Book – Riddle of the Sands

Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers (1903) – A young clerk from the English Foreign Office is invited to join a half-forgotten friend from his University days for some sailing in the Baltic Sea.  What begins as a break from his boredom in London leads to a plot that puts his nation’s safety at risk.

Set in the years leading up to the First World War, Childers takes us into the suspicions of Europe as Germany begins to flex its muscles.  It’s a world very alien to those of us in the States, where the lead-up to the war was very different and came much later.

The stereotype of the English people often includes a great fondness for tide tables and train schedules.  This book hits both of those areas thoroughly.  So thoroughly that the actual spy thriller gets set adrift for long periods of time.  Despite that, the novel was immensely popular in its day.

This is counted among the first influential spy novels of all time.  The attention to detail to create believability has become a staple.  That such attention went into details of the tides, how they affect the sand shoals along the Frisian coast, how to make your way in a small sailing yacht through those shoals and finally the exact schedules of trains in that same region becomes almost mind numbing.

The author’s story is in many ways more interesting.  An Irish nationalist who used a small sailing yacht to smuggle weapons in support of the uprising, he was eventually executed by firing squad in the early days of the Irish Free State.  There has been some controversy about his death ever since.

Why I Liked It – The two main characters, Carruthers and his host Davies, have their moments.

Why You Will Like It – If you can hang on to the end, there is some excitement there.

Rating – **1/2  Almost Worth A Look