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The Riddle of the Sands
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The Riddle of the Sands by Childers Oct BOTM
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1. Erskine Childers wrote this novel as a warning to England to look to their North Sea defenses (and it worked, inspiring a movement in England to improve military preparedness). How do you think this book’s unique inspiration informs its character?
2. The novel features much technical and nautical detail (Childers drew on his own extensive expertise and travels in writing the book); does this aspect of the work draw you in as a reader? Do you feel that the work successfully balances this kind of detail against a broader narrative?
3. Compare the characters of Carruthers and Davies; how are they alike and how do they differ; how would you describe their relationship? How does their evolving rapport play into the story this novel is telling?
4. Discuss the villain Dollmann, and the villains of the story generally: do you find them powerful? Menacing? Convincing? Realistic? Do you think Childers was aiming for realism?
5. It is often said that the genre of the British spy novel begins with this novel. Compare it to later espionage fiction: in what ways do you think it has made its influence felt?
6. What, finally, is the riddle of the sands, and how do Carruthers and Davies solve it?
7. Remarking on the cultural context of The Riddle of the Sands, critic Benny Green wrote that it “was perhaps the best of those Edwardian call-to-arms thrillers which acquired their tension from the British neurosis, real or imagined, regarding the possibility of some lesser breed without the law constituting a serious threat to their world dominance.” Do this kind of critical perspective on the novel and the story’s particular “tension” enhance your reading of it?
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Not sure about what this question is asking but I would say that the author used a Sailor (Davvies) and a a person who works in the foriegn office. This works to inform both the sailing and the spying.
2. The novel features much technical and nautical detail (Childers drew on his own extensive expertise and travels in writing the book); does this aspect of the work draw you in as a reader? Do you feel that the work successfully balances this kind of detail against a broader narrative?
The details are accurate and realistic. I think, in general, the detail won't be appreciated by today's readers. But I think it has its place
3. Compare the characters of Carruthers and Davies; how are they alike and how do they differ; how would you describe their relationship? How does their evolving rapport play into the story this novel is telling? they are acquaintances that grow together as the book progresses. The adventure cements their relationship
4. Discuss the villain Dollmann, and the villains of the story generally: do you find them powerful? Menacing? Convincing? Realistic? Do you think Childers was aiming for realism? the villains are hard to pin down. They could be ordinary people. I think that is realistic.
5. It is often said that the genre of the British spy novel begins with this novel. Compare it to later espionage fiction: in what ways do you think it has made its influence felt?
established a formula that included a mass of verifiable detail, which gave authenticity to the story – the same ploy that would be used so well by John Buchan, Ian Fleming, John le Carré and many others."[1] Found in Wiki.
6. What, finally, is the riddle of the sands, and how do Carruthers and Davies solve it? The Germans are linking the canals and the railways, dredging passages through the shifting sands and hiding a fleet of tugs and barges.
7. Remarking on the cultural context of The Riddle of the Sands, critic Benny Green wrote that it “was perhaps the best of those Edwardian call-to-arms thrillers which acquired their tension from the British neurosis, real or imagined, regarding the possibility of some lesser breed without the law constituting a serious threat to their world dominance.” Do this kind of critical perspective on the novel and the story’s particular “tension” enhance your reading of it?
hmm, I am not sure that this was a part of how I would think. But there was that tension that the British were superior and the Germans might be up to no good.
1. It is fascinating that this book was so popular and had such a profound effect. I was not at all familiar with the Frisian coast and had to consult Google maps to help me make sense of the place. I really missed the maps referred to in the story because I listened to an Audible version. But the geography was interesting and I was particularly interested in the developent of naval defences which the book inspired. Especially Scarpa Flow.2. I am a failed sailor and do not have a particular interest, except that all New Zealand follows the America's Cup and Olympic yachting with zeal. I was helped by the narration by Anton Lesser, which made all the nautical terms seem logical.
3. The narrator is Carruthers and he is self-deprecating, introducing himself as an effete snob. He is initially wary of Davies, whom he doesn't know well, but he comes to admire his self-reliance. I suspect that Davies is Childers himself. Davies is an expert sailor but he needs Carruthers diplomatic skills and fluency in German to deal with the suspects.
4. The question implies that they are not considered to be realistic, but I found them so and sufficiently menacing that I thought that the confrontation with Dollman foolhardy.
5. Its influence on later spy stories is, I think, the realistic detail of its setting. Also, I think, the way the story starts quite slowly and gradually becomes more and more exciting was a successful template for later novels in the genre.
6. The other influence was that the protagonists had to work out what the enemy were doing and only gradually did they realise the huge import of their undertaking. In this case, they began thinking that they had uncovered a covert operation to shore up Germany's defences, but finally realised that they had stumbled upon a plan for a full scale invasion of Great Britain. Carruthers achieved this by spying on a clandestine meeting.
