Your free sample of the ‘ROTS Adventure Club Handbook’

We’ve always said that our ultimate ambition with the ROTS Adventure Club is to get out into the field in September & October, replay the whole book, using the original text as our guide – and then produce our own book.

At the moment we’re about halfway towards raising the money we need to produce this book for you. We’re doing it with the help of the crowdfunding publisher Unbound. A pledge of just £25 will get you a Handbook, a Field Audiobook, an e-book and full web access to our live adventure as we roam across Germany in September & October.

But what will the Handbook actually look like? (We’ve already given you an idea about the Field Audiobook). Well, we’ve gone to the effort now of putting together a Sampler of the chapter covering October 2 in the book, and there are a number of elements.

1. The Locatd Edition

During one of our many wanderings, this time in Lincolnshire, we acquired a ragged 1920s edition of ‘The Riddle of the Sands’ that not only seems to be chopped up by date, but also has notes scribbled all over  by its  owner, known as ‘H.G’ – or maybe ‘O.K’. We’ll be reproducing pages from this edition and will attempt to decode what all the scribbles mean…

2: The Original Text

The Handbook will include Childers’s original story, so you can take this great adventure novel out into the field and follow it day by day.

3. Maps

We’re going to produce maps that merge the world of 1898 with present-day Germany, so you can follow the route of Carruthers and Davies precisely (or as precisely as nature and modern trespass laws will allow).

4. Advice for Adventurers, Historical & Cultural Notes

There’ll be Handbook entries on where to stay, what to eat, things to see and do – and a wealth of information about all the references in the original book to historic landmarks, people of note, clothes, food, national customs, politics, war, duck-shooting, sailing, piracy, pipes and so much more.

5. Photos & Archive Images

The Handbook will not only contain photos from our travels through modern-day Germany, but also relevant archive material that relates to incidents and references in the book.

6. More Maps

For every day in the book there’ll be a map to guide you through the adventure and show you exactly where Carruthers and Davies are at point in the story.

If you want to get hold of the entire October 2 chapter of the Handbook, you can get it for free if you support the Unbound project. After you’ve pledged, you’ll find it in The Shed, along with the Field Audiobook files for October 2 and October 3.

If you’ve already pledged, thank you! Please tell all your friends to join us. Remember – a great book can take you places.