JOHN BUCHAN — THE 39 STEPS

The 39 Steps is narrated from the point of view of an adventurer who makes no apologies for desiring adventure most out of everything life has to offer. This guy knows all about Rhodesian mining. He could have a non-ironic conversation about where on a wall to mount an ibex head. 

Some readers of these entries may have noticed I’m a fan of P.G. Wodehouse. While I’m no expert on the subtle gradations of class in 1920s England, I can surmise that our protagonist of The 39 Steps and Bertram Wooster of the Jeeves stories are cut from a comparable swathe of the idle rich. It’s interesting to mull over the pair in contrast. Bertie’s idleness makes him the butt of jokes. The guy in The 39 Steps hates deeply to be bored; escape from boredom drives him more than any other motivation. He almost gets himself killed in the course of this pursuit, but doesn’t seem to have time to reflect on the irony of that.