7. I thought the imperial self satisfaction of Carruthers at the beginning to be a satire of the idea of British exceptionalism, but then Davies repeatedly expressed his admiration for Germany in general and the Kaiser in particular.
1. Erskine Childers wrote this novel as a warning to England to look to their North Sea defenses (and it worked, inspiring a movement in England to improve military preparedness). How do you think this book’s unique inspiration informs its character?I enjoyed the maps in the physical book and I think I would have been lost without them. I also had to google quite a few maps to get situated in the Frisian Islands but the book's maps made clear all the strange channels and watersheds that existed at low tide. If the author's main concern was to write a "thriller" I doubt very much he would have added such specific detail about the low water conditions. Also, he had to make it sound very plausible, which contemporary thrillers tend to skirt.
2. The novel features much technical and nautical detail (Childers drew on his own extensive expertise and travels in writing the book); does this aspect of the work draw you in as a reader? Do you feel that the work successfully balances this kind of detail against a broader narrative?
For a large part of the book, the level of detail seemed a bit much for me. It was rather slow going and I really had to pay attention to exactly where they were on the maps. I can see how this would make it exciting for a true sailor, but it made it dry to this "crew" who only ever gets told what to do.
3. Compare the characters of Carruthers and Davies; how are they alike and how do they differ; how would you describe their relationship? How does their evolving rapport play into the story this novel is telling?
To me, this was the best part of the book. Carruthers was a rather posh, snotty gentleman, who thought he was going yachting and Davies was a tongue-tied bumbler when he spoke, but a genius on the water. I liked the way they evolved through tolerance, accommodation, rapport and finally true friendship and partnership.
4. Discuss the villain Dollmann, and the villains of the story generally: do you find them powerful? Menacing? Convincing? Realistic? Do you think Childers was aiming for realism?
Yes, I do think Childers was aiming for realism. If he overplayed the villain part he would have undermined his overall motive to teach the British Naval powers about the threat that existed along the German coast.
I thought Childers picking a failed British naval officer as the bad guy was a great device. It allowed von Brüning to be upheld as a good man and good officer, he was just working for the wrong side.
5. It is often said that the genre of the British spy novel begins with this novel. Compare it to later espionage fiction: in what ways do you think it has made its influence felt?
The British dry humor was certainly in evidence. The fact that what was going on between the men was a war of wits while nature was a force to be dealt with by both sides is something that has influenced other novels. The unfolding of the dangers involved is carried over in other books also. One thinks that the problem to be solved is A, and then it turns out to be B.
6. What, finally, is the riddle of the sands, and how do Carruthers and Davies solve it?
There is more than one riddle. There is the man against nature riddle in which Davies has to be able to chart a course for the dinghy over low tide, for 10 miles in the dark. Then there is the riddle about exactly what the Germans are up to with their straightening out some of the creeks and low water sloughs, which is the core of the book.
7. Remarking on the cultural context of The Riddle of the Sands, critic Benny Green wrote that it “was perhaps the best of those Edwardian call-to-arms thrillers which acquired their tension from the British neurosis, real or imagined, regarding the possibility of some lesser breed without the law constituting a serious threat to their world dominance.” Do this kind of critical perspective on the novel and the story’s particular “tension” enhance your reading of it?
I am not sure about neurosis, real or imagined....
However, it was clear that both Carruthers and Davies were extremely loyal to their country and saw a threat where very few other people, including the whole of the British admiralty, saw that threat. I realize that at the time Britain did have world dominance on the sea but this book plainly calls out that the big naval ships had their limitations.
Diane wrote: "In case you like quizzes. https://bookroo.com/book-quiz/the-rid..."
I scored 100% after reading the book....not a difficult quiz.
Gail wrote: "Diane wrote: "In case you like quizzes. https://bookroo.com/book-quiz/the-rid..."
I scored 100% after reading the book....not a difficult quiz."
I got the second question wrong, because I was sure that they met up in the Baltics.
1/2. I read this on Serial Reader, and there were no maps. So I was hopelessly lost. I tried to look up the area, but from what I could gather parts of it don't even exist anymore, or rather is under water. I kind of zoned out a lot during all the geographical and nautical detail.3. Carruthers was such an insufferable young man of privilege at the beginning, with such an inflated opinion of himself. I liked his growth and the development of his friendship with Davies.
4. A thriller/adventure novel is rarely completely realistic, but it does need to be believable, or even plausible. I liked that the enemy was not some crazy Bond villain, but rather people with complex motivations, some of them as patriotic as the heroes.
