Publisher's Synopsis
The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers
Carruthers is a politically disengaged public servant who enjoys mingling with the top crust. It tells this spy story which tells of the British fears of a German invasion. Receiving an invitation from an old university acquaintance to shoot duck in the Baltic, Carruthers decides to accept. But when he arrives in Holland, neither Davies nor his boat (the Dulcibella) are up to the task: both look old-fashioned, scruffy, and difficult to manage. Davies, while sympathetic, remains a secret. There is more to duck hunting than Carruthers' yellow eye. Davies hopes to trace his previous trip around the sands of the Frisian Islands when he was deliberately stranded and nearly killed by Dollman, an English rescue operator. Davies suspects that Dollman is working for the Germans. Another complication is Davies' budding love for Dollman's daughter, Clara. Carruthers learns to respect his companion. Together they find Dollman and discover a large invading force of German ships. They attend a rehearsal in riot gear, in the presence of the Kaiser himself. The attempt to force Dollman to return to England fails. He commits suicide, jumping into the sea with a pair of heavy boots. Davies and Clara are united. Germany's plans are revealed to the British government. Carruthers bows out, emphatically informing the reader, "Our personal story is not about the outside world.
