Describe the character of Richard Hannay. What traits allow him to not only survive, but succeed in thwarting the villains? Is he a hero or simply an ordinary man thrust into extraordinary circumstances?

Hannay takes on a multitude of disguises throughout his adventure. How does the author and/or Hannay view the process of disguising oneself? Does a successful disguise happen on a merely superficial level, with a change of clothes being sufficient, or is there a deeper requirement? What happens to the "real" person underneath the disguise?

What reasons might the author have for relaying the events of the novel in first-person?

How do class distinctions figure into The Thirty-Nine Steps? Hannay once states he is comfortable with either the upper or lower classes, but not with the middle class, and indeed the villains are disguised as middle-class citizens. How might this unease...