Books with author Erskine Childers

A book that caused a huge sensation when it was first published in 1903, The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers is a vivid account of German preparations to invade England, released at a time when tensions between the two countries were at an all time high. Named by The Guardian newspaper 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.“The first modern thriller.” The Times “ …never loses pace.” The Independent on Sunday “…ranks highly with the best.” The IndependentFrom 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."

Boys are mysterious creatures, with rich imaginations and inner lives at which most can only guess. Luckily, a few writers have the talent to capture their fantasies of extraordinary adventure and epic bravery. Inspired by the success of The Dangerous Book For Boys, the six titles of the Penguin Great Books For Boys collection celebrate the adventurer within every boy with tales of shipwreck, murder, espionage, and survival. With a striking series look that is nostalgic and, at the same time, completely modern, these Great Books For Boys are sure to appeal to boys young and old. Tempted by the idea of duck shooting, Carruthers joins his friend Davies on a yachting expedition in the Baltic. But Davies has more on his mind than killing fowl. As they navigate the waters and treacherous, shifting sands on board the Dulcibella, Carruthers learns the real reason behind their trip and how the safety of Britain depends on it. On a wild journey of intrigue and espionage the two men meet danger at every turn, encounter strange sailors and English traitors, and discover a fleet of German war ships assembling amongst the Frisian Islands, ready to invade across the North Sea?

Regarded as one of the best spy stories ever written, this is the classic Secret Service novel. More like fact than fiction, it holds a special place in the affections of spy-novel fans for its richness of technical detail about inshore sailing, its highly sympathetic characters, an unsurpassed narrative style, and a setting and plot that recapture the European political scene on the eve of World War I.Two young Englishmen, Davies and Carruthers, head for the Baltic Sea in the late 1890s for a holiday of sailing and duck-shooting. The mood gradually darkens as Davies discloses his suspicions of espionage in the North Frisian Islands, and Carruthers joins in an investigation that develops into a series of increasingly dangerous intrigues. Norman Donaldson, an expert on detective and suspense fiction, offers an Introduction with details about the author as well as the novel's background and its place in the history of the spy-novel genre.

The Riddle of the Sands is a novel by Erskine Childers.The book, which enjoyed immense popularity in the years before World War I, is an early example of the espionage novel and was extremely influential in the genre of spy fiction. It has been made into feature-length films for both cinema and television. The novel "owes a lot to the wonderful adventure novels of writers like Rider Haggard, that were a staple of Victorian Britain". It was a spy novel that "established a formula that included a mass of verifiable detail, which gave authenticity to the story – the same ploy that would be used so well by John Buchan, Ian Fleming, John le Carré and many others."Carruthers, a minor official in the Foreign Office, is contacted by an acquaintance, Davies, asking him to join in a yachting holiday in the Baltic Sea. Carruthers agrees, as his other plans for a holiday have fallen through. He arrives to find that Davies has a small sailing boat (the vessel is named Dulcibella, a reference to Childers's own sister of that name), not the comfortable crewed yacht that he expected. However Carruthers agrees to go on the trip and joins Davies in Flensburg on the Baltic, whence they head for the Frisian Islands, off the coast of Germany. Carruthers has to learn quickly how to sail the small boat. Davies gradually reveals that he suspects that the Germans are undertaking something sinister in the German Frisian islands.This is based on his belief that he was nearly wrecked by a German yacht luring him into a shoal in rough weather during a previous trip. Davies is suspicious about what would motivate the Germans to try to kill him. Having failed to interest anyone in the government in the incident, he feels it is his patriotic duty to investigate further – hence the invitation to Carruthers.

A book that caused a huge sensation when it was first published, this is a vivid account of German preparations to invade England, released at a time when tensions between the countries were rising. Named by The Guardian newspaper 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.“The first modern thriller.” The Times “ …never loses pace.” The Independent on Sunday “…ranks highly with the best.” The IndependentFrom 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.

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.

A simple invitation to join his friend Davies on a yachting expedition in the Baltic is the beginning of an extraordinary and dangerous adventure for the bored and worldly but clever Carruthers. As the two of them navigate the waters and treacherous, shifting sands of the Frisian Islands on board the Dulcibella, it is soon clear to Carruthers that Davies has more on his mind than a little duck shooting. As they encounter danger at every turn, Carruthers warms to his courageous and brave-hearted friend and through him begins to discover new strengths within himself and a sense of moral purpose. Sounding a warning of the dangers of a German invasion of Britain across the North Sea, Childers's gripping tale of espionage received immediate critical acclaim when it was published in 1903 and today retains its preeminent place in the genre.

The Riddle of the Sands: A Record of Secret Service is a patriotic British 1903 novel by Erskine Childers. It is a novel that "owes a lot to the wonderful adventure novels of writers like Rider Haggard, that were a staple of Victorian Britain"; perhaps more significantly, it was a spy novel that "established a formula that included a mass of verifiable detail, which gave authenticity to the story - the same ploy that would be used so well by John Buchan, Ian Fleming, John le Carré and many others." Ken Follett called it "the first modern thriller."