British police by effecting a number of disguises. He has managed to decipher the little black book his guest had always carried with him but he is still unclear as to the event which the spy said would take place on June 15th. The clue is in the phrase "Thirty-nine Steps" and once that is figured out the German plot can be foiled.
This reminded me quite a bit of H. Rider Haggard's classic King Solomon's Mines which I read last year. Male-dominated adventure yarn but fun to read.
MY DEAR TOMMY
You and I have long cherished an affection for that elementary type of tale which Americans call the 'dime novel' and which we know as the 'shocker' -- the romance where the incidents defy the probabilities, and march just inside the borders of the possible. During an illness last winter I exhausted my store of those aids to cheerfulness, and was driven to write one for myself. This little volume is the result, and I should like to put your name on it in memory of our long friendship, in the days when the wildest fictions are so much less improbable than the facts.
J.B.
And so that is the genesis of one of the first spy novels. It is set in Britain just before World War I. A middle-aged man, Hannoy, has made his fortune in Africa and is living in London and getting thoroughly bored with his new life. Then his sedate existence is overturned when his upstairs neighbour asks for help. He claims to be in fear of his life because he has learned some information about Germany's intentions to start a war. Hannoy allows him to stay in his flat and listens to his tale but is sceptical about it. Then he comes home one night and finds his house guest stabbed to death. He realizes he will be next so he flees to Scotland where he manages to stay one step ahead of German agents and British police by effecting a number of disguises. He has managed to decipher the little black book his guest had always carried with him but he is still unclear as to the event which the spy said would take place on June 15th. The clue is in the phrase "Thirty-nine Steps" and once that is figured out the German plot can be foiled.
This reminded me quite a bit of H. Rider Haggard's classic King Solomon's Mines which I read last year. Male-dominated adventure yarn but fun to read.
Journal Entry 5 by gypsysmom at Little Free Library in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada on Sunday, June 25, 2017
Released 6 yrs ago (6/25/2017 UTC) at Little Free Library in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
I left this book in LFL #24561 which is in front of 508 Craig Street. This release is for the 2017 Canada Days release challenge.
When you find a BookCrossing book it is yours to do with what you like. You can read it and keep it or pass it on or if you don't think it is your kind of book pass it on to someone who might like it or release it in a spot for someone else to find like you just did. Whatever you choose it would be great if you could write a short note letting us know what new adventures the book is on.
When you find a BookCrossing book it is yours to do with what you like. You can read it and keep it or pass it on or if you don't think it is your kind of book pass it on to someone who might like it or release it in a spot for someone else to find like you just did. Whatever you choose it would be great if you could write a short note letting us know what new adventures the book is on.
