The Riddle: Illuminating the Story Behind the Riddle of the Sands

First published in 1903, The Riddle of the Sands, by Erskine Childers, is one of the earliest examples of a spy novel in English, and it has been extremely influential on the genre since. It is also one of the best-known tales of yacht fighting. This unusual combination has always intrigued Maldwin Drummond, who explores in The Riddle the book’s two main themes: the life of the Victorian small boat sailor and the politics of defense prior to World War I.   In this book, Drummond includes details of Childers's own sailing experiences and offers a detailed account of the reception of the book in official circles at the time. Drummond does her own detective work to highlight Childers’s urgent message that Germany was preparing to invade England and that the British were not aware of any such plan. This new edition of the definitive study of the writing of The Riddle of the Sands is updated here with beautiful illustrations by Martin Mackrill.