The riddle : illuminating the story behind The riddle of the sands / Maldwin Drummond ; preface by Robert Childers ; illustrated by Martyn Mackrill.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Drummond, Maldwin, author.

Contributor:

Childers, Robert Alden, 1910- writer of foreword.

Mackrill, Martin, illustrator.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Childers, Erskine, 1870-1922.

Childers, Erskine.

Childers, Erskine, 1870-1922. Riddle of the sands.

Authors, Irish--20th century--Biography.

Authors, Irish.

Adventure and adventurers.

Ireland.

Adventure and adventurers--Ireland--Biography.

Voyages and travels.

Adventure stories, English--History and criticism.

Adventure stories, English.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

340 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Edition:

New edition.

Place of Publication:

London [England] : Uniform, an imprint of Unicorn Publishing Group LLP, [2016]

Summary:

"A new edition of the definitive study of the background to the writing of The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers, now beautifully illustrated by Martin Mackrill. Since 1904 The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers has been the best known tale of yachting fiction in the English language. It has been continuously in print in numerous editions, has been the subject of a motion picture and has generated scores of articles and correspondence in papers and magazines. This book includes details of Childers own sailing experiences and also a detailed account of the reception afforded the book in official circles and Childers involvement in this. Maldwin Drummond OBE, JP, DL has long made a study of Childers and his book, having become fascinated with its two themes which make an unlikely pair: the problems and ways of the Victorian small boat sailor and the politics and defence issues prior to the First World War. In The Riddle, Maldwin Drummond begins by looking at the wanderings of the yacht Dulcibella as her crew search for an answer to the strange happenings among the sands behind the German Frisian islands.The author highlights the urgent message from Childers that Germany was preparing to invade England and that the British were not aware of any such plan. This detective work by Drummond within the text of The Riddle of the Sands, from British and German archives and numerous other sources, yields some surprising results as Erskine Childers' predictions became a real possibility with the onset of the war"--Page 4 of cover.

Contents:

The life and times of Robert Erskine Childers

Part 1. Pages from the past: A voyage to France

Part 2. The Dulcibella file: The riddle

Erskine Childers

Corinthian sailor

The epic voyage of 1897

"On from island unto island to the gateways of the day"

The making of an author

Part 3. The invasion of England: Bolt from the blue

Operations against England

Part 4. A strange conclusion: The Childers' plan

Epilogue

Appendix, Ride across Ireland

an account of a bicycle tour by Erskine Childers.

Notes:

"First published in 1985 by Nautical Books, an imprint of Conway Maritime Press Limited"--Title page verso.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 316-329) and index.

ISBN:

9781910500392

1910500399

OCLC:

986281167

Publisher Number:

99974473395