Secrets of The 39 Steps: Part One

With less than 2 months now before everyone can get their hands on a copy of our digital adaptation of The Thirty Nine Steps, we wanted to let you in on a few of the secrets about the product, the book and the new format that we’re bringing to market.

Every ‘secrets’ post will come with exclusives – first-look pictures, audio-tracks, video snippets etc – so you may want to double check you’re signed up to our blog so don’t miss out! (You just need to plug your email address into that box in the top right corner – and fear not, we only post when there’s something interesting to say.)

Part One: The British Informer

We have taken every effort to bring the the words of the novel to life in the world in which they were written. The Thirty Nine Steps is set in 1914 Britain – and does an incredible job of weaving its fiction in with the reality of the time. At this point in history, there was a number of important events that would have filled the broadsheets – the rising tension in Europe and the Near East; the plight of the Suffragettes; and who was going to win the Epsom Derby.

This has allowed us the opportunity to work with newspapers and their archive to infuse our retelling of the story with actual stories of the day. So, you will see The Observer, The Scotsman and even the Peebleshire News within our version of John Buchan’s story (so huge thanks to all of those for letting us use and adapt their archives).

Of course, there are points at which the fiction needs to distance itself from reality, and to handle such moments we have created a fictional newspaper of the British Empire, called The British Informer. We are particularly proud of our creation, and the articles are crafted with love and precision (and all extrapolated from the book and the time). Here’s a first look:

If you’re liking what you’re seeing, please do start spreading the word! We’re totally passionate about this product, and really want everyone to have a chance to play it!

As ever, we’re always happy to hear your comments

Author: Simon Meek