The Riddle of the Sands
By Erskine Childers
272 pp. 1998. Hardcover. $14.95
ISBN 1 57409 015 1
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In the years leading up to World War I, two amateur sailors battle the secret forces of mighty Germany. Their navigational skills prove as important as their powers of deduction in uncovering the sinister plot that looms over the international community.
For over a century, The Riddle of the Sands has held a special place in the affections of sailing enthusiasts and thriller fans alike. Its enduring appeal lies not only in its spellbinding and tangled drama — which matches any modern thriller in ingenuity and tension — but also in the hauntingly atmospheric backdrop of the fogbound seas and treacherous sands of the Frisian Islands.
Now reissued in an affordable hardcover edition, The Riddle of the Sands is certain to attract a whole new generation of devotees.
“…[a] classic…” —Cruising World
“One of the most famous of all thrillers and one of the best of all sea stories.” —Irish Times
“No yachting novel has yet appeared to compare with The Riddle of the Sands.” —Glasgow Evening News
About the Author:
Erskine Childers was born in London in 1870. He lived a life of mystery and adventure and has been called a traitor, a murderer, a saint, and a martyr. He was educated at Trinity College Cambridge and fought in the Boer War before becoming a major in the Air Force during World War I. He was active in Irish politics and died before an Irish Free State firing squad in Dublin on November 24, 1922.
An accomplished yachtsman, Childers wrote The Riddle of the Sands when he was thirty years old. Published in 1903, it was an immediate and lasting success.
- See also The Shadow in the Sands by Sam Llewellyn