The novel featured Buchan's oft used hero, Richard Hannay, whose character was based on Edmund Ironside, a friend of Buchan from his days in South Africa.

In 1935, Buchan's literary work was adapted to the cinematic theatre with the completion of Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps, starring Robert Donat as Richard Hannay, though with Buchan's story much altered.

His characterisation did indeed prove to be enduring, as almost ten years later a television series entitled simply Hannay appeared with Powell back in the role, ( although the Buchan short stories on which the series was based were set in an earlier period than The Thirty-Nine Steps ).

John Buchan was an admirer of Bunyan, and Pilgrim's Progress features significantly in his third Richard Hannay novel, Mr Standfast, which also takes its title from one of Bunyan's characters.

Margaret was the only child of Helen Mann Hannay and George Hay Whigham, a Scottish millionaire who was chairman of the Celanese Corporation of Britain and North America.

Whereas Hannay used a flame-heated tube, Moissan applied his newly developed electric arc furnace, in which an electric arc was struck between carbon rods inside blocks of lime.

Many feel that the character of Sandy Arbuthnot, Hannay's resourceful polyglot friend, was based on Buchan's friend, Aubrey Herbert, and perhaps also Lawrence of Arabia, while the character of Hannay drew on the real life military officer, Field Marshal Lord Ironside.

* Irish writer George A. Birmingham ( real name James Hannay ) was the Protestant rector in Westport for a number of years.

Hannay was born in London and educated at Winchester College and New College, Oxford.

In 2001 he was created a life peer as Baron Hannay of Chiswick, of Bedford Park in the London Borough of Ealing and made pro-Chancellor of the University of Birmingham.

Lord Hannay was Chair of the Board of United Nations Association UK from January 2006 to January 2011 and is now chair of the UN All-Party Parliamentary Group.

James Hannay ( 17 February 1827 – 9 January 1873 ), was a Scottish novelist, journalist and diplomat.

The first use of the prayer book was in St Giles ' on Sunday 23 July 1637, when James Hannay, Dean of Edinburgh, began to read the Collects, part of the prescribed service, and Jenny Geddes, a market-woman or street-seller, threw her stool straight at the Minister's head.

Falling income from the two charities meant that by 1809 one master, Joseph Hannay, was employed to teach forty boys on behalf of the Parker school, and fifteen for the Saunders school.

As revealed through the various novels, Richard Hannay was born in Scotland about 1877 ; his father was Scottish and had German business partners.

His last adventure, The Island of Sheep, occurred some twelve years later when Hannay, now in his fifties, was called by an old oath to protect the son of a man he once knew, who safeguards the secret of the greatest treasure on earth.

Richard Hannay was one of the first modern spy thriller heroes and as such has heavily influenced the genre.

Today, considered in the light of mainstream espionage fiction, Hannay appears to be badly cliched — although, as he was created well before his attributes became cliched, Hannay could be more accurately described as a seminal character of the spy thriller genre.

On the field the squad was bolstered by news that eight players had been granted visas just a week before the clubs top-flight début as NL1 Grand Finalists Tony Duggan, Josh Hannay, Mark Dalle Cort, Damien Quinn, Jace Van Dijk, Darren Mapp and new signings Australian Ryan O ' Hara and Papua New Guinean Jason Chan flew to Wales.

Hannay visits Roylance in hospital, where he was recovering from having been beaten by Odell, but Turpin has disappeared-Hannay later learns he was taken, part-hypnotised by Kharama, to a strange house ; there Turpin shakes off his paralysis, sees his girl in the house, and plays quiet for a time.

Robert Powell ( born 1 June 1944 ) is a British television and film actor, best known for the title role in Jesus of Nazareth ( 1977 ) and as the fictional secret agent Richard Hannay.

Sir Peter Hannay Bailey Tapsell ( born 1 February 1930 ) is a British Conservative Party politician and the Member of Parliament ( MP ) for Louth and Horncastle.

David Hugh Alexander Hannay, Baron Hannay of Chiswick, GCMG, CH ( born 28 September 1935 ) is a British diplomat.

Alastair Hannay ( born 1932 ) is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Oslo.

On 17 July 1919 at Hampstead registry office he married Katharine Hannay.

The book opens in November 1915, with Hannay and his friend Sandy convalescing from wounds received at the Battle of Loos.

Set in the later years of World War I, Brigadier-General Hannay is recalled from active service on the Western Front to undertake a secret mission hunting for a dangerous German agent at large in Britain.

He hears of his old comrade John Blenkiron, and one day the American appears at one of the town's meetings ; he passes a message to Hannay, arranging to meet in London.

Hannay is encouraged by a letter from Peter Pienaar, and at a meeting with Bullivant, Blenkiron and Mary, he pushes for them to hound the man down.

Hamilton reports having seen Gresson in a party of touring visitors, and Hannay learns he had stayed behind in a small village for a time ; he later hears a story of mysterious goings-on at a chateau near the same village.

The German tells Hannay he plans to capture Mary too, and send them both back to Germany to deal with at his pleasure, while the German army attacks and crushes their enemies.

He arrives at the house, and staggers in, to see von Schwabing gloating over Blenkiron, who appears to have walked into the same trap Hannay had the night before.

The statements could be interpreted as seditious, but would not be likely to be judged mutinous by a court of law ( examined at length in Robinson and Hannay ; the charges are reproduced in Vaux ).

They stop at Medina's house for a pipe, and there Hannay has a strange dreamlike experience of which he remembers little, only later realising that Medina attempted to hypnotise him and that he somehow resisted.

Hannay is invited to stay at Medina's house, but before he moves there he hears from Mary that Archie Roylance has been to the club, been upset by Odell's treatment of the girl and revealed Turpin's identity.

Hannay continues to cling to Medina, until at last Greenslade visits again, and instructs Hannay to come to the dance club the following night, leaving a door to Medina's unlocked, while Mercot travels home by train and Turpin, having awakened Adela from her trance, is held in the mysterious house while she sets off once more for the club, and around Britain, Europe and the world the police close in on a variety of people and places.

Sandy briefly drops in on Hannay and Medina at a dinner of the Thursday Club, from where Hannay goes to the dance club and sees the staff rounded up and Turpin soundly beat Odell ; Mary visits Madame Breda once more, leaving with a bundle in her arms and police swarming the house behind her ; Hannay returns to Medina's house, and reveals he knows all, pleading with Medina to hand over the boy.

Soon Archie arrives with news that Medina is at a neighbouring lodge, and Hannay prepares for a showdown.

He played Richard Hannay in the BBC adaptation of The 39 Steps which was screened at Christmas 2008.

He tells Hannay to try and head for Scotland and an American called Gresson, as he believes the information is being sent that way.

Hannay had previously appeared in The Thirty Nine Steps ( 1915 ), his most famous adventure in which he battles German spies across England and Scotland, and two books about his activities during the First World War, Greenmantle ( 1916 ) and Mr Standfast ( 1919 ).

After a restful spell in the country, Sandy warns Hannay that Medina, never accused of any crimes, may be out for revenge, and advises him to head to Scotland for a spell.