Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

The Riddle of the Sands: A Record of Secret Service (Barnes & Noble Digital Library)
The Riddle of the Sands: A Record of Secret Service (Barnes & Noble Digital Library)
The Riddle of the Sands: A Record of Secret Service (Barnes & Noble Digital Library)
Ebook405 pages6 hours

The Riddle of the Sands: A Record of Secret Service (Barnes & Noble Digital Library)

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars

()

Read preview

About this ebook

This edition includes a modern introduction and a list of suggested further reading.   The Riddle of the Sands is the first modern English espionage novel. Long before World War I, but in an atmosphere of growing mistrust between Britain and Germany, two English sailors stumble into a secret spying mystery on the treacherous and stormy mudflats of the German coast. They sail the Dulcibella into wild wind and weather, and enter a battle of wits with the sea as well as with the mysterious Herr Dollmann and his innocent daughter, Clara. Childers' narrative style is clear and uncomplicated, and his sailing adventure is a joy to read, still popular after one hundred years. He hauled spies and detectives into the twentieth century by favoring fact over romance and combined nineteenth-century adventure from Scott and Stevenson with schoolboy stories, Kipling's Empire, and prophecies of war.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateMar 13, 2012
ISBN9781411466647
The Riddle of the Sands: A Record of Secret Service (Barnes & Noble Digital Library)
Author

Erskine Childers

Robert Erskine Childers was born in 1870 to an English father, Robert Caesar Childers, a famed professor of oriental languages at University College London, and his wife Anna, from the distinguished Barton family of Co Wicklow, Ireland. Both parents died from TB when he was a small boy, and Childers was brought up at his mother's family home. From Trinity College Cambridge, he went straight into the Civil Service as a House of Commons clerk, pursuing his first passion, for sailing, during the long parliamentary recesses. In 1899 he volunteered for service in the Boer War and wrote a popular account of his experiences, following this up in 1903 with The Riddle of the Sands. As a writer, he took up the cause of Irish Home Rule, and moved with his family to Ireland after distinguished service in the Royal Navy in the First World War. He was elected to the Dail, the Irish parliament, and was a delegate in the negotiations for the Anglo-Irish treaty of 1922. But the terms fell short of his hopes of full independence, and Childers joined the Republicans in the civil war that followed. He was arrested by the Free State government and court-martialled. He was executed by firing squad on 24 November 1922.

Read more from Erskine Childers

Related to The Riddle of the Sands

Related ebooks

Literary Fiction For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for The Riddle of the Sands

