Information
Scottish by birth, John Buchan was a prominent public and political figure. He also wrote numerous books, the most famous one being the spy novel The Thirty-Nine Steps in which part of the action takes place in Broadstairs, or ‘Bradgate’, a fictional name being an amalgam of ‘Broadstairs’ and ‘Margate’. This gripping thriller was written by Buchan in Broadstairs itself where he was resting from ill-health. The novel superbly mirrors the tense situation of the weeks leading up to the First World War and was an instant success, hitting home for many readers, anxious spectators of tense international relations.
The hero of the novel, Hannay, is trying to stop German spies from returning to Germany with important information. In order to stop them, he has to work out a code that corresponds to the place from which the spies plan to sail off – a beach on which there is a staircase with thirty-nine steps and where on June 15th at 10.17pm it is high tide. After clever deductions Hannay discovers that this place is Ruff, near Bradgate.
Quotations
About one in the morning the coastguard man arrived (…).
“We want you to tell us the places you know on the East Coast where there are cliffs, and where several sets of steps run down to the beach”. (…)
“(…). Of course, there’s the Ruff…”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“ The big chalk headland in Kent, close to Bradgate. It’s got a lot of villas on the top, and some of the houses have staircases down to a private beach. It’s a very high-toned sort of place, and the residents there like to keep by themselves.”
I tore open the Tide Tables and found Bradgate. High tide there was at 10.27pm on the 15th of June. (…)
“How can I find out what is the tide at the Ruff?”
“ I can tell you that, sir,” said the coastguard man. “I once was lent a house there in this very month, and used to go out at night to the deep-sea fishing. The tide’s ten minutes before Bradgate.” (…)
“If one of those staircases has thirty-nine steps we have solved the mystery, gentlemen,” I said.
Related sites:
Bartleby
Pegasos
The John Buchan Home Page
University of Maryland - Project Gutenberg Place | Extract |
| Broadstairs | In order to stop them, he has to work out a code that corresponds to the place from which the spies plan to sail off – a beach on which there is a staircase with thirty-nine steps and where on June 15th at 10... |
