Erskine Childers, The Riddle of the Sands

Robert Clark (The Literary Encyclopedia)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.08: English Writing and Culture of the early Twentieth Century , 1900-1945.
Vol. editors: Chris Baldick (Goldsmiths College, University of London), Peter Childs (Birmingham Newman University), Louise McDonald (Birmingham Newman University), Andrew Radford (University of Glasgow)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1903

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel
Spy and Espionage

Resources

Genre and the Historical Context

The Riddle of the Sands was published to generally positive reviews in 1903 and is today widely read as one of the founding examples of the spy novel. It was made into a film with an A-list cast in 1979 and before that had been presented on several occasions as a BBC radio drama.

The novel tells the story of two young Englishmen sailing a yacht along the German coast circa 1901-1902, surviving difficulties of navigation and the hostility of some Germans they meet, as they discover a dastardly German plot to invade England. The heroes of the novel display physical toughness and shrewd analysis of their physical environment and human behaviour. These characteristics will become typical of British spy fiction for the next hundred years, for example in the...

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3441 words

Citation: Clark, Robert. "The Riddle of the Sands". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 March 2024 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=7587, accessed 09 June 2026.]

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