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings

0 ratings0 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

    Book preview

    The Riddle of the Sands - Erskine Childers

     cbook_preview_excerpt.html}˒#DZ$"P%RȮ4Қ-R]s2Ҹ dB+}]~6d9ƌ* 32ݏ{~r/>e*eS1S_?\0Nt~j? }oyDZj4W}~aLWO_qu8}_>ҔT]p|>WvZ yѡmuncs\1]5qC^ih4VyjTi{s81-W)4JpOU'W#Wأa}b˵\CV2z*>G~S,cxkO3XKŠ.iͪ:s2wO)ھ]N -x&sՅֺcgviQ=c80Ͽ.Ó ]oUN\yk5s_avܤKViDg\bJ5Vx[wuQU=P,ϝ78f>)]MS=别zXƩȂ17LIU7t8oxhB=tҧ:PFA_(҆4c7v5<=BX±O@DM3Y$0λ 9+ŵK`~Y34r_Mgo|Juq;b۷t逝Lju\P&z&<,k{%a+.rpph,8>I9>۱Sa|)W.88\7~˧yov%L>[ |:Zs bM\N#@0Ux}-#V.؜o uaST~8b{ ꄋ>sӥ0" ,Lʲ?\v Cݽps1=q('J D .좌7)n2@XF{uiNu;vf6{Z׽nni`Mp(. MPNLZ"iyH8,>%]hSq[`8ZEYD/;O?A8 Ip:G-Ivx0@b$u caA|3nFn:-8ň11ЋvøH?Ntۛ0_.z.TiCE q.؊mnn%x "W1aʱnp%Q{͇;l}S wCM̸tΦn320إL5 ]R.鿸~x3 IڹM@〬\ . >5mNiWج(N db #apG(p/"L۳u @գ#,ίb b(7&&Ӳ 3/E ŴUR#_7kϧC9Wڈ">$0uΞv(/cBԈm]N[ mbCLDgRPB:M 5ߕSHFBN ee-q{9O%Ym0s0Ki徍}]t 6Y;ețyI,/Fp6 N1~'7zǁ?ofyP&vzqD ˅g[zVZ0D 7q7Fyٝ6 E#恦] QL-dЦ=~DT}B@o5f`]d oaWe7kn-JuإƒOyx$&szZ38\Σɤ8p).|QCFhm袭aiX=d_V0k{s-hς-t:`Rgߞ/_>ݧ_郏W>}w?~=4RǗ_T_}#Ӛvr;є?[_ [Af~|'(k ^@bx4LKM?$K"qbJ` ^~:.@dnFӣp() *Q'e\Ga?iꊍD3D,SՌ,F*”@M-0y|;ʤxtNɟzNx%?ChTߝ84/s(7Rw4_?k@੧9DpƮGKgP=cm"G8p>+HW $#WxH6Vi}T$oN*hN|L9~ƴyq & }\e8 l$zȑߌx |N&z K%=5p&\;L9'AM]`aDW2=wrLKāB3U6ױ:SiHb-TD`0[ _ap,&CN:s7a\/Mrblia^O+qkDh&*U`T}of%b*uJX+͘5%j;x\C|$QIkKF .(A6i>R@FWp aKIګQ=Dž:/ͦYD/C]Ύ%V9ٳpMCN)$t5;j1DvXJ`af e;,l30Qdv%ڙ3v eYs#$vzԵfHÀ:ݶeD񮑛ypЕY9es<΅ʅ]G05^ ;G2>i Ph39*f?b90PND: VϑwaYR89 YLd_^mboLW,lLBh.iC0gMvpvW< ^@aE52ʡc*Ԇ]gFwj+'*^YSm& .UR*6>eNmr闀c0] 9TY9Lha7Q̾6{?&*]&;p<}ۓO!1h8D˞Ih>>Iђd)̱t>r3W?/m[YKh)~Mt{9+ \}o*&qՖv5G , ,N.?ke `V!9bsE =V-_ 2bE9rOR"k |Ձfe:ϡ0F0, |L'yArp8@?U d1Ixatr\rke~6 r[zTyP-/"e T Oai2\nD"U@(8킳˃2D'vN2E:a:s=,Ey3~C+VwyG~ٽR68x[ 1(e0ʮS#?TD/!L>Lȣb+|fRbHQM/^ϡu9wioy ! 5ΙT&w'X*",b}щV 99LXiω=o3[n+ȊG1"a{,_CXz`[x$-{~@TqN,+ѣJGY7YZ!75%ۋcYY|:Y;-Gy.ER 19/ @$ҥ*= x@,,KuP\K,ΎXXqNέrMS³ 9:Ńj"_ۜ,vHܲtZ ypa*PZK'N\&7,_^h^I)`DfRK}֒|YD;4 Xi(,hs$f-7ذRd ^s#"^ͷٸ:jBgך} nEH"jճe|w/0~ދ(<!~ɔkEE\p]d/bًp'wvi2MOgA̘Fh7C AL^'oO-7 l,'q87At<\K#p!xuGb, H}pEl93-!jA<9{w̋]A[9Xqa^zͫ#shW٨8\$Y[ߩu-@P`.}iJ?Y  |s Dל:۔y&n-r~ꪒԃXmk$H>I,OY<6\ݕ&{sd?