August Niemann

I read this some years ago from Project Guttenberg, which I was mining for contemporary pre-Great War novels. In that context, I thought this was a fascinating and enjoyable read. This is the German equivalent of the 1903 novel The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers.

In the same way, Niemann's novel feels at times heavy handed and overly keen to tell the reader how much the British deserve to be punished for their arrogance. Or should that be the English? Like a lot of contemporary non-British writers, Niemann fails to distinguish between English and British. Despite these flaws, I found some of the spy scenes genuinely exciting. Scripted well, this would make a good film.

One of the most peculiar aspects of this novel is the point of view shift at the end. I can't really explain without giving away the ending. But you'll know what I mean when you read it!

If you're interested in the Great War and its origins, this is well worth a read.… (plus d'informations)

A curious novel I stumbled on a reference for and then found a free Kindle version. It's an alternate history to us but from the author's point of view a prediction of his desired future for his country. He is a German author writing in 1904, worried about the overweening ambition of the British Empire, and has created a fictional scenario where Germany allies with France and Russia to bring down Britain. It begins with a successful Russian invasion of India, which destabilises the British Empire, followed by a naval defeat of our ironclads, under cover of which a sneaky invasion via Scotland takes place. The successful navy commanders invade via the south after their victory to join up with their comrades coming south. The main characters are a German military intelligence officer and the widow of a brutish English officer killed in the Russian attack on India who falls in love with the former, but then appals him by being immediately willing to betray her own country to make him happy by bribing an Admiralty clerk to pass her a secret document containing British war plans. The translation into English, also done in 1904, flows very well (the translator's note pointedly declines to comment on the content of the novel), but the storyline reads as ridiculous now and the characters lacking in any depth. Only worth reading as a curiosity.… (plus d'informations)