My Favourite Books: #1

At the top of my list is the wonderful “Rogue Male” by Geoffrey Household.

Written in 1939 this is a brilliant, tense and exciting thriller that evokes wonderful images of pre-war European anxieties.

Our hero, an professional big game hunter wonders if he can track and line up in his sights the dictator of an un-named Central European country. He manages to do just that and, whilst his sights are trained on his target, and he is debating wether to pull the trigger, he is captured by the dictators henchmen. Despite being tortured, our hero makes a daring escape and flees to England. However, he is tracked and hunted by the villains and an exciting cause ensues. It is first rate story telling at its finest.

I first learned of this from a BBC Radio 4 dramatisation that was being re-broadcast on BBC 4 Extra. It was wonderful and prompted me to track the book down at my local library.

A fantastic listen and a tremendous read.

I am rather hopeful of this magnificent Folio Society version nestling at the bottom of my Christmas stocking come December 25th.