Richard Hannay

Age and build

Age of thirty-seven

“Here was I, thirty-seven years old, sound in wind and limb, with enough money to have a good time, yawning my head off all day” (The Thirty Nine Steps, chapter 1)

Strong and capable physique

“I took down a hunting-knife from a stand on the wall, and did the old Mashona trick of tossing it and catching it in my lips. That wants a pretty steady heart” (The Thirty Nine Steps, chapter 4)

Similar height to the milkman and roadman

“He was a young man about my own height, with an ill-nourished moustache, and he wore a white overall” (The Thirty Nine Steps, chapter 2)

Face and hair

Brown complexion from colonial life

“With my brown face, my old tweeds, and my slouch, I was the very model of one of the hill farmers who were crowding into the third-class carriages” (The Thirty Nine Steps, chapter 3)

Long drooping moustache

“Then I had a bath, and cut my moustache, which was long and drooping, into a short stubbly fringe” (The Thirty Nine Steps, chapter 2)

Eyes like a hawk

“Now my life on the veld has given me the eyes of a kite, and I can see things for which most men need a telescope” (The Thirty Nine Steps, chapter 5)

Dress

Tweed suit and strong nailed boots for travel

“I hunted out a well-used tweed suit, a pair of strong nailed boots, and a flannel shirt with a collar” (The Thirty Nine Steps, chapter 2)

Cloth cap for disguise

“Into my pockets I stuffed a spare shirt, a cloth cap, some handkerchiefs, and a tooth-brush” (The Thirty Nine Steps, chapter 2)

Blue serge suit borrowed from Sir Harry

“I selected a loose blue serge, which differed most conspicuously from my former garments, and borrowed a linen collar” (The Thirty Nine Steps, chapter 4)

Voice and speech

Speaks in broad Scots when adopting that accent

“I observed to my companions in my broadest Scots that it was a sore job catching trains” (The Thirty Nine Steps, chapter 2)

Signature words

Frequent use of 'I reckon'

“I reckoned that two sets of people would be looking for me” (The Thirty Nine Steps, chapter 2)

Uses 'my friend' colloquially

“Richard Hannay,” I kept telling myself, “you have got into the wrong ditch, my friend, and you had better climb out” (The Thirty Nine Steps, chapter 1)

Colonial expressions and references

“I was the best bored man in the United Kingdom” (The Thirty Nine Steps, chapter 1)

References to his African experience

“I had been three months in the Old Country, and was fed up with it” (The Thirty Nine Steps, chapter 1)

Gait and mannerisms

Adopts the slouch and gait of a hill farmer

“With my brown face, my old tweeds, and my slouch, I was the very model of one of the hill farmers” (The Thirty Nine Steps, chapter 3)

Imitates the jaunty swing of a milkman

“I crossed the street, whistling gaily and imitating the jaunty swing of the milkman” (The Thirty Nine Steps, chapter 2)

Adopts the slow movements of a roadman

“I slowly and painfully straightened my back, after the manner of roadmen; spat vigorously, after the manner of the low Scot” (The Thirty Nine Steps, chapter 5)

Capable of rapid physical action

“Down the hill I went like blue lightning, screwing my head round, whenever I dared, to watch that damned flying machine” (The Thirty Nine Steps, chapter 4)

Strengths

Excellent at reading character and judging people

“I had made a practice of judging the man rather than the story” (The Thirty Nine Steps, chapter 1)

Quick thinking and resourcefulness

“I had an inspiration, on which I went to bed and slept for two troubled hours” (The Thirty Nine Steps, chapter 2)

Skilled at disguise and deception

“My toilet complete, I took up the barrow and began my journeys to and from the quarry” (The Thirty Nine Steps, chapter 5)

Physical endurance and strength

“All the slackness of the past months was slipping from my bones, and I stepped out like a four-year-old” (The Thirty Nine Steps, chapter 3)

Flaws

Initially bored and dissatisfied with life

“I had been three months in the Old Country, and was fed up with it” (The Thirty Nine Steps, chapter 1)

Did not listen carefully to Scudder's full explanation

“I did not give him very close attention. The fact is, I was more interested in his own adventures than in his high politics” (The Thirty Nine Steps, chapter 1)

Impulsive and sometimes reckless

“A sudden daftness took me, and in a second I had jumped into the tonneau and had him by the shoulder” (The Thirty Nine Steps, chapter 5)

Struggles with hunger and physical hardship

“My chief trouble was that I was desperately hungry” (The Thirty Nine Steps, chapter 6)

Traits

Honest and straightforward

“I believe you’re straight, but if so be you are not I should warn you that I’m a handy man with a gun” (The Thirty Nine Steps, chapter 1)

Loyal and committed to his word

“He was gone, but he had taken me into his confidence, and I was pretty well bound to carry on his work” (The Thirty Nine Steps, chapter 2)

Adaptable and quick to learn

“I shut off all other thoughts and switched them on to the road-mending” (The Thirty Nine Steps, chapter 5)

Courageous and willing to take risks

“I am an ordinary sort of fellow, not braver than other people, but I hate to see a good man downed” (The Thirty Nine Steps, chapter 2)

Observant and detail-oriented

“The men I was matched against would miss no detail” (The Thirty Nine Steps, chapter 5)

Lines in their own words

Threatening Jopley

“Give me that coat of yours. That cap, too” (The Thirty Nine Steps, chapter 5)

Confessing his crimes with dark humour

“Contrary to general belief, I was not a murderer, but I had become an unholy liar, a shameless impostor, and a highwayman with a marked taste for expensive motor-cars” (The Thirty Nine Steps, chapter 5)

Expressing determination to Sir Harry

“If you’ll give me your attention for half an hour I am going to tell you a story” (The Thirty Nine Steps, chapter 4)