Erskine Childers
Paperback | Pages: 336 pages Rating: 3.63 | 5263 Users | 528 Reviews
Present Of Books The Riddle of the Sands
| Title | : | The Riddle of the Sands |
| Author | : | Erskine Childers |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 336 pages |
| Published | : | December 10th 2002 by Modern Library (first published 1903) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Classics. Mystery. Adventure. Historical. Historical Fiction. Spy Thriller. Espionage. Thriller |
Narration In Favor Of Books The Riddle of the Sands
While on a sailing trip in the Baltic Sea, two young adventurers-turned-spies uncover a secret German plot to invade England. Written by Childers—who served in the Royal Navy during World War I—as a wake-up call to the British government to attend to its North Sea defenses, The Riddle of the Sands accomplished that task and has been considered a classic of espionage literature ever since, praised as much for its nautical action as for its suspenseful spycraft.Define Books To The Riddle of the Sands
| Original Title: | The Riddle of the Sands |
| ISBN: | 0812966147 (ISBN13: 9780812966145) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Characters: | Carruthers, Arthur Davies, Bartels, Dollmann, Clara Dollmann, von Brüning, Böhme |
| Setting: | Germany Kiel (Hauptstadt)(Germany) |
Rating Of Books The Riddle of the Sands
Ratings: 3.63 From 5263 Users | 528 ReviewsDiscuss Of Books The Riddle of the Sands
I read this book because I totally thought it was about something else. This is what happens when you see a book on a list, in this case the 1001 books to read before you die list, and run off at a tangent because it has the word "sand" in the title! Did I pause to read the 1001BTRBYD entry concerning this book? Nope. I bought it in a second hand store, motored home and curled up on the sofa with the vague and woolly notion of getting some sort of desert-based mystery, possibly with anA bit misleading, the cover of this historical thriller. Initially thought that this novel was set in Egypt instead of the German Coast pre WW1. Found this to be a slow read indeed, had a "boys own adventure" feel to it.A bit of a "slow burner" for sure but some wonderful atmosphere and dialogue. A lot of nautical terms which I wasn't familiar with but I do enjoy novels where the "underdog" triumphs against all odds.A seafaring adventure but takes some patience to get through with an abrupt
Don't read the "official" review, as it is a spoiler.Caruthers works in the foreign office and is stranded in London while all his friends are off on holiday. Suddenly, he gets an unexpected invitation to do some yachting and duck shooting on the Baltic with old school acquaintance Davies.The first half of the book is Three Men in a Boat meets Three Men on a Bummel, messing about in a tiny vessel off the coast of Germany. This part is rather too long, but persist. It transpires that Davies has a
This is a richly detailed yachting novel that happens to have a spy plot, the author's vision of spying as real as the vision boys with wooden swords in a treehouse might have of piracy. There is an admirable sense of atmosphere in the book, but hardly ever a sense of suspense. The complexity of characterization is far deeper than Childers's ability to make his characters interesting. Many passages stink of a florid, Victorian prose, and the much praised dinner scene near the end of the book is
I've had this book on my shelves for so many years (and then delayed reading it!) I was worried my edition might not be pictured here on goodreads. Of course I needn't have feared. Riddle of the Sands is such a classic and the folks here on goodreads so resourceful, every edition of this early English spy novel is bound to be listedthough I wouldn't know them all.I read and listened to this book and I'm not sure I would have gotten through it any other way.* It's very technical for this non
Erskine Childers was shot by firing squad during the Irish civil war in 1922. According to Wikipedia, his last words were a joke at the expense of his executioners: "Take a step or two forward, lads. It will be easier that way."His son was subsequently elected fourth president of Ireland in an upset election in the 1970's, sadly to die in office a year or so later. Whatever the circumstances of his life and death, this story is a "cracking good read", one of the earliest novels in the genre of
Britannia rules the waves?Our narrator, Carruthers, finds himself having to stay on at his job in the Foreign Office while all his fashionable friends depart for country house parties, apparently managing to cope with his absence with less difficulty than hed have liked. Released at last for his annual holiday, he finds himself with nowhere in particular to go, so when an old friend writes inviting him to spend some time on his yacht duck-shooting in the Baltic, he decides to take him up on the
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