Biggles Breaks the Silence by W. E. Johns was first published in 1949 by Hodder and Stoughton. The events in the book take place just after World War 2 in Antarctica. There have been a number of editions by different publishers over the years and the title continues to be popular. Among these is a picture book with an abridged text illustrated by Kay and published by Brockhampton, probably around 1952. The title is also well represented in foreign language translations, with 9 languages, including Sinhala.
In April 1966, French publisher Aredit published a comic strip adaptation entitled Biggles cherche de l'or en barre (Biggles Searches for the Gold Bars).
Synopsis[]
Biggles is approached by an ex-R.A.F. subordinate who had served in his squadron during the war. His father, a captain of the merchant navy had, during one of his voyages, sighted a wreck trapped in the Antarctic ice pack which he believed carried a "crown" with "stars". Biggles confirms it to be the Starry Crown, a long lost schooner which carried a ton of bar gold. The British government sanctions a recovery mission but all is not smooth going as a gang of seal poachers are on the same quest.
Plot[]
Note: The sections below contain spoilers. In particular, the plot subpage (click here) has an extended summary of the narrative in the book
Characters[]
The Special Air Police[]
- Air Commodore Raymond
- Biggles
- Algy Lacey
- Ginger Hebblethwaite
- Bertie Lissie
Others[]
Aircraft[]
Ships[]
- Svelt
- Starry Crown
- Swordfish - whaler
- Black Dog
- Spray
Places[]
Visited[]
- London
- Mount Street
- Dakar, Senegal - transit
- Natal, Brazil - transit
- Falklands Islands - Port Stanley. Jump off point for the mission.
- Graham Land, Antarctica
Mentioned[]
- Shanghai
- Hong Kong
- Santiago, Chile
- Glasgow - hometown of L.A.C. Grimes and Captain "Jumbo" Grimes. The younger Grimes had a bicycle shop there.
- Bombay - "Jumbo" once had to deliver an elephant from Bombay to London Zoo.
- Melbourne - the Starry Crown departed Melbourne for London
Other Research Notes[]
- Biggles says that unsolved mysteries have always interested him and he pays a press-cuttings agency to keep him updated on developments.
References to the past[]
- Ginger recalls the time he caught malaria in the tropics.
Incongruities[]
Chronology[]
(see also table at Timeline of the Biggles Stories)
- It was during the Antarctic summer because there is round the clock daylight. This suggests October to February.
- But Oct-Nov 1947 is taken up by Biggles Gets His Men which has tight constraints. 1946 is too busy with the early cases. Thus it is probably better to place Breaks the Silence after Gets His Men, that is some time Dec 47 - Feb to April 48. This has the advantage that, according to Chapter 15, after their departure from Antarctica, Lavinsky's rescue was delayed by a series of gales and then the Anarctic winter set in, meaning June to Sep 48.
Editions[]
- Hodder and Stoughton, hbk, 1949. With subsequent impressions
- Armada, paperback, 1970. As "Biggles in the Antarctic". With subsequent editions.
- Longmans (Structural Readers), 1979. Intended for English language learners. isbn 0582537444.
- Severn House, hbk, 1983. As "Biggles in the Antarctic".
- Knight Books, paperback, 1983. Reissued 1986.
- House of Stratus, 2002.
- Included in Biggles' Secret Assignments, Prion, 2010. Reissued 2014.
- Brockhampton, "told in pictures drawn by Kay", 1952.[1]
International titles[]
- French: Biggles cherche de l'or en barre (Presses de la Cité 1950)
- Dutch: Biggles naar de Zuidpool (De Ster)
- Dutch: Biggles als goudzoeker (Het Spectrum 1965)
- Norwegian: Biggles på skattejakt (Forslagshuset 1950)
- Swedish: Biggles i Antarktis (Wahlströms 1950)
- French: Biggles cherche de l'or en barre (Presses de a cité 1950)
- German (Swiss): Biggles und der Goldschatz (Verlag Hallwag 1953)
- Czech: Biggles v Antarktidě (Toužimsky & Moravec/Riopress 2000)
- Portugese (Brazil): Biggles no pólo sul (Edições de Ouro 1976)
- Sinhala: අතුරුදන් නෞකාව - Athurudan Naukawa (Tharanga)