The African Queen [Paperback]

C. S. Forester (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0316289108 | ISBN-13: 978-0316289108 | Publication Date: June 30, 1984

First published in 1935, C.S. Forester's classic romantic adventure is a tale of opposites attracted. Allnut and Rose, a disreputable Cockney and an English spinster missionary, wend their way down a river in Central Africa in a rickety, asthmatic steam launch, and are gradually joined together in a mission of retaliation against the Germans. Fighting time, heat, malaria and bullets, the two have a dramatic rapprochement before the explosive ending of the book. This tale of unlikely love is thrilling and funny and ultimately satisfying.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Forester is now remembered for his Horatio Hornblower sea adventures; his 1935 novel has been forgotten in lieu of the popular 1951 film by John Huston. However, those who want to experience the original without Hollywood's alternationsDprotagonist Charlie Allnutt is BritishDwill have to read the novel.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Publisher

6 1-hour cassettes --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Back Bay Books (June 30, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316289108
• ISBN-13: 978-0316289108
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #94,828 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The devil is in the detail, May 16, 2001

By 

Peter Bowes (Avalon, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The African Queen (Paperback)

C S Forester knew his business. He knew a plausible method of turning an old river steamer into a torpedo, he knew the hellish consequences of losing a prop blade, of mooring in a mangrove swamp, of finding still water in a rapid.. And as he has proven so many times in the Hornblower novels, he knows the way of knaves and gentleman... This is a book for any age.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars C. S. Forester Knows How to Tell Stories, May 4, 2001

By 

gray (midwest) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The African Queen (Paperback)

Some authors have the gift of putting words together in a way that entertains and enthralls the reader. C. S. Forester is one of the best. When Forester tells a story, the reader feels personally involved. We feel like we know the characters in a personal, intense way. If you have read Forester's Hornblower novels, you have read Forester at his best. The African Queen was made into a memorable movie starring Katherine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart. The book is more intense, darker, and far less triumphant than the movie. If you thrill to the successes of Horatio Hornblower in Forester's navel novels, you might find African Queen a little depressing at times. If you like depressing novels (and apparently many readers do) you might give this book five stars. The story is set during World War I and involves the attempt by a missionary lady and an alcoholic English boatman to travel down a river in Africa to do battle with the Germans. The interaction between the characters and the river creates a riveting story. Like Hemingway, "I recommend Forester..."

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good movie. A very ,very good book., December 9, 1997

By 

Yankee Dame (Dayton) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The African Queen (Paperback)

There is really not much to say except that the Hollywood movie is not really very much like the book. (Why does this not suprise me?) The story and the characters are much more human, possibly because they are not "Katharine H. and Boogie" and this is not Hollywood. The thundering falls, the hunger,the heat, the gloomy swamps, the smother lake of water lillies, the endless toil and hours...and then, in the end, to see their mission fail. As heart breaking and riviting as any book ever writen.