Brilliantly read

Brilliantly read by Anton Lesser. Intonation makes it interesting , subtle change in voices, no loud or over-egged gravelly voices- sublime - the best I’ve heard.

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Enjoyable

Really enjoyed this book although a little dated to our ears. I am no lover of boats, getting seasick standing on a pontoon l never the less got involved with the mapping and boat terms, and the whole storyline.

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Exciting stuff

Anton Lesser's reading of this is my new gold standard of narration, some of the nuances he uses are just superb.

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A classic

A classic of its time. A moody spy thriller as war looms between Britain and Germany

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Exciting ‘Boys own’ story

Well written spy story that engages both the readers mind and imagination. I read a paperback copy of this book some years ago and thoroughly enjoyed this edition.

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A gem

You won’t regret listening it’s well written and very well performed.
From that man from endeavour.

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Too many words

Some great turns of phrases, research of the seas must have been extensive but I had to skip a lot.

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An excellent early example of a spy thriller.

Published in 1903 The Riddle of the Sands is a early example of an espionage thriller, pure ‘Boys Own’ stuff. An adventure, spy story that was a precursor of novels from such writers as John Buchan, Ian Fleming and John Le Carre. Its authenticity was enhanced by Childers’ use of actual locations accurately described and his extensive seafaring knowledge. It was also, considering when it was published, prophetic in its prediction of the war threat from German and actually influenced Britain’s defense strategy, something that Childers comments on in the epilogue and post script at the end of the book.

It concerns Carruthers, a foreign office lower official who is invited by an acquaintance, Arthur Davies to join in a yachting holiday in the Baltic Sea. As his holiday plans have fallen through he accepts Davies’ invitation. When he arrives he finds Davies’ yacht is a lot smaller than he envisaged. He was expecting a larger more comfortable affair with a crew. However he joins Davies on the yacht and sails from Fresburg to the Frisian Islands off the coast of Germany. He consequently learns that Davies suspects that Germans are up to no good and something sinister is going on on the German Frisian Islands.

Taking its publication date into context it still a gripping well written thriller. It is on the surface a spy novel. It has all the ingredients of that genre, patriotism, exciting set pieces, a mystery to solve, technical detail and an unlikable antagonists with typically nasty motives. But it’s also a pretty credible study of two middle class Englishmen of the times, a study in masculinity and male psyche as Caruthers and Davies bond and begin to work as a team. Its strength though is its locations, the sea, the landscape, particularly the sands, and the yacht itself which all have a dominating influence on each of the two protagonist’s character.

Riddle of the Sands is set in a world that no longer exists and should be read as such. It is on the one hand a period peace, the style is from a bygone era, some of the dialogue is quite charming, “You pig-headed young marplots!” an insult given to the protagonist being a lovely example. There are a few observations however that must be pointed out that wouldn’t be acceptable today (but these are minor). On the other hand it hasn’t dated too much. If you take this into account it is still an entertaining thriller. The only criticism I would make is that the minutia of nautical detail may not interest everyone. It is at times quite technical. This attention to detail is both it’s strength and it’s Achilles heel. There’s a lot about mudbanks and rising and lowering of tides, of which the incredibly detailed description of these sandbanks and tides this passages is an example:-

‘Oh, hang it!” he laughed, “we’re exploring. I want to be able to run through this channel without a mistake. We will, next time.” He stopped, and plied compass and notebook. Then we raced on till the next halt was called.
“Look,” he said, the channel’s getting deeper, it was nearly dry a moment ago; see the current in it now? That’s the flood tide coming up—from the west, mind you; that is, from the Weser side. That shows we’re past the watershed.”
“Watershed?” I repeated, blankly.
“Yes, that’s what I call it. You see, a big sand such as this is like a range of hills dividing two plains, it’s never dead flat though it looks it; there’s always one point, one ridge, rather, where it’s highest. Now a channel cutting right through the sand is, of course, always at its shallowest when it’s crossing this ridge; at low water it’s generally dry there, and it gradually deepens as it gets nearer to the sea on either side. Now at high tide, when the whole sand is covered, the water can travel where it likes; but directly the ebb sets in the water falls away on either side the ridge and the channel becomes two rivers flowing in opposite directions from the centre, or watershed, as I call it. So, also, when the ebb has run out and the flood begins, the channel is fed by two currents flowing to the centre and meeting in the middle. Here the Elbe and the Weser are our two feeders. Now this current here is going eastwards; we know by the time of day that the tide’s rising, therefore the watershed is between us and the yacht.”’

These descriptions are in some cases accompanied with detailed maps. Due to this the pace is a little on the slow at times but this doesn’t detract from the tension. It reminded me mostly of ‘The Thirty Nine Steps’ in its style. Also Caruthers and Davies are quite ordinary everyday people (apart from their class), a similarity I found with the characters in John Le Carrie’s Smiley novels.

It was an instant best seller on publication, however Childers never wrote another novel, instead publishing military strategy manuals before entering politics. He eventually became an Irish Nationalist. Considering the books themes of tradition and patriotism it is surprising to learn that Childers was considered a traitor to Britain at the time of his death in 1922, he was executed by firing squad by order of the Irish Free State.

Anton Lesser is the perfect narrator for this story capturing the nuances of the book brilliantly.

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A leisurely read beautifully read.

This is a book not to be hurried. The text is very descriptive delightfully read by Anton Lesser. The action is subtle and I needed to concentrate to get the most out of it. There are great descriptions of the relationships and intrigues, and lots of detail on sailing and navigation. It’s not a fast paced page-turner but still compelling listening. It made me sit back and enjoy just listening about a time before the Internet and mobile phones.

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Historical thriller with great sense of place

Gripping story that evokes the bleak Frisian landscape beautifully but beware the attitudes of the time that in places are offensive. Good production quality albeit with the occasional pronunciation mishap.

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