Biggles Scores a Bull by W. E. Johns was first published in 1965 by Hodder and Stoughton. The events in the book took place in the mid 1960s in England. This title appears to have attracted little foreign interest and translations only exist in Dutch and Czech.
Synopsis[]
A number of valuable bulls have been stolen from stock-farms around England. Gaskin asks for Biggles' help as he thinks there may be an aviation connection. There isn't, but Bertie, whose family also once bred cattle, has background knowledge which comes in useful.
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
- Ginger Hebblethwaite
- Bertie Lissie
- Gaskin
Others[]
- Oswald Thellin
- Lord Dubray
- Harvey
- Johnson
- Walter Thellin
- Steggles
- Florence
- Smith
- Bob
- George
- Don José Cordino
- Captain Croft
- Detective Chief Superintendent Roberts
- Judkins
- Jack
- The Pride of Dubray
- Enoch Clay
Aircraft[]
- Air Police helicopter - the type is not specified but the cover depicts a Hiller UH-12 which is plausible.
- Auster J1 Autocrat
Ships[]
Places[]
Visited[]
- Stowten Place - near Wickham Market, Suffolk
- Framling Towers - Norfolk
- Bramshot Hall - Hertfordshire
- Lockley Manor - near Lydhurst, Somerset
- Lydhurst
- Lecton
- Redbarns - near Warminster, Wiltshire
- Grand Metropolitan Hotel
Mentioned[]
- Hertford
- Tewin
- Datchworth
- Norfolk
- King's Lynn
- Dereham
- Norwich
- Swaffham
- The above are all navigation landmarks used by Biggles on the way to Framling Towers. He struck the King's Lynn-Dereham-Norwich railway line at Swaffham. Framling Towers was a little to the off of this point.
- Foxmore
Cultural References[]
- Cato: "he was never doing more than when he was doing nothing, and never less alone than when alone." from Cicero, De Republica Book 1 Section 17[1]
- A British Friesian, Hereford, Jersey, Ayrshire, Red Poll, Devon - various cattle breeds
- "Biggles grinned. "Just to cheer you up; when an express train can be stopped and relieved of money bags stuffed with notes running into millions of pounds there's no limit to what they may try next." - the Great Train Robbery took place in 1964, At the time this book was published it would have been a fresh event.
- Greystones - "there's no mistaking that double criss-cross thread" - likely a fictional brand, perhaps inspired by Firestone
- Methyphenobarbitone, "luminal"[2]
Research Notes[]
- Algy does not appear in this story although it is not stated why. By the next book, we will be told that he had gone to India on a gold smuggling case.
- Johns occasionaly includes pieces of advice, encouragement or inspiration for his younger readers. In this case, he is promoting the scout movement. In chapter 3, a police sergeant tells Biggles a boy has reported seeing a van near the scene of crime.
- Biggles: Why should he notice a van?
- Sergeant: It was travelling fast and nearly ran over the dog. Apart from that he says he thought it was a funny time for a van of that size to be on a narrow country road.
- Biggles: He could be right. Smart lad.
- Sergeant: He tells me he's a scout.
- That could explain it.
- Bertie's father and grandfather were well-known stock breeders and they knew Lord Dubray. Bertie gave up the family project because of taxes and the war.
- Biggles says in a year or two Gaskin will be retiring on a pension.
Injuries[]
- See The Sick List
References to the past[]
Incongruities[]
Chronology[]
Editions[]
- Hodder and Stoughton, hbk., 1965.
- Brockhampton, hbk., 1966.
- Children's Book Club, 1966. 2 impressions. cover slightly different. There is no bull. The gunsight is on the Hiller at centre.
- Norman Wright, 2009.
International titles[]
- Dutch: Biggles krijgt een vreemde opdracht (Spectrum 1967)
- Czech: Biggles hledá šampiona (Riopress 2001)
References[]
- ↑ Cicero, On the Republic - Book 1, 1-37. Note that section numbers sometimes differ according to the translation. Here it is section 17.
- ↑ wikipedia:Phenobarbital