C. S. Forester – The African Queen
Central Africa, 1914; Rose Sayer, a thirty-three year-old English woman, is left alone when her missionary brother dies. Her only route out is aboard The African Queen, a steam-powered launch captained by Cockney mechanic, Charlie Alnutt. Determined to do her bit for the war effort and to avenge her brother, Rose persuades Charlie that they should attack the German gunboat, the Königin Luise. And so begins a most unlikely alliance and love affair, as Charlie and Rose venture down the treacherous Ulanga river encountering danger and adventure at every turn.
An excellent book, which was made into a classic film in 1951, directed by John Huston, starring Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn. Of course, the film shows the heroes as American, whereupon, they are actually English in the book. Charlie’s Cockney English is encapsulating.
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Please do not read this book if you are likely to become offended with the norms of 88 years ago.
First published in 1935, C.S. Forester’s classic romantic adventure is a tale of opposites attracted. Allnut and Rose, a disreputable Cockney and an English spinster missionary, wend their way down a river in Central Africa in a rickety, asthmatic steam launch, and are gradually joined together in a mission of retaliation against the Germans. Fighting time, heat, malaria and bullets, the two have a dramatic rapprochement before the explosive ending of the book. This tale of unlikely love is thrilling and funny and ultimately satisfying.
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Central Africa, 1914; Rose Sayer, a thirty-three year-old English woman, is left alone when her missionary brother dies. Her only route out is aboard The African Queen, a steam-powered launch captained by Cockney mechanic, Charlie Alnutt. Determined to do her bit for the war effort and to avenge her brother, Rose persuades Charlie that they should attack the German gunboat, the Königin Luise. And so begins a most unlikely alliance and love affair, as Charlie and Rose venture down the treacherous Ulanga river encountering danger and adventure at every turn.
An excellent book, which was made into a classic film in 1951, directed by John Huston, starring Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn. Of course, the film shows the heroes as American, whereupon, they are actually English in the book. Charlie’s Cockney English is encapsulating.
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