A ghost ship full of long-lost gold beckons, and Biggles gets an icy reception...Biggles, Algie, Bertie and Ginger are visited by Grimes, an old pal from the war, whose father, a Merchant Navy captain known as Jumbo, is in a spot of bother. He was recently tricked into skippering a crew of seal poachers to an islet off Antarctica. While there, they spotted an old ship - still rigged for sail - trapped in the pack ice. After an investigation of the ship, Jumbo overheard the words 'starry' and 'crown' from the jubilant crew. An avid fan of an unsolved mysteries, Biggles immediately recognises the importance of these words. Jumbo and his crew had stumbled upon the long-lost schooner Starry Crown, which went missing seventy years prior with a ton of Australian gold ingots aboard. There have been several sightings and ill-fated recovery expeditions since, but no one has ever retrieved the gold. Grimes reckons that they might be able to beat the poachers to the treasure if they were to go by air, and wonders if Biggles is interested in an adventure. After making a few enquiries, Biggles agrees to the expedition, but there is more than gold in the Starry Crown, and no help for miles across Antarctica's vast silence... Wrap up warm for a classic Biggles adventure to the frozen continent of Antarctica.

The case of the pirate U-boat!Air Commodore Raymond has a thrilling new case for Biggles, Ginger, Algy and Bertie, now the Scotland Yard Air Squad. Instead of surrendering at the end of the war, commander Von Schonbeck of submarine U-517 escaped to the south Indian ocean. From his base on an uncharted island, he has been waging his own personal war, very profitably. Among other booty, he is known to have acquired a sizeable quantity of gold. But there's very little to go on: the submarine sinks all the ships it preys upon, leaving no survivors. And Biggles & Co. have a hunting ground of a million square miles of air and ocean... Will they find the renegade submarine, or will it continue to prowl the depths? Has Biggles met his match in the hunt for the dastardly von Schonbeck?

War is declared, and Biggles is ready for action!September 1939. Britain has declared war on Germany. Major James Bigglesworth, known to his friends as 'Biggles', is eager to get straight into the action alongside old friends Algernon 'Algy' Lacey and 'Ginger' Hebblethwaite. They don't have to wait long. The British government has covertly acquired a small island in the Baltic, off the north coast of Germany. The island is unremarkable save for one feature: a natural sea cave, unknown to the Germans, large enough to house several aircraft. Biggles' orders: wreak havoc on German forces for as long as possible without compromising the location of the secret base. It's a dangerous mission, for the might of the enemy military machine will be bent on finding them, led by Biggles' old nemesis, Erich von Stalhein. Take to the skies in a classic Biggles adventure packed with heroism and feats of derring-do. Perfect for fans of Derek Robinson and Max Hennessy.

Biggles has a cold war.November 1939. The Winter War between the Finns and the Soviets has begun, and Finland has called for international support. Biggles, Algy and Ginger have volunteered to help, and fly reconnaissance missions over the country on the lookout for Soviet troops and aircraft. Quite by chance on one such flight, Biggles spots a lone figure at death's door in the snow, and lands to investigate. The man is Petolski, a Polish scientist. His plane crashed on the Finland-Russia border while he was trying to escape Occupied Poland with seven years' worth of experimental aircraft research. Rather than let it fall into enemy hands, he has hidden it somewhere near the downed plane. The research cannot fall into enemy hands, and Biggles is ordered to retrieve it at all costs. But the Russians have found out about the research as well, and a party led by Biggles' nemesis, Erich von Stalhein, is already looking for it. The race is on! Strap in for a classic Biggles cat-and-mouse chase in the ice and snow of Finland. Perfect for fans of Derek Robinson and Max Hennessy.

PERIL IN THE SKIES! Well into the later stages of the First World War, Biggles and his fellow flyers are struggling to maintain supremacy over the enemy pilots determined to shoot them down. In this game of cunning, they must use all their wit and skill to stay ahead of the fight against the German air force but will Biggles' daring and bold schemes keep them alive in such treacherous skies? Join cult hero and flying ace, Squadron Leader James Bigglesworth on another action packed adventure!

LOST IN THE DESERT! It's the Second World War and Biggles is in the desert, defending the vital air-route from the West coast of Africa to the Middle East. Urgent stores, dispatches and important officials and officers are regularly flown over this route, but lately a number of planes have unaccountably failed to arrive at their destinations. They've disappeared on route and Biggles is there to find out why - and stop it happening again. Join cult hero and flying ace, Squadron Leader James Bigglesworth on another action packed adventure!

MISSING, PRESUMED DEAD! When Biggles undertakes a lone mission to rescue an Italian princess from Mussolini's Italy he doesn't know he's walking into a trap. Against all the odds he gets the princess to the aircraft ready to fly them back to safety, but he never reaches the plane. He's last seen wounded and surrounded by the enemy, but Algy, Ginger and Bertie refuse to accept that he's dead until they see the evidence themselves. Join cult hero and flying ace, Squadron Leader James Bigglesworth on another action packed adventure!

One of a series of Biggles adventures which have been edited for the modern reader. Biggles and Algy undertake a trip to locate a priceless Inca hoard, but they haven't reckoned on the cruel hospitality of the Amazon jungle - the wildest, most dangerous territory on earth.

