The Riddle of the Sands
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The Riddle of the Sands
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Narrated by:
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George Hagan
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By:
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Erskine Childers
About this listen
The Riddle of the Sands: A Record of Secret Service by Irish author Erskine Childers is often described as the first modern thirller and was one of the first popular spy novels.
Published in 1903 novel it spearheaded a genre and influenced the great espionage writers John Buchan, Ian Fleming, John le Carre and many others.
The plot involves the uncovering of secret German preparations for an invasion of the United Kingdom and is sited by Winston Churchill as one of the major reasons the Admiralty decided to establish naval bases at Invergordon, the Firth of Forth and Scapa Flow.
Robert Erskine Childers (1870 - 1922) was an Irish nationalist. Son of British Orientalist scholar Robert Caesar Childers; the cousin of Hugh Childers and Robert Barton; and the father of the fourth President of Ireland, Erskine Hamilton Childers.
Please note: This is a vintage recording. The audio quality may not be up to modern day standards.
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Story5 out of 5 stars 16
In The Thirty-Nine Steps, Hannay struggles to thwart an assassination plot designed to hasten war between Britain and Germany. Later he is plucked from the trenches first, in Greenmantle, to frustrate a plot to ferment an uprising in the Islamic world; and then, in Mr. Standfast, to undertake a vital secret mission against a German spy ring operating among pacifist elements in England. After the war, his adventures continue in The Three Hostages; and then in The Island of Sheep, when an old oath to protect the son of a friend from his days in Africa draws him into new danger.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Values of a bygone era
- By Barbara on 03-16-24
By: John Buchan
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The Sea Wolf
- By: Jack London
- Narrated by: Will Patton
- Length: 6 hrs and 7 mins
- Abridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 58
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 50
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 51
Jack London worshiped strong and virtuous heroes, and his stories give great weight to the inevitable triumph of good over evil. His telling of the adventures of Humphrey van Weydon in The Sea Wolf is in keeping with this theme of moral man. His powerful and gripping saga of van Weydon's capture by a seal-hunting ship and the ensuing tangles with its dreaded captain, Wolf Larsen, makes this a classic American tale of peril and victory.
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5 out of 5 stars
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I won the lottery!
- By Bill on 08-11-17
By: Jack London
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Offshore
- By: Penelope Fitzgerald, Stephanie Racine, Alan Hollinghurst - introduction
- Narrated by: Jot Davies, Alan Hollinghurst
- Length: 5 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 90
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 77
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Story4 out of 5 stars 77
On Battersea Reach, a mixed bag of the temporarily lost and the patently eccentric live on houseboats, rising and falling with the tide of the Thames. There is good-natured Maurice, by occupation a male prostitute, by chance a receiver of stolen goods. And Richard, an ex-navy man whose boat, much like its owner, dominates the Reach.
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1 out of 5 stars
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S.O.S
- By SB on 03-26-22
By: Penelope Fitzgerald, and others
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When Eight Bells Toll
- By: Alistair MacLean
- Narrated by: Jonathan Oliver
- Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 107
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 98
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 98
From the acclaimed master of action and suspense. The all-time classic. Millions of pounds in gold bullion are being pirated in the Irish Sea. Investigations by the British Secret Service, and a sixth sense, have bought Philip Calvert to a bleak, lonely bay in the Western Highlands. But the sleepy atmosphere of Torbay is deceptive. The place is the focal point of many mysterious disappearances. Even the unimaginative Highland Police Sergeant seems to be acting a part. But why?
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5 out of 5 stars
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My Favorite Thriller Writer
- By Carl on 09-27-17
By: Alistair MacLean
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A High Wind in Jamaica
- By: Richard Hughes
- Narrated by: Michael Maloney
- Length: 6 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 194
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 167
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Story4 out of 5 stars 167
Set in the 19th century against a backdrop of island life and the vast surrounding seas, A High Wind in Jamaica is the gripping story of the Bas-Thornton children, whose parents send them back to England following a hurricane in the postcolonial Caribbean they call home. Having set sail, the children quickly fall into the hands of pirates. As their voyage continues, things take an awful turn
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5 out of 5 stars
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Prose that reads like a Child's Fever Dream
- By Darwin8u on 01-02-17
By: Richard Hughes
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Under Enemy Colors
- By: S. Thomas Russell
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 15 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 617
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 458
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 458
At the time of the French Revolution, one of Britain's most skillful naval officers, Charles Saunders Hayden, is a young lieutenant, the son of an English father and a French mother. His abilities and his loyalty to the king of England are beyond dispute, yet his career seems doomed by his "mixed" heritage and lack of political connections. Consequently, Hayden is assigned to an aging frigate, the Themis, under the command of Captain Josiah Hart, a man known as "Faint Hart" throughout the service.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Perfect for first timer
- By Blackmac on 08-07-08
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Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates
- By: Howard Pyle, Merle Johnson
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 163
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 112
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Story4 out of 5 stars 111
Merle Johnson has here gathered together in one volume all of the nineteenth-century author-artist's classic pirate stories that had been scattered through many magazines and books. Well researched and with richly drawn characters, Pyle's work will appeal to students of history and adventure lovers alike.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fascinating and wonderfully read
- By Fletch on 09-08-06
By: Howard Pyle, and others
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The Captain of the Pole Star
- By: Arthur Conan Doyle
- Narrated by: B. J. Harrison
- Length: 1 hr and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 333
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 283
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Story4 out of 5 stars 280
Word goes among the crew of the Pole Star that the captain is haunted by demons. And after the days turn into weeks in the frigid Arctic Ocean, stories begin to circulate of ghosts and midnight hauntings.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Conan Doyle wrote more than Mr. Holmes.
