Biggles' Exciting Night is a short story which was first published in The Modern Boy's Annual 1937. This is one of the "uncollected" stories. It was not gathered and republished in any anthology under Johns' name in Johns' lifetime. The story was only gathered and published in Biggles Air Ace in 1999.
The plotline was later adapted and given a World War Two setting for Bertie Picks the Lock, the last short story in Spitfire Parade, published in 1941. In this story, Bertie undertakes the operation instead of Biggles.
Synopsis[]
Biggles is asked to land an agent behind enemy lines for a sabotage operation. The insertion proceeds smoothly but then the agent loses his nerve and Biggles has to take over.
Plot[]
(may contain spoilers - click on expand to read)
Characters[]
- Biggles
- Major Mullen
- Unnamed general
- Unnamed intelligence agent
Aircraft[]
Places[]
Visited[]
- 266 Squadron, Maranique
- Village of Lignes
Mentioned[]
- Lille
- Tournai
- Ath
- Duneville Canal
- Amiens
Research Notes[]
- Aerial Victories: Biggles 1 (Fokker Dr.I).
References to the past[]
Incongruities[]
Chronology[]
(see also table at Timeline of the Biggles Stories)
- There are no specific timeline indicators but we can go by two hints:
- The Fokker Dr.I was in active service, which would make it between October-November 1917 to May-June 1918.
- The sun had set by eight-thirty. So that rules out mid-summer. Biggles was wearing a short flying coat, so it probably isn't winter. Any time in Spring 1918 would be a good guess.
Publication History[]
- The Modern Boy's Annual 1937.
- Reprinted in Biggles & Co., The W. E. Johns Quarterly Magazine, Number 15, April 1993.
- Biggles Air Ace, Norman Wright, 1999 and 2008.
- Collected in Biggles l'Intégrale 2 as Le folle nuit de Biggles, Ananké 2002.