æU0X Z)-S|D=둂 ڒBFMUkdv' W\{llZd퍢ѭU)˄?U$mHv 9+*h,1 0QV NM3T>/[Qlj27AUoU!sNwJ g?Ga&&Ei''Y:0|vg\w |̲m`JHmڮk?2yWu(yˀ/7'"26F:ybeqr2oP]~AȢ lZy@jIü<3:¯_&'z~DpL(P祩(uOcfٴSOX)ᰒ 0?FAԪsxeƬC}\ٷ0 )GKaUH m`w) Uh {A7x$ 2Tp;J7*w$/yʛR,'NnB%c=`~nFK6ԾQ_|U? ic7}V(qb3B 0,U=( #kȨd;ez E< mE#R$n"L1C?ΊQ 8]Ԕ*3,j2KxyFfysimfzrЇű| gTz3ٻTlcFR-'7^kӒ/hY fp1V!dafՌ?7ɔ1vݖ+- -i<ek1gc@(.6Q_Zqfxδ 椀}9|hkFD?:Tj`kmPj,AB' I'ÜyȠA\LS";mx_!eElLݿMK#K 7]ȹXOXXv[2 a4Ui!?71ɚ)jOv"zഡt`ܓ?'Խ<&5m_ 䰔 GV"^.c lDVv +L|),DciJ Oɜ&o{Աpɽ,A %]9>/M9:5܆gۈ`IO}H%PHf6BRA8,.2Ȅg3ᖚw  c rv>ʸD? G|fU<T>^ +ûBx\i(VYJnf,>g=lfE] R-j98*at9.&>\t7Ø(褬%ћePg[քhmVt+N7]O*,Vo*J]RDݪ;5) Zg*̃z?W %TU:!X {1øІF/Nf+ uY!ܟINKQKd=~YB>ƃf,=1:gBK7[sM6-g\BK[?a&OTq>m;? !d,0ZR:[[(Fk=8@nS[\}dc I5$17TTZ hn)}zWo9^6琅ywVF>zMIZ)' iاXfT)ƁA(C`kG\xb+'560lwo Q,k[[lÅCh 8e27اWvKd{rBhrⷮ1ϊر#6."1_R&E3MS"}o:(hIMR q)2dQ%,k晓2Ar8ΐ->*lDi_='Pwj4 ӷ2u36<̌m*Υr쮹zgkv|PP&T}apގCLCysҸ_ Fx!;gx\TllA~ d*Sb:Y_z vVV*G9}")83ͯYT-U1w}q#ZP97Bl[+?+;+7ЍY)=PBY%3{irۇ?fO@vkUC#^ı-8ɹ|p8[elMKCoQV6 'Rpc/y,7[ Ox|:!F24"]97"8%G;.s;aH9Sj9i$Aϵ}B۴&)<,ɮZ3䟋EB촶IIlbߊ1 vU F$8˰E1w)J9}ڻqascU쭗q҃Qϵ{{}Mr02Xxj^Eg;_Ř ߦ2qqoT,9s*lNohSܫ,)q|w7{ԫ%X YmL)ΈT4i(.jF\Iem.̽}k6(#Z<6 {,DAśgne~LCyrJ=Uv5OE٘b~!Շp\>^\=ŌP=[W! EEԶq%5gSvK:M(iǻB^/u{c˶ ܎LRptg6ʒ6gt1s8?Xe|y=Kg#XTx_bzf|Ѥ7Ysjy{c3!˩$hmYĉSʯKq~pC)8В4WLivy` 6awf^}Ȗ$ J\SqH L͔-}'F>QSBr5Hl$]u#q뛑7ϾbtW&H&`mh`M.k4d!_u}C0*՚1-ms@ ˩o/O8 .flR^艢7-ryf# @<.ݎ VjS ;S͛&.[|-},2P*rT%PCt/ stub2^QN6yfA·%gz8^I*/-WyސGEm!JZ/S@EC?hI7vMaך9m6,#9 mGXU4qnѻDVؘrKW咹T cD_)>IDσjc# _C4gA -kQUBZCftp^)j1 6b0oɚh>U&Zhvl߆" %7ņeؽ֚ewSNX ea/N )Is ux8#:j[3QNm`FF *d=ӏj5.N>J_ B ȪWeA`/H2Me|X҅@r!c ^fo"AλU3J$DkqG;F_BjȽl\>1 ׹*yIШ^v"Q\/Ihiwz"Q]X^"#xm)ÑE>z=K"B $?\V,4kIlgy"ezCV7t]*ue;JX/5 px-heAi^v}uGҼ>XxcC՜ϲ߷1נ'-{Yĭ:wEeCp$2&y}ΏXz)|I:&¯79^Emu[b7?r8؋$;el6ֶe]!OtO{m V~(WYa?6dFu& tg݊ >䯲>/ +S<TQ-L Ԙc|I"t8vW3Lve҄zZyȣ_-+::S E.}X6_rDB-9AWEϴqE0x\RKRՆ(zML;% wH=-}{C[GVccb?>(;lߡ&Om8m8 j͉iKjI*`o\E9%[WNOv7Ol9鱯 [DO?#RjyQ"vwC{o̵zy_\^l$uz, )ڙCv~d37%N+60경qM}3ջkHl%Vo d+nyB~ϚmGsˣG~}r iFCB:k(ֈz[G| "1O-.P}ien֪~el&Q:Br4š?#xNhSmKJf<j5r߇H9:5;eSd$rqPʛ-u #llH'Rk׊D}}cb|[Rޭlئ[&(טș2({:Fɉގh5曆=ި輳9AW2-ܔy1~{YO M@VQ1pNNheƒUVeޭ V7yzκv޿[7AЃ^m*fsߎ3RQk ?ӉfQǫ5_vb]sNc ipQN^79'RẓTA`bzs'O*!幯I軠t[[2E TZ
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1