Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.912
EAN num: 9780140009057
ISBN number: 0140009051
Label: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 336
Printing Date: September 28, 1978
Publishing house: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Sale Popularity Level: 3605856
Studio: Penguin (Non-Classics)
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
Childers' lone masterpiece, 'The Riddle of the Sands', considered the very first modern spy thriller, is recognizable as the brilliant forerunner of the realism of Graham Greene and John le Carre. Its unique flavor 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.
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Rated by buyers 
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I read this many years ago, and wondered then why Hollywood didn't make a movie of it. I still wonder, having enjoyed it a second time. Of course, you have to like the sea and sailing and be willing to go back in history a bit. The writing is beautiful, there is a lot of sea action, a bit of romance, and the mystery remains deep and suspenseful until the end.
Rated by buyers -
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 spy fiction. Don't be put off by the various maps and charts at the beginning of the book - it is entirely possible to enjoy the story without knowing anything about sailing (though presumably the fun of the story will be heightened for those who do have some knowledge of sailing and maritime affairs). The voice of the narrator is irresistibly charming, the story is an excellent one, tautly told. I feel almost ashamed to be discovering this story as late in life as I am. But better late than never.
I highly recommend this book.
Rated by buyers -
Erskine Childers at his best. His book The Riddle of the Sands and the feature film starring Michael York only enhance each other. Erskines life in itself reads like a Indiana Jones story. He began sailing along the Frisian Islands in the North Sea in 1897. His experiences and imagination of the possibilities of an invasion by Germany would change the way Great Britain looked at it's defensive policies and the lack of realistic preparations of her coastlines. Did the book and it's warning influence and delay World War I? Was there a plan to invade Britain? Was it considered? Mostly like not, but we will never really know. The Riddle of the Sands and the warning changed how an entire country defended itself. Germany was at the time expanding her empire and particularly her Navy. Germany's only rival at the time was Great Britain. So....... The Riddle of the Sands is a particular insightful look at the end of the Victorian age and the dawning of a new century. A must read if you love historial fiction. Good reading.
Rated by buyers 
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Plenty other reviews give a synopsis of "The Riddle of the Sands" or place it in its historical context. I mainly want to add that while it is quite good in its own way and may well deserve the label "classic," it probably will appeal most to a rather limited and, with time, ever-shrinking audience.
While it is a noted early example (perhaps even the first) of the spy/adventure genre, I doubt that it will satisfy or fully engage most fans of LeCarre, McCarry, Deighton, and others of more modern ilk. The writing often is superb, but now somewhat dated; the plot (such as it is) unfolds at a very leisurely pace; and from the reader it requires close -- even undue -- attention to the esoterica of yachtsmanship and to ever so small details of the coastal geography, topology, and tidal patterns of the East Frisian Islands. For the avid small-boat sailour or student of spy literature, "The Riddle of the Sands" may well warrant five stars, but for the average intelligent reader of the 21st Century, I suspect three stars is more on the mark.
Rated by buyers -
This 1903 novel is a spy story that includes a factual account of small boat handling in the treacherous waters off the Frisian Islands. The `Preface' explains this book as a record of the adventures of "Carruthers". The British government was warned, but little was done. So Childers decided to publish this story to warn the public of a possible invasion of Britain. In Chapter 1 Carruthers gets an invitation to go yachting in the Baltic sea. He accepts out of boredom. The yacht is a converted life boat, thirty feet long and nine in the beam. Arthur Davies can sail this boat without help. Then Davies tells what happened before he invited Carruthers (Chapter 8). Carruthers decided to go along with the plan. Davies talks of the ambitions and rivalry of Germany (Chapter 10).
The chapters describe sailing in a small boat in the North Sea. Cold, fog, and tides that imperil a small yacht. There is the story about the mysterious German, his young daughter, and his business associates. There is a mystery about a salvage operation on an old shipwreck by Memmert Sand. Carruthers has been called back to London. But in Amsterdam he disguised himself and doubled back (Chapter 25). Carruthers' suspicions are confirmed by a boat at night towing a lighter. There is a surprise in the last chapter. The `Epilogue' discusses the plan to invade and conquer Great Britain by surprise.
A similar invasion was planned in 1940 until it was prevented by The Battle of Britain. The difficulties of an invasion from sea were solved in June 1944. While a blockade of shipping can damage Britain, its internal resources will help. Only a successful invasion will conquer Britain [as in 1066]. There is no mention of the Territorial Army here. Some have claimed this was the very first spy novel. "The Prisoner of Zenda" was published years earlier (political intrigue into a dynastic succession).
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