John Buchan on the History of Literature podcast.

The History of Literature podcast sits down with Ursula Buchan to discuss the multifaceted life and work of her grandfather, John Buchan (The Thirty-Nine Steps, etc.).

BBC Radio 4: "The Buchan Tradition."

In "The Buchan Tradition," BBC Radio 4 talks to two writer grandchildren of John Buchan--James and Ursula Buchan--as well as Buchan companion author Kate Macdonald to discuss works such as The Thirty-Nine Steps, Greenmantle, and Mr. Standfast; Buchan heroes Richard Hannay and Edward Leithen; and the style of storytelling established by Buchan that can be seen in works by later authors such as Geoffrey Household (Rogue Male). The program includes a clip of Buchan speaking.

John Buchan, Walter Mosley this week on BBC Radio 7.

This week on BBC Radio 7, mining engineer Richard Hannay attempts to thwart enemy spies in John Buchan's classic The Thirty-Nine Steps; also featured is Buchan's Huntingtower and Walter Mosley's Devil in a Blue Dress. Go here for the schedule or to listen.

About the image: Kenneth More as Richard Hannay in The 39 Steps (dir. Ralph Thomas, 1959).

John Buchan companion published (ed. Foxwell).

Just in time for the holidays, I'm pleased to announce that John Buchan: A Companion to the Mystery Fiction has been published by McFarland & Co., the first in a mystery companion series that I am editing for the publisher. The author is Kate Macdonald, former editor of the John Buchan Journal and an English professor at the University of Ghent in Belgium.

The pride of Scotland, Buchan (aka Baron Tweedsmuir, 1875–1940) is best known for The Thirty-Nine Steps (1915) that introduced intrepid hero Richard Hannay, but he wore so many hats that we look like lazy bums by comparison: biographer; journalist; poet; Boer War civil servant; British intelligence officer during World War I; member of Parliament; governor-general of Canada; fan of E. Phillips Oppenheim; friend of T. E. Lawrence (aka Lawrence of Arabia); and writer of children's books, historical fiction, paranormal works, and thrillers. Moreover, he accomplished all this while suffering from painful stomach ulcers for most of his life. I am heartened by the increasing numbers of people I learn about who admire his work (such as Michael Dibdin).

The McFarland Companions to Mystery Fiction series is an effort to provide solid reference works on often neglected and significant authors in the field.

Richard Hannay returns.

The 39 Steps, a stage production of Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 film (which loosely adapted John Buchan's famous 1915 thriller), is now playing at the American Airlines Theater via the Roundabout Theatre Company in New York City. It runs through March 23rd.

In it, South African Richard Hannay is embroiled in espionage and murder and dodges various nefarious spies and the police in his efforts to uncover the truth.

Buchaneering.

The 39 Steps, the British stage production of the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock film and John Buchan's popular 1915 novel in which South African Richard Hannay finds himself embroiled in murder and espionage, is heading for the bright lights of Broadway. Four actors play nearly 140 roles.

The 39 Steps will play at the American Airlines Theater via the Roundabout Theatre Company in New York. The run is scheduled from January 4 to March 23, 2008.



Further details here. Read about the Boston previews here and the London production here.

About the photo: A mysterious woman (Jennifer Ferrin) with an even more mysterious accent meets her end in the London flat of Richard Hannay (Charles Edwards), who's wrongly accused of killing her in the Huntington Theatre Company's pre-Broadway American premiere production of Alfred Hitchcock's "The 39 Steps." Photo: T. Charles Erickson