7. I don't really understand this comment. It was clear that they didn't consider Germany "some lesser breed", but rather as a people to be admired. Only not to the extent that you should let them invade and rule you. Like Pip I thought there was a bit a satire in the beginning, but I guess it was just Carruthers being youthful and overly enthusiastic/ignorant. It didn't sit well with me.
1. Erskine Childers wrote this novel as a warning to England to look to their North Sea defenses (and it worked, inspiring a movement in England to improve military preparedness). How do you think this book’s unique inspiration informs its character?I found this aspect of the novel fascinating. I listened to an audio version and definitely missed the maps. I did look up some maps and photos of the area, just to have a somewhat better idea of the geography.
2. The novel features much technical and nautical detail (Childers drew on his own extensive expertise and travels in writing the book); does this aspect of the work draw you in as a reader? Do you feel that the work successfully balances this kind of detail against a broader narrative?
I know absolutely nothing about sailing, but I did find this aspect interesting.
3. Compare the characters of Carruthers and Davies; how are they alike and how do they differ; how would you describe their relationship? How does their evolving rapport play into the story this novel is telling?
I also really enjoyed the development of their friendship through the book I liked seeing the growth of Carruthers especially.
4. Discuss the villain Dollmann, and the villains of the story generally: do you find them powerful? Menacing? Convincing? Realistic? Do you think Childers was aiming for realism?
I felt the villains in this story were fairly realistic.
5. It is often said that the genre of the British spy novel begins with this novel. Compare it to later espionage fiction: in what ways do you think it has made its influence felt?
I do not really read espionage fiction, so it's hard for me to judge. However, I am curious to read The 39 Steps after this one, having seen some comparisons. Without a lot of experience with this genre, I was expecting more action and suspense in this story than I got. It had a very slow build and even when things came together near the end, it was not as intense as I was expecting. This is another of those books on the list that makes me realize the list is often about the development of literature rather than simply examples of truly great writing.
7. Remarking on the cultural context of The Riddle of the Sands, critic Benny Green wrote that it “was perhaps the best of those Edwardian call-to-arms thrillers which acquired their tension from the British neurosis, real or imagined, regarding the possibility of some lesser breed without the law constituting a serious threat to their world dominance.” Do this kind of critical perspective on the novel and the story’s particular “tension” enhance your reading of it?
I didn't get the feeling of the Germans as being "some lesser breed" from this, but I did find the fact that it actually made a real impact of British preparedness a fascinating thing about it. Knowing that it was written before both world wars and had this impact very much increased my appreciation for it as I was reading.
2. The novel features much technical and nautical detail (Childers drew on his own extensive expertise and travels in writing the book); does this aspect of the work draw you in as a reader? Do you feel that the work successfully balances this kind of detail against a broader narrative?There really was a lot of detail and much of this detail went over my head. I wouldn't say this was balanced.
3. Compare the characters of Carruthers and Davies; how are they alike and how do they differ; how would you describe their relationship? How does their evolving rapport play into the story this novel is telling?
Both characters had some of Childers in them, and both represented the British national character in different ways. Caruthers was fro a prominent family and more traditional in thinking. Davies was more unconventional.
4. Discuss the villain Dollmann, and the villains of the story generally: do you find them powerful? Menacing? Convincing? Realistic? Do you think Childers was aiming for realism?
I found them human and realistic.
5. It is often said that the genre of the British spy novel begins with this novel. Compare it to later espionage fiction: in what ways do you think it has made its influence felt?
I don't read a lot of espionage fiction, but I can see how this book might influence later spy novels, such as those by Fleming, Buchan, and Le Carre.
6. What, finally, is the riddle of the sands, and how do Carruthers and Davies solve it?
The Germans were (view spoiler)
1. I think the book wanted to be taken seriously so it included a lot of detail, that wasn’t really needed just to enjoy a good story. Especially in the epilogue at the end, it felt more like reading an academic paper than a story wrap up. 2. No I think it included too much detail in a very unengaging way, as a reader I was turned off by all of that and found myself skimming those parts and eager just to get on with the story. It definitely wasn't a good balance of the two, the real story only comes to play in the final third of the book and even then it is still interrupted by masses of details I personally felt weren’t interesting or needed.
3. Carruthers is a young well-to-do chap looking for an easy holiday and Davies is a hard-working, quieter sort of fellow. They differ at the start of the novel but then seem to get along quite well together, once they are working towards the same end. I would have enjoyed reading more interactions and dialogue between the two, but sadly that was in short supply in this novel.
4. Dollmann I don’t really feel the book does a good job of exploring his motives, and the other ‘villains’ just appeared to be doing their jobs. Yes, I think Childers was aiming for realism rather than a sensationalist bad guy.
5. It seems to have set the format.
6. A plan to (view spoiler)
7. Knowing what comes after, I think that did influence my reading of it.
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