The Thirty-Nine Steps is an adventure novel by the Scottish author John Buchan. It is the first of five novels featuring Richard Hannay, an all-action hero with a stiff upper lip and a miraculous knack for getting himself out of sticky situations. The novel formed the basis for a number of film adaptations: Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 version; a 1959 colour remake; a 1978 version; and a 2008 version for British television. In 2003 the book was listed on the BBC's The Big Read poll of the UK's best-loved novels.