„The Riddle of the Sands“ des irischen Autors Erskine Childers wird oft als der erste moderne Thriller bezeichnet und war am Beginn des 20. Jahrhunderts einer der populärsten Spionageromane. Der 1903 erschienene Roman begründete ein Genre und beeinflusste großen Spionageautoren wie John Buchan, Ian Fleming, John le Carre und viele andere mehr. Im Mittelpunkt der Handlung stehen zwei britische Segler, die mit ihrer Jacht, der „Dulcibella“, eigentlich zum Zeitvertreib die deutsche Ostseeküste befahren wollen. Nachdem Carruthers erfährt, dass sein Freund Davies von einem gewissen Dollmann beinahe in einen tödlichen Hinterhalt auf dem Meer gelockt worden war, entscheiden sich die beiden Kameraden, Nachforschungen über Dollmann und seine Machenschaften anzustellen. Ihre Erkundigungen führen sie zu den friesischen Inseln der deutschen Nordseeküste, wo sie schließlich Dollmanns Geheimnis aufdecken und dabei Pläne für eine deutsche Marineinvasion Großbritanniens enthüllen.
One of the first spy novels ever written, The Riddle of the Sands had an enormous impact upon its publication in 1903. Author Erskine Childers-a Boer War veteran and expert yachtsman-crafted a riveting tale of two men who sail close to the German coast and observe secret preparations for an invasion of England. The novel sparked intense concern over British preparedness for war, and one critic accused Childers of almost single-handedly plunging Europe into a conflagration.
While on a sailing trip in the Baltic Sea, two young adventurers-turned-spies uncover a secret German plot to invade England. Widely recognized as the first modern spy thriller, this 1902 lone masterpiece by World War I Royal Navy officer Erskine Childers was written as a wake-up call to the British government to attend to its North Sea defenses. It accomplished that task and has been considered a classic of espionage literature ever since. Praised for its nautical action and richly authentic background as much as for its suspenseful spycraft, The Riddle of the Sands is the brilliant forerunner to the realism of Graham Greene and John le Carré.
"Simon Vance lends a mature sound and considerable technique to his narration, making Childers's seafaring not only apparent, but contagious."-AudioFile
When Carruthers joins his friend Arthur Davies on his yacht Dulcibella, he is expecting a pleasant sailing holiday in the Baltic Sea. But the holiday turns into an adventure of a different kind. He and Davies soon find themselves sailing in the stormy waters of the North Sea, exploring the channels and sandbanks around the German Frisian Islands, and looking for a secret - a secret that could mean great danger for England. Erskine Childers' novel, published in 1903, was the first great modern spy story, and is still as exciting to read today as it was a hundred years ago.
Carruthers is rescued from a hot summer at a deserted Foreign Office in London, by an out-of-the-blue invitation to join an acquaintance, Davis, on his yacht in the Baltic. He arrives to find not only that he comprises the whole crew, but also that Davies needs his help in a spying mission with enormous stakes. The Riddle of the Sands, with its early warnings of the dangers of a German invasion by sea, created a sensation when it appeared in 1990. It is the forerunner of the spy novels of John Le Carré and Graham Greene, and its detail and dry humour have made it a classic for sailors as well as for thriller addicts.
