Biggles on the Home Front by W. E. Johns was first published in August 1957 by Hodder and Stoughton. There has so far been only one other edition, a reissue by the same publisher in 1960. The events in the book take place in the late-1950s. A sub-title on a half-title page reads: "An adventure of Biggles and his Air Police pilots in and around London." Much of the action takes place around Soho, Victoria and various locations in Hertfordshire.
Synopsis[]
Gaskin is worried by a new wave of jewel robberies. It is normally difficult to get rid of stolen property but lately the thieves seemed to have a lot of money to spend. He thinks there is a new "fence" paying good prices and he has a hunch that aircraft are being used to transport the stolen goods overseas.
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[]
Scotland Yard and The Special Air Police[]
- Biggles
- Algy
- Ginger
- Bertie Lissie
- Gaskin
Others[]
- Augustus Norman
- Swell Noble
- Mike Sullivan
- Toni the Needle
- Darkie Brown
- Sid the Sailor
- Bruiser Lee
- Gerald "Stony" Stoneways
- Greeky Stavros
- Dusty Brace
- Verney Laxter
- William Reverley
- Eustace Carlton
- Spriggs
Aircraft[]
Places[]
Visited[]
(See also The Hertford trail.)
The story is a grand tour of an area familiar to Johns and includes numerous actual places in Hertfordshire.
- Barnstaple Arms
- Clefton Hotel - Gillingham Street
- Grosvenor Hotel - near Victoria Station
- Hertford North - a railway station, with a hotel opposite
- Gortons
- Waterford - Algy and Bertie had a meal at a tea room there.
- Watton
- South Wessex Flying Club
- Woodhall Park
Incongruities[]
Other Research Notes[]
- Chronology.
Editions[]
- Hodder and Stoughton, 1957, 1960
International titles[]
- French: Biggles à Soho (Presses de la Cité 1957)
- Swedish: Biggles går i fällan (Wahlströms 1958)
- Norwegian: Biggles og juveltyvene (Forlaghuset 1963)
- Czech: Biggles na domácí frontě (Riopress 1997)