BIGGLES FLIES SOUTH
Book First Published in May 1938 - 255 pages
This story was first published, in eight parts, as BIGGLES ON THE
TREASURE TRAIL in Modern Boy,
issues 1 to 8, dated 19th February 1938 to 9th April 1938
This is a replica of the first edition
dust jacket – This shows the original price of 3/6 net
This is an original second edition dust
jacket (note ‘Biggles Flies North’ on the back) - It has a price sticker of 4/-
“including extra war costs” over the original price of 3/6 net. Seems strange to not have any writing on the
front flap!
This 1943 reprint dust jacket shows the
increased price of 4/- net – note the text on the front flap is completely
different from the text on the front flap of the first edition!
CHAPTERS
Click on any chapter for a summary of the events in that chapter or
see the general story summary below
IV – A DISCONCERTING DISCOVERY
XV – CONDEMNED TO THE CROCODILE
Biggles,
Algy and Ginger are flying down to Capetown in South Africa for a 266 Squadron
Reunion Dinner organised by Major Mullen, Biggles old C.O. Stopping over in
Cairo, with plenty of time to spare, they are approached by a young Egyptian
called Kadar Alloui Bay. He wants to buy their aeroplane to help in his search
for the remains of a lost Persian Army. Lead by a General called Cambyses, the
army was consumed by the desert in the year 525 B.C. Kadar also searches for a
lost oasis called Zenzura and believes that aviators may have recently
discovered it. (In the third chapter of the book, W. E. Johns has Ginger say that he
read about the lost oasis in “Popular
Flying” and Kadar reads from the
article in the August 1932
edition!). Intrigued by Kadar's
story, Biggles agrees to an expedition financed by Kadar's father. However,
there is a man determined to stop Kadar. He is called Fuad Zarwan and he is
quite willing to resort to murder in order to do so. Flying to an Oasis at
Semphis in order to meet a camel caravan of supplies, including precious petrol
to refuel them, Biggles finds that his fuel tank has been deliberately holed.
When the caravan doesn't arrive, Biggles uses what petrol he has left to look
for it and finds them all massacred in the desert and all the supplies gone.
Trying to return to Semphis, Biggles' plane is caught in a haboob (a severe
sandstorm) and blown off course. Forced to land by lack of petrol, our heroes
find themselves in strange mountains and leaving Algy to guard the plane, they
find a hidden oasis. After a frightening trip through some tombs, Biggles, Algy
and Kadar are captured by Zarwan and his Tuareg Arabs. They stake their
captives out in the sun and cover them with honey in an attempt to feed them to
the ants. Saved by Algy, a desperate fight begins and ends with both sides
being captured by the strange race who dwell at the oasis, who are believed to
be the survivors of Cambyses' army. Their captors sacrifice Zarwan to the
crocodile that lives in the oasis. Then comes Biggles' turn to be sacrificed.
However, Biggles has a surprise in store for both the crocodile and his captors
and he manages to escape, taking with him some petrol, which was being carried
by Zarwan's Arabs after they attacked the camel caravan. This petrol enables
Biggles to fly to the oasis and scare off the locals before Algy, Ginger and
Kadar are buried alive. Filling the tanks of the plane with the remaining
petrol, our heroes fly to the Oasis of Siwah and escape.
Click here to see the story illustrations from the original HARDBACK first edition of this book
Biggles Flies South
Publication Details - published by Oxford University Press
The spine and cover illustrations from the original Oxford first
edition
Frontispiece
Click on the above to see it in more detail
The “Hampton Library” reprint – click on the above picture to
find out more details