BIGGLES AT WORLD'S END
Book First Published in December 1959 - 182 pages
I believe
this Biggles book was never serialised elsewhere. If anybody knows differently then please E-MAIL ME
First edition dust jacket showing the original price of 8
shillings and 6 pence
Biggles goes to the Southern most tip of South America in search of gold after
a tip off from Erich von Stalhein. British gold has been hidden on an unknown
island by the German Navy during the Second World War. Partly as a cover story,
Biggles is additionally in search of two missing botanists called Carter and
Barlow. Taking Algy, Bertie and Ginger with him they fly to Southern Chile but
meet a hostile reception from a Chilean official (whose father was a German
sailor). This man, Gontermann, is also looking for
the gold. With assistance from another Chilean official called Juan Vendez, Biggles spends time flying in his Gadfly plane and
searching for clues. Eventually, seeing smoke on an island, they land and
discover Barlow, who has been shot and wounded, and Carter. This is the picture
on the dust cover of the book. By pure chance, Carter and Barlow have
discovered the gold and hidden it. Barlow had been shot by two men whom Biggles
suspects Gontermann is using to try to help him to
find the gold. Biggles is able to make further sorties on the pretext of
salvaging important papers from the wreck of the Seaspray,
which was Carter and Barlow's boat. However, he has to deal with the dreadful
weather as well as Gontermann before a Russian
whaling ship turns up to take the gold away. This is a ship that Gontermann was expecting. All looks lost, but the whaler
runs aground and then the British Navy arrive to take the gold back to the
country that rightfully owns it.
Click here to see the story illustrations from this book
Biggles at World's End
Subtitle - Biggles of the Air Police has been called upon to fly
over many lands, but on this assignment he must not
only pit his wits against a formidable opponent but do so in what is
acknowledged the most treacherous climate on earth for any type of craft, land,
sea or air.
Publication Details - published by Brockhampton Press
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
The “Children’s Book Club” edition reprint – click on the above
picture to find out more details
The original ENGLISH title for this book was COLD WORK FOR
BIGGLES as evidenced by the French translation above, which purports to give
the original English title.
“Biggles Au Cap Horn”
translates as Biggles at Cape Horn.
This original title can also be seen in the book list in BIGGLES
TAKES THE CASE – Third Impression, dated 1959 – which shows COLD WORK FOR
BIGGLES as an available title.