Real Reads

"The Riddle of the Sands - A Record of Secret Service Recently Achieved" is a 1903 novel by British-born Irish writer Erskine Childers (1870—1922). "The Riddle of the Sands" is a nautical tale of a two-man sailing trip along the German coast at the beginning of the twentieth century. An accomplished yachtsman, Childers uses this realistic and portentous story to warn Britain of the increasing threat posed by Germany before the First World War. Contents include: "The Letter", "The Dulcibella", "Davies", "Retrospect", "Wanted, A North Wind", "Schlei Fiord", "The Missing Page", "The Theory", "I Sign Articles", and "His Chance". Other notable works by this author include: "The Riddle of the Sands" (1903), "The Framework for Home Rule" (1911), and "War and the Arme Blanche" (1910). This classic work is now being republished in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with an excerpt from "Remembering Sion" by Ryan Desmond.

First Published in 1903, Erskine Childers' "The Riddle of the Sands: A Record of Secret Service", is one of the earliest examples of an espionage novel and was immensely influential in the creation of this popular genre. Childers led an interesting and adventurous life, becoming an amateur sailor as a young man before enlisting in the military and serving in the Boer War and eventually the First World War. In "The Riddle of the Sands", a gripping and thrilling story begins with a minor official in the Foreign Office, Carruthers, and his complete boredom with his occupation. Although his prospects are good, he feels an emptiness in his life, and this in large part encourages him to accept an invitation to go sailing with his friend Davies. Davies suspects German naval activity in the Baltic, and the two overcome numerous obstacles, both by suspicious German patrol boats and tricky inshore sailing, to discover information that threatens the lives and safety of their countrymen back home. Childers's tale is a masterpiece of suspense and intrigue, as well as a patriotic tale of men willing to die for their country in a dangerous time of secret plots and burgeoning war. This edition includes a biographical afterword.

Originally published as a serial from 1855 to 1857, Dickens's novel "Little Dorrit" tells the story of Amy Dorrit, the youngest child of her family born and raised in a debtor’s prison whose life is changed when she meets Arthur Clennam, returning home from a 20-year absence. "Little Dorrit" heavily criticises societal shortcomings of the time, in particular the existence of debtors prisons-where Dickens's own father was incarcerated. This classic work is being republished now in a new edition complete with an introductory chapter from "Appreciations and Criticisms of the Works of Charles Dickens" by G. K. Chesterton.