John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir (1875 – 1940), was a Scottish Unionist writer and politician who served as Governor General of Canada and became famous for his novel "The Thirty-Nine Steps". "The Thirty-Nine Steps" was published by Buchan in 1915 and adapted for the screen by Alfred Hitchcock two decades later, achieving great success both among readers and on the cinema screens. In the novel, the Scottish writer narrates the story of Richard Hannay who, during his vacation in London, decides to solve a mysterious case told to him by a woman he met in the city, who would shortly thereafter be murdered. In addition to being chosen by Hitchcock to be brought to the screens, the novel "The Thirty-Nine Steps", not coincidentally, is part of the famous collection: "1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die."