Worrals is finding the routine of service life dull - until a chance discovery puts her on the trail of a double-agent. The hunt takes her and her long-suffering side-kick Frecks to the seedy side of London - made all the more terrifying by the rain of bombs from the latest Blitz. Further twists and turns follow, until the girls find themselves marooned in Occupied France - and about to fall into the hands of the notorious Gestapo...

One of a selection of the adventures of Squadron Leader James Bigglesworth, published to mark the centenary of the author's birth. Never have Biggles and his friends needed their quick wits more. A chance encounter in Spain leaves them the dangerous task of carrying secret papers to England.

Biggles, Algy and Ginger help young Dick Denver to escape the clutches of an evil thief. Then Dick gets a letter from his dying father, containing an amazing tale of shipwreck, an ancient treasure map and a sparkling doubloon, and the brave trio set off on an amazing adventure.

SECRET AGENT! Sworn into the German Air Force as a Gestapo Agent, Biggles is deep undercover on a reconnaissance mission in Norway when the Germans invade without warning. If he can just get back to his plane he can leave Norway quickly and safely, but his old enemy Von Stalhein has heard that Biggles is in Norway, and he's determined to track him down... Join cult hero and flying ace, Squadron Leader James Bigglesworth on another action packed adventure!

Reissued with a stunning new cover, this is the perfect introduction to this bestselling series for new readers.
'We shall have to wait until they come out, ' breathed Biggles. 'Jump out when I do and be ready to shoot like lightning. If they drop their rifles and put their hands up, all right, but any move by one to raise his rifle, let him have it. It's the only way. It's either they or we for it, and they won't hesitate to shoot us. Ssh Here they come.' A sixteen-year-old boy learns that his beloved elder brother has gone missing from his squadron and decides to rescue him. With his friend, he runs away from school and they sign up in the RFC, lying about their age. They meet up with Biggles at 266 Squadron and join his flight -- but will Biggles find them out?

Michael Palin reads this classic adventure by W. E. Johns, featuring pilot-adventurer James 'Biggles' Bigglesworth When Biggles receives a letter from an old wartime chum asking for help, he responds at once. With his comrades, Algy, Ginger and Flight Sergeant Smyth, our hero flies to Fort Beaver in Canada, where winter is closing in around the remote airfield. There he discovers that his buddy Wilks is being menaced by a sinister character called 'Brindle' McBain and his cronies. Wilks has started a small airline business, but McBain wants to take over and he'll stop at nothing to get Wilks out of the way. With the threats of sabotage, theft, and even murder in play, all their lives are now in danger. Can Biggles save the day and defeat McBain? Or will they perish in the frozen north? Duration: 2 hrs approx.

TAKEN PRISONER! Late in the Second World War Biggles and his team are in Malaya, operating a secret commando under the nose of the Japanese occupiers. Algy is captured after his plane goes down over the Indian Ocean but Biggles will not abandon him and a rescue plan is put into action... Join cult hero and flying ace, Squadron Leader James Bigglesworth on another action packed adventure!

Reissued with a stunning new cover, this is the perfect introduction to this bestselling series for new readers.
A burst of bullets struck Biggles' machine somewhere just behind him, and he jerked the control-stick back into his stomach. A Hun shot past his wing-tip, so close that Biggles flinched.'That's too close ' he muttered. 'Where the dickens are the S. E.'s?' Biggles battles through the First World War, honing his flying skills in terrifying battles against the finest fighters the enemy can supply. But he finds war provides more light-hearted adventures as well, and this collection of stories from early in Biggles' career combines the fun of being part of 266 squadron and the fear of deadly serious aerial combat.

Biggles, Algy and Ginger are recruited by the Maltovian ambassador to spearhead a defence force against warmongering neighbouring territories. The mission is difficult and dangerous, but with a bloody war hanging in the balance they must be prepared to risk everything for peace - even their lives.

Algy turned a trifle pale and shook his head. 'For God's sake be careful,' he whispered tersely. 'They'll shoot you like a dog if they spot what you're doing.' While on leave Biggles is mistaken for someone else. He thinks little of it at the time, but when headquarters find out they ask him to take the place of his double and work for the Germans as a spy, while secretly reporting back to the British. It's a difficult task and there's a very high price to pay if he's spotted - his life.

When zero visibility forces Biggles to land his Vandal amphibian aircraft on the North Sea he thinks he's just got a spot of aeroplane bother. Bigger trouble is ahead for Biggles when he takes an unchartered ride in a flying boat manned by 'Blackbeard' - a cohort of the Russian Airfleet and accomplice in a plot to bomb Britain.

This is the story of the very beginning of the Air Force and of Squadron Leader James Bigglesworth, AKA Biggles. It's the First World War and Biggles is just 17; the planes are primitive; combat tactics are non-existent. The only form of communication for pilots and their gunners is by hand signals; they are reliant on the skill of their fellow crew, their wit and above all else bravery. Above hostile enemy skies where instinct and fast reactions are everything, Biggles must learn to be a real fighter pilot, or die - but does he have what it takes?

One of a selection of the adventures of Squadron Leader James Bigglesworth, published to mark the centenary of the author's birth. World War II is over and Biggles, Algy and Ginger are at a loose end when they are offered a job transporting gold bullion. It ought to be simple, but there's a catch.