A mysterious black aeroplane... and a dastardly plot. Forced down by thick fog, Biggles and Algy cut short a pleasure flight and land on a river in Norfolk to wait out the weather. Exploring the banks, they stumble across a wartime pillbox with papers written in German hidden inside! Shortly afterwards, a massive plane – painted black to camouflage it against the night sky – sets down on the water with a roar. Biggles investigates, boarding the craft to find it is a bomber of immense proportions. He quickly finds himself in trouble when, becoming trapped inside one of the plane’s compartments, he feels it take off with him still inside! Who is the mysterious ‘Blackbeard’? And why is he making secretive landings on the English coast? Biggles and Algy – and introducing ‘Ginger’ Hebblethwaite for the first time – must find out... Britain is under threat, and our heroes will answer her call.

A collection of the author's favorite poems that he has written for children.

This book addresses a variety of issues through the examination of heroic figures in children's popular literature, comics, film, and television.

Many of the best-known and most popular children's stories of the 20th and early 21st century were written by veterans of World War I and World War II. These include works by such writers as A.A. Milne, C.S. Lewis, Roald Dahl, Ian Fleming, and J.R.R. Tolkien, among others. Although they had experienced war, most of the veterans did not overtly write about it. The seeming paradox of warriors who went through searing combat and then wrote books for children has not been addressed collectively before now. The essays in this book explore what motivated these veterans to write for children, what they wrote, and how their writing was influenced by the wars they lived through. It examines how their combat experience can be traced in their writing, however subtly, whether it was stories about a bear and his piglet companion, a World War I flying ace, or a flying car. Their reactions to war, as reflected in their writing, yield important lessons about the complicated legacy of the 20th century's two great conflicts and their long-lasting impact--through children--on society at large.

This book considers the diversity of the experiences and legacies of the First World War, looking at the actions of those who fought, those who remained at home and those who returned from the arena of war. It examines Edwardian ideals of gender and how these shaped social expectations of the roles to be played by men and women with regards to the national cause. It looks at men’s experiences of combat and killing on the Western Front, exploring the ways in which masculine gender ideals and male social relationships moulded their experience of battle. It shows how the women of the controversial White Feather campaign exploited traditional ideas of heroism and male duty in war to embarrass men into volunteering for military service. The book also examines children’s toys and recreation, underlining how play helped to promote patriotic values in children and thus prepared boys and girls for the respective roles they might be called upon to make in war. A strong sense of British identity and a faith in the superiority of British values, customs and institutions underpinned the collective war effort. The book looks at how, even in captivity at the Ruhleben internment camp, the British gave expression to this identity. The book emphasises the extent to which this was a conflict in which Britain sought to defend and even extend its imperial dominion. It also discusses how different political and cultural agendas have shaped the way in which Britain has remembered the War. As such, the book reflects the diversity of popular experience in the War, both at home and in the empire. Britain’s entry into the War in 1914 helped to ensure that it became a truly global conflict. The contributors here draw attention to the significant social, cultural and political legacies for Britain and her empire of a conflict which, one hundred years later, continues to be the subject of considerable controversy.

This is an encyclopedic work, arranged by broad categories and then by original authors, of literary pastiches in which fictional characters have reappeared in new works after the deaths of the authors that created them. It includes book series that have continued under a deceased writer's real or pen name, undisguised offshoots issued under the new writer's name, posthumous collaborations in which a deceased author's unfinished manuscript is completed by another writer, unauthorized pastiches, and "biographies" of literary characters. The authors and works are entered under the following categories: Action and Adventure, Classics (18th Century and Earlier), Classics (19th Century), Classics (20th Century), Crime and Mystery, Espionage, Fantasy and Horror, Humor, Juveniles (19th Century), Juveniles (20th Century), Poets, Pulps, Romances, Science Fiction and Westerns. Each original author entry includes a short biography, a list of original works, and information on the pastiches based on the author's characters.

Biggles makes a name for himself as a crack fighter pilot. The insanity of World War One shows no sign of letting up, and for the pilots of 266 Squadron the missions over No Man’s Land continue. But, not one to let a bad situation get him down, Biggles and his pals find ways to keep themselves entertained. From rustling a turkey for Christmas dinner to staging competitions to see who can drop propaganda leaflets furthest over the Lines, the pilots revel in the thrills of flying. But tragedy is never far away in wartime. When a British pilot is killed in cold blood, Biggles joins his comrades to seek revenge... A classic set of Biggles’ adventures. Chocks away!

Biggles turns double agent! Biggles is in London on leave from the Front when he is approached by a stranger who greets him as ‘Captain Brunow’. Curious, Biggles plays along with the mistaken identity, and is quickly offered the chance to become a spy for the Germans! Reporting the encounter to Air Staff Intelligence, Biggles is encouraged to seize the opportunity and find out all he can about a German known only as El Shereef, operating somewhere in Palestine... Biggles soon finds himself in Zabala, a German aerodrome in Palestine, reporting to Count von Fauborg of the German Secret Service and his chief of staff, one Erich von Stalhein – the first appearance of Biggles’ greatest nemesis. As Biggles draws closer to unmasking El Shereef, at all times he must ensure his own identity is never revealed, or he will be shot as a spy. A tense, thrilling Biggles espionage adventure in the deserts of the Levant.