- By Kristi R. on 11-14-11
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Mr Midshipman Hornblower
- By: C. S. Forester
- Narrated by: Christian Rodska
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,911
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,712
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,696
Shaking off this label, a shy and lonely 17-year-old, Horatio Hornblower, embarks on a memorable career in Nelson's navy on HMS Justinian. In action, adventure, and battle he is forged into one of the most formidable junior officers in the service.
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5 out of 5 stars
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First rate historical fiction
- By Jason on 04-30-17
By: C. S. Forester
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Billy Budd
- By: Herman Melville
- Narrated by: Peter Joyce
- Length: 3 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 56
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 51
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Story4 out of 5 stars 50
On one level...Melville’s tale is an historical adventure telling the story of life aboard ship shortly after the mutiny at Spithead in 1797. Billy is taken from a homeward bound merchantman to serve on the ‘Seventy Four’ HMS Indomitable. He falls foul of Claggart, the ‘Master at Arms’, and the final confrontation results in death. Billy becomes an unwilling martyr - what passes for justice must be implemented because of the rebellious climate of the time.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Well done, a pleasure to listen to!
- By Kindle Customer on 10-17-18
By: Herman Melville
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Hell on Ice
- The Saga of the Jeannette
- By: Edward Ellsberg
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 14 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 31
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 27
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 27
In the 1870s, newspaperman James Gordon Bennett of the New York Herald drummed up excitement and publicity for his paper through highly publicized missions of exploration. In 1879, Bennett's idea for a voyage was his most audacious to date: the North Pole. To do this, he hired a team of naval veterans in addition to a smattering of civilians with specialized knowledge in meteorology, whaling, and naturalism. The men on board the Jeannette set off in September of 1879. This would be the last time anyone saw them for two years.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great story, and great way to approach the telling
- By Christopher on 08-22-14
By: Edward Ellsberg
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Captains Courageous
- By: Rudyard Kipling
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 5 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 312
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 277
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 274
Captains Courageous is Rudyard Kipling’s classic fable of a boy’s initiation into the fellowship of men, played out on the high seas of the late 1800s. When he falls overboard from a luxury liner, Harvey Cheyne, the spoiled son of an American millionaire, is rescued by a small New England fishing schooner. To earn his keep, Harvey must prove his worth in the only way the skipper and his hardy crew will accept: through the grueling mastery of a fisherman’s skills.
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3 out of 5 stars
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A MINOR sea story and a MINOR Kipling
- By Darwin8u on 06-24-13
By: Rudyard Kipling
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Pietr the Latvian
- Inspector Maigret, Book 1
- By: Georges Simenon, David Bellos - translator
- Narrated by: Gareth Armstrong
- Length: 3 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 893
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 787
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Story3.5 out of 5 stars 786
The first audiobook which appeared in Georges Simenon's famous Maigret series, in a gripping new translation by David Bellos.Inevitably Maigret was a hostile presence in the Majestic. He constituted a kind of foreign body that the hotel's atmosphere could not assimilate. Not that he looked like a cartoon policeman. He didn't have a moustache and he didn't wear heavy boots. His clothes were well cut and made of fairly light worsted. He shaved every day and looked after his hands. But his frame was proletarian. He was a big, bony man.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Long live Maigret
- By Adeliese Baumann on 11-19-14
By: Georges Simenon, and others
What listeners say about The Riddle of the Sands
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Doris
- 04-12-15
The narrative would have been perfect.....
I haven't completely finished the book, although at more than halfway, I find it fascinating. But the narration is an unpleasant surprise. The narrator would be perfect - right accent, excellent modulation, BUT. Every two or thee sentences he stumbles over words, or mispronounces, and goes back to correct the mistake. It happens so frequently that it quickly becomes unacceptable for a professional performance. As well, there are audible page turnings and microphone adjustments. I've never experienced anything like it in the many years I've been buying Audible books. This book really needs to be re-recorded.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Nancy
- 06-13-09
Excellent including narration
I found this audio book to be enjoyable listening. The narration made it believable. I can highly recommend it.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- A reader
- 11-18-13
An Incredible Reading of A Marvelous Spy Story
Where does The Riddle of the Sands rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
Tops. Hagan's reading, which I believe was originally made for the Royal National Institute of Blind People, is masterful. All of Childers' sometimes intricate prose is brought amazingly to life. And the story is just great, particularly if you have ever sailed a small boat. Pure pleasure.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
- Mylrea Estell
- 07-08-10
perhaps a new recording would help...
The Riddle of the Sands has a reputation as an exciting spy story, but there was nothing exciting about this reading. I felt like I was enduring, rather than enjoying this book.
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2 people found this helpful