Biggles flies again at Canelo with first hardback editions in 70 years

Canelo is issuing the first hardback editions in 70 years of two Biggles titles by Captain W E Johns.

Commissioning editor Craig Lye secured hardback print rights from Becky Brown and Norah Perkins at Curtis Brown. They will both be published on 12th September 2022 as B-format gift edition hardbacks, priced at £9.99. In addition, Canelo will be issuing nine other Biggles tales as e-books between February and July 2022.

The new editions, Biggles in the Baltic, first published 1940, and Biggles Sees It Through, a 1941 release, will include a new introduction from John Nichol, former RAF Tornado navigator and author of Spitfire and Lancaster (Simon & Schuster).

The Biggles stories were written by William Earl Johns between 1930 and 1968. Johns was a pilot in the First World War himself, and penned around 100 Biggles tales after he retired from the service. The tales followed the adventures of fighter pilot James “Biggles” Bigglesworth through the First and Second World Wars and beyond. 

“Biggles in the Baltic and Biggles Sees It Through are two classic Second World War tales,” the synopsis reads. “Baltic is set at the declaration of war in 1939, and sees Biggles take his good friends Algy, Lacey and Ginger to an island in the Baltic with a secret natural sea cave, from which they launch daring raids upon the Germans. In Biggles Sees It Through, Biggles & Co. respond to Finland’s call for international aid when the Soviet Union invaded in the short-lived Winter War, and find themselves caught up in a race to recover sensitive documents.”

Lye said: “It is an honour and a privilege to be working on Biggles and to be issuing the first hardback editions in decades. These stories mean so much to so many people, and we have worked hard to ensure our editions reflect that special status. These hardbacks are set to be gorgeous books that readers can treasure and pass on to the next generation of Biggles fans.”

In a joint statement,  Perkins and Brown added: “It’s a thrill to see these classic Biggles stories back in print, and with such perfect covers. We are sure these books will delight both old fans and new discoverers of Biggles alike. Chocks away!”