The Riddle of the Sands [Paperback]

Erskine Childers (Author)

Book Description

Series: Classic, 20th-Century, Penguin | Publication Date: April 3, 2000

Childers' lone masterpiece, "The Riddle of the Sands", considered the first modern spy thriller, is recognisable as the brilliant forerunner of the realism of Graham Greene and John le Carre. Its unique flavour comes from its fine characterization, richly authentic background of inshore sailing and vivid evocation of the late 1890s - an atmosphere of mutual suspicion and intrigue that was soon to lead to war.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

An insightful introduction by the author's great-grandson distinguishes this reissue of a seminal work of spy fiction first published in 1903. At the dawn of the 20th century, Carruthers, a young Foreign Office functionary, is lamenting being stuck in London with little to do when he receives a surprising communiqué from Oxford classmate Arthur Davies. Davies's request to join him on a yacht in Schleswig-Holstein includes an eccentric laundry-list of items that Davies wants his friend to bring. With nothing else on his horizon, Carruthers accepts, and ends up enmeshed in intrigue centering on Davies's concern that Germany's growing sea-power poses a threat to England. Childers (1870-1922) couples his patiently developed plot with richly imagined lead characters. Davies himself is the standout, rounded out by numerous quirks, including a craving for throwing items overboard from his small vessel. Eric Ambler fans will find this a fascinating antecedent.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

From Booklist

First published in 1903, Childers� novel caused a sensation in Britain. It is a vivid account of German preparations to invade England, released at a time when tensions between the countries were rising. Carruthers, a young staff member in the foreign office, is invited by Davies, a Cambridge friend, on a yachting holiday in the Frisian Islands along Germany�s north coast. Carruthers is appalled. The �yacht,� Dulcibella, is a spartan 30-footer, and the poorly charted sea is a maze of shifting sands, conflicting currents, and volatile weather. The two men soon come to believe that the German government is planning war, and they set out to gather proof. Named by The Guardian as one of the 100 greatest novels of all time, The Riddle of the Sands has delighted generations of sailing aficionados and thriller readers with its nautical and political verisimilitude. That said, it is also a Victorian-era tale that challenges contemporary readers with its dense and detailed expository writing about sailing and the machinations of the Germans. One of the 100 best books ever? Probably not, but lovers of the sea, espionage thrillers, and European history will continue to embrace it in this welcome new edition. --Thomas Gaughan --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (April 3, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0141181656
• ISBN-13: 978-0141181653
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,681,309 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Thriller With Attitude, January 19, 2002

By 

Tsuyoshi (Kyoto, Japan) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Riddle of the Sands (Paperback)

This book is often referred to as the first spy novel, and it is not wrong. However, to appreciate the novel, you have to know beforehand several things. But, don't worry, that is not much.

The story is narrated by an English gentleman Currthuers, who received an unexpected invitation of duck shooting from an old friend Davies. Being tired of his neglected position in "society," he accepts it to go to the North Sea only to find that he is involved in a mystery, or "the riddle of the Sands." His friend claims there's something in the air, something hiding behind the misty coast of Germany. But how can they prove it?

As a story, "The Riddle of the Sands" is far from perfect. It is full of authentic descriptions of local landscapes (the author actually cruised his yacht there), but at the same time frequent reference to the geographical data and nautical terms are a bit wearisome to readers, and moreover, the narrator often refers us to the maps in the appendix. Those things only slow down the action of the novel, and actually the book sometimes has to go through lull.

But, wait a while. The story gets gradually faster, and as the adventure of the heroes slowly gets near to the core of the plot, the tale becomes more and more gripping. Though characters sometimes are just more than cardboard (and especially female part is poorly done), your patience will be rewarded.

