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Biggles and the Endless Email Chain
Continuing on the topic of the Biggles books (and by the way, I think Biggles is perhaps THE WORST name to contemplate writing porn with, easily beating out Helmut Zemo and the entire cast of Dragonball Z) ...
... I hoped I would enjoy these, but I really wasn't expecting to get as hooked as I am! I've bounced hard off a couple of them (there is a lot of Period Typical Everything), but the better ones are not only compulsively readable with great action scenes, but also have lavish descriptions of scenery, really lean into every aspect of their premise, and have unexpectedly likable characters treated, on the whole, with a great deal of sympathy. Biggles in most of the books is a lot less Macho Action Hero Man than I was expecting; he messes up, makes mistakes, worries about his friends, is sympathetic to most of his enemies, and generally comes across as a really sweet guy.
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rachelmanija, scioscribe, and I have been reading these together (although not necessarily reading the same book at any given time; I had a head start on the rest of them), which tends to result in long email chains liveblogging our reactions. A lot of it is just random commentary on various aspects that happened to catch our eye:
sholio: I just looked up the Biggles books in order:
#74 Biggles Takes It Rough
OKAY THEN.
scioscribe: Damn, Biggles. Respect.
We are genuinely really enjoying these books, but at the same time, there's also, for example, Biggles' tendency to swear by saying things like "Stiffen the crows!" and "Shades of Guy Fawkes!"
scioscribe: I think Biggles definitely makes up most of his sayings. I almost wonder if that's supposed to be the case--maybe a kind of Bertie Wooster-ish vibe where he's charmingly a little addled? But these books don't seem long on irony, at least not from these bits.
sholio: I don't think he's supposed to be intentionally doing it, but I like the headcanon that he's either that much of a weirdo and makes every one up from scratch, or can't actually remember them and everyone around him is just being kind about it.
sholio: “Not so fast, my cock,’ growled Biggles, as he stood on the rudder and shoved the stick forward.”
I'm just gonna leave this here.
sholio: “Biggles smiled, and took a small, flat, sealed package from his pocket. ‘Look at that,’ he said. ‘Fifty thousand jimmy-o’-goblins’ worth.”
He is 100% making these up.
I looked this up later and it's actually Cockney rhyming slang! Which is an interesting character note, actually. Period Typical Everything aside, Biggles in the books does actually come across as someone who is friendly with people from all walks of life and generally pretty open-minded towards people he meets. He is absolutely someone who would have absorbed bits of slang from fellow soldiers or just random people he runs into.
I still choose to believe he makes at least some of them up, though.
More excerpts from our email conversations under the cut. A lot of it is talking about Biggles' rival/our main ship for him, German spy Erich von Stalhein. I have no idea how much sense this will make to anyone who hasn't read the books, but I just threw in various bits that amused me.
sholio: “What about the Atlantic, though?”
“Dash the Atlantic."
Biggles, no, I think you still need to deal with the Atlantic.
sholio: By the way, when/if you guys read the later books in the series, I'd like to know if you can figure out Biggles' living situation. It seems very much as if he's living in a London flat with several of his closest bachelor friends and co-workers, which is definitely A Certain Vibe.
scioscribe: Biggles is very committed to occupying a certain British niche.
sholio: “Do what?’ ejaculated Mayer. ‘What are you going to do?”
I have encountered my first ejaculation sighting in these books!
Also, Biggles Flies East is genuinely really fun. At the moment he's lost in the desert trying to save the life of an injured German pilot (not von Stalhein, unfortunately).
scioscribe: I feel obscurely betrayed by Biggles saving the life of a different German. He's cheating on von Stalhein!
sholio: Of all the amazing aeroplane crashes that surely holds the palm.
This is from the author's note on one of the books. Maybe Biggles talks that way because the author also talks that way.
scioscribe: Yeah, that's a real "mystery solved" moment right there.
[This is probably more context than anyone really cares about, but the initial bit here is in reference to hugelkultur, a German/Eastern European technique for building raised garden beds in cool climates that I've recently become an aficionado of, which we were talking about in an earlier email.]
sholio: I need to go out and finish hugeling my beds*, but I don't want to.
*This sounds like something Biggles would say, except in that case it would mean something like "the look of surprise on an enemy pilot's face when you shoot their landing gear off."
[shortly]
By the way, you know what really hugeled my beds about the Biggles books? I completely mis-osmosed Von Stalhein's role in the series. I thought he was a pilot! Without really thinking about it, I assumed the entire basis of his and Biggles' frenemyship was a Red Baron kind of aerial dogfight antagonism. HE'S TOTALLY NOT.
rachelmanija: Me too! TIL.
"Strafe me again and I'll hugel your beds!"
sholio: I appreciate the detailed description of von Stalhein in this book. This is very useful for people who might be writing porn about him later.
rachelmanija: I am also surprisingly into von Stalhein.
sholio: Description of Lt. Sterne, which turns out to be his first view of von Stalhein:
“As he walked swiftly towards the aerodrome where he had left his machine he paused in his stride to admire a beautifully mounted Arab who swept past him, galloping towards the camp. The Arab did not even glance in his direction, and Biggles thought he had never seen a finer example of wild humanity.”
That's it, Biggles, just be subtle with that crush.
sholio: From the one I'm currently reading, Biggles & Co:
“There’s a lady to see you, sir,’ she said.
‘A lady!’ Biggles frowned. ‘What sort of a lady?’
‘Oh, quite a lady, sir.’
‘But I don’t know any ladies.”
[....]
“And don’t stare at the door as if you’d never seen a lady before,’ he added, turning to the others.”
James Bigglesworth: Confirmed Heterosexual.
scioscribe: Very straight, much heterosexual.
rachelmanija: None of his totally platonic roommates know any ladies either.
sholio: “And secondly