Классическая зарубежная проза на английском языке — John Buchan

I snapped the switch, but there was nobody there. Then I saw something in the far corner which made me drop my cigar and fall into a Cold sweat. When Richard Hannay is warned of an assassination plot that has the potential to take Britain into a war, and then discovers in his flat the murdered body of the American that warned him, he becomes a prime suspect. He flees to the moors of Scotland and a spirited chase begins as he is pursued by the police and the German spies involved with stealing...

Major General Sir Richard Hannay is the fictional secret agent created by writer and diplomat John Buchan, who was himself an Intelligence officer during the First World War. The strong and silent type, combining the dour temperament of the Scot with the stiff upper lip of the Englishman, Hannay is pre-eminent among early spy-thriller heroes. Caught up in the first of these five gripping adventures just before the outbreak of war in 1914, he manages to thwart the enemy's evil plan and solve...

The Thirty-Nine Steps (1915) introduces Richard Hannay, the original gentleman-hero of spy thrillers and a forerunner of James Bond. This tale of intrigue and treachery pits Hannay against not only a German spy ring but also the British police, who wrongly suspect him of murder. Hunted relentlessly, he flees to Scotland and races against time to expose a plot that would drive Britain to the brink of war. His success rests on the whereabouts of the mysterious thirty-nine steps. The Power-House...

Richard Hannay finds a corpse in his flat, and becomes involved in a plot by spies to precipitate war and subvert British naval power. The resourceful victim of a manhunt, he is pursued by both the police and the ruthless conspirators. The Thirty-Nine Steps is a seminal `chase' thriller, rapid and vivid. It has been widely influential and frequently dramatised: the film directed by Alfred Hitchcock became a screen classic. This engaging novel also provides insights into the inter-action of...