The Riddle of the Sands

The Riddle of the Sands, by Erskine Childers, is often referred to as the first spy novel. The story is narrated by an English gentleman Curruthers, who received an unexpected invitation of duck shooting from an old friend Davies. Being tired of his neglected position in "society," he accepts it to go to the North Sea only to find that he is involved in a mystery, or "the riddle of the Sands." His friend claims there's something in the air, something hiding behind the misty coast of Germany. But how can they prove it? The story gets gradually faster, and as the adventure of the heroes slowly gets near to the core of the plot, the tale becomes more and more gripping. Though characters sometimes are just more than cardboard, patience will be rewarded. It is well-known that Sherlock Holmes in "His Last Bow" turns a spy for his country, and says "There's an east wind coming." The meaning of what Holmes says is clear to the contemporary people, and Childers, a politician, also wrote his book not as an amusement but as a warning to England about the coming threat of Germany, and actually "The Riddles of the Sands" was written about 10 years before World War I began. In this historical context too, the book is interesting, and the tediousness of the opening chapters is justified by keeping in mind that Childers's sarcasm against indifference and complacency among the English people. Though the book is enjoyable, the historical matters make it more precious.