It is well-known that Sherlock Holmes in "His Last Bow" turns a spy for his country, and says "There's an east wind coming." The meaning of what Holmes says is clear to the comtemporary people, and Childers, a politician, also wrote his book not as an amusement but as a warning to England about the coming threat of Germany, and actually "The Riddles of the Sands" was written about 10 years before WW1 began. In this historical context too, the book is interesting, and the tediousness of the opening chapters is justified if you keep it in mind that it is meant for Childers's sarcasm against indifference and complacency among the English people (talking of English complacency, we remember later in 1938, immediately before WW2, Alfred Hitchcock again uses it as a satire in his thriller "The Lady Vanishes" with brilliantly silly two British gentlemen who are more concerned with cricket games than surrounding danger). People don't change.

So, the book itself is still enjoyable, but these historical matters will make it more precious; after all, it is one of the proof how people reacted to the coming change in the history of mankind. And if you're interested in this kind of book (I mean, books reflects German-England relationship), check out "The Battel of Dorking" by George Chesney (written in 1871) and "When William Came" (in 1913) by Saki once.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Solid read, but only in context, November 9, 2006

By 

Seth Merlo (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Riddle of the Sands (Modern Library Classics) (Paperback)

I bought The Riddle of the Sands to use in an History essay for university where I was looking at how the spy was portrayed before World War I. As one of the more popular titles from that era of 'invasion literature,' Childer's work certainly fit the bill. It is the story of two men sailing around the Frisian Islands trying to uncover a German plot to invade the north of England. That's basically it in the way of plot. It was Childer's way of calling attention to what he believed where Britain's insufficient North Sea defenses, and the real possibility of a German naval invasion. He succeeded in that endeavour and the North Sea defenses were eventually strengthed, which you could view either as a testament to the power of this novel, or to the 'great underlying problems and increasing pessimism' felt throughout Europe (to quote Ruth Henig), in the lead up to World War I.

Whichever view you take, the novel has a depth of characterisation that is quite remarkable for a first attempt at fiction. Davies and Carruthers are representative of the two poles of English class/social structure at the time, with the inarticulate, yet perceptive everyman Davies teaming up with well-mannered and intellectually capable Carruthers, figurative of the way that all aspects of British society would need to come together to face the coming invasion. However, the fact that this was Childers' first and only novel begins to show in his pacing. This is hardly the 'cliff-hanger' that Milt Bearden claims it to be in his brief 5-page introduction. However, Childers' purpose was not to write a thrilling page turner, but a warning against German invasion. To really enjoy this novel, you have to read it in that context, otherwise you'll be thinking 'what's the big deal?' There is relevance to our contemporary situation, given the whole 'invasion' theme, but to understand that connection, you need to be aware of the reasons for Childers' decision to write this book, and, by extension, the motivation of his characters.

This Modern Library edition does offer some background in Bearden's introduction. Enough to give the casual reader some brief historical context, at least. It follows the Modern Library's tradition of having authors from relevant and related fields offering their thoughts, rather than the academic/scholarly approach that Penguin or Oxford take. The problem here though is that it is too brief to offer any real insights. There is also the standard Modern Library reading guide, offering questions that range between vaguely thought-provoking to superficial. I don't know why they bother with these reading guides, especially at the expense of a decent introduction. However, if you're just after the story without wading through the academia of the Oxford World's Classic release, then this is the version you're after. Plus, Modern Library's cover art is always so much nicer to look at!

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the first of its kind ..., April 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Riddle of the Sands (Hardcover)

... not that I know enough about literary history to be able to vouch for that myself. It's hard to explain exactly what its kind is. Call it a modern spy story: and I think what makes it modern is the feeling that the protagonists are no more than a stone's throw from society, often WITHIN society, and can some of the time claim protection from society; and yet if they turn down the wrong street or move a mile or two to the left they might as well be in the wilds of Siberia, for all the mercy that anyone will show them. Everyone in this novel, in innocence or in guilt, leads a kind of double life.

Two stories run side by side: the riddle of the title, concerning an unknown threat to England, and the redemption of a feckless civil servant named - naturally - Carruthers. The setting is lovely; the life aboard ship is vividly described; the author never leaves important details vague. But do pay close attention to the map in the front of the book as you read.