The Third Round - Couverture souple

Sapper

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 1842325604 ISBN 13 : 9781842325605

Editeur : House of Stratus, 2001

Synopsis

Book by Sapper

A propos du livre

Revue de presse :

By the time Sapper pen name for Herman Cyril McNeile published the third of his Bulldog Drummond novels in 1924, an action-adventure franchise was already firmly under way. As described in his debut story in 1920, Capt. Hugh 'Bulldog' Drummond, D.S.O., M.C., is a World War I vet hungering to enjoy the lusty sporting life of a wealthy English gentleman. In short order, Drummond and his equally adventuresome band are taking on extraordinary criminals and conspiracies. The character was so popular that the first book was quickly and successfully adapted for the stage while its author became the highest paid short story writer of the 1920s. Bulldog first came to the silent movie screen in 1923, and various incarnations and series were produced until the late 1960s. Alfred Hitchcock's 1934 The Man Who Knew Too Much was based on Bulldog Drummond stories. Richard Johnson gave Bulldog a very Bondian take in Deadlier Then the Male (1966) and Some Girls Do (1968). Along the way, Bulldog starred in his own radio show and was the lead avenger in books written by various authors well after Sapper died in 1937. In the Case of The Third Round (book, 1924; film, 1925), Drummond isn t the only recurring character. The arch-nemesis of the first four novels is master of disguise Carl Peterson, who repeatedly tries to pull the puppet strings of criminal escapades that typically threaten the fate of England. Clearly based on literary predecessors such as Moriarty and Fu Manchu, this time Peterson is after a formula created by Professor Goodman that can make flawless diamonds. Members of the Metropolitan Diamond Syndicate, fearful of this threat to their profits, hire Peterson to silence Goodman only to have their assassin turn out to have plans of his own. And these plans include silencing his old foe, Bulldog Drummond, in a watery grave, after getting in some psychotic revenge. As with all such romps, the story is a series of contrived and fast-paced twists and turns designed to surprise and tantalise readers. Perhaps the biggest surprise is how little many of these books have become dated. Perhaps that's because the formula created by the 'Clubland' writers like John Buchan, Dornford Yates and Sapper, would shape so much of the James Bond oeuvre to the point that many of the elements of Drummond stories are still essential in contemporary adventure tales, as in the books of Clive Cussler and Jack Higgins. Only the technology and geopolitical backdrops have significantly changed. Well, no gentleman of Drummond s breeding would engage in extramarital sex. Few contemporary heroes and their villains can banter with equal repartee. Hence, these books were once ideal for British schoolboys. The most astute of them must have picked up what was more than obvious then and now: no one should take a single page of these tales seriously. For this new Naxos AudioBooks edition, narrator Roy McMillan continues the leisurely, tongue-in-cheek style he gave to his readings of the first two Sapper books, Bulldog Drummond (1920) and The Black Gang (1922). These are the sort of novels perfect for terminal or on-the-road listening as they re light fare, simple and fun. Most readers will be amazed that a character and his milieu, now almost a century old, are as entertaining now as they were when Ian Fleming was a teenager. --Wesley Britton, Blogcritics

[...]The action is fast and furious from beginning to end. This unabridged audio production of The Third Round is superbly narrated by Roy McMillan [...] making it a highly recommended addition to personal and community library audio book collections! --Wisconsin Bookwatch

Présentation de l'éditeur :

The death of Professor Goodman is officially recorded as a tragic accident, but at the inquest, no mention is made of his latest discovery–a miraculous new formula for manufacturing flawless diamonds at negligible cost, which strikes Captain Hugh “Bulldog” Drummond as rather strange. His suspicions are further aroused when he spots a member of the Metropolitan Diamond Syndicate at the inquest. Gradually, he untangles a sinister plot of greed and murder, which climaxes in a dramatic motorboat chase at Cowes and brings him face to face with his archenemy. Herman Cyril McNeile was a British soldier and author, writing under the pseudonym Sapper. Drawing on his experiences in the trenches during the First World War, he started writing short stories and getting them published in the Daily Mail. As serving officers in the British Army were not permitted to publish under their own names, he was given the pen name “Sapper” by Lord Northcliffe, the owner of the Daily Mail; the nickname was based on that of his corps, the Royal Engineers. After the war McNeile left the army and continued writing, although he changed from war stories to thrillers. In 1920 he published Bulldog Drummond, whose eponymous hero became his best-known creation. The character was based on McNeile himself, on his friend Gerard Fairlie and on English gentlemen generally. McNeile wrote ten Bulldog Drummond novels, as well as three plays and a screenplay.

À propos de cette édition

• Éditeur: House of Stratus
• Date d'édition: 2001
• ISBN 10: 1842325604
• ISBN 13: 9781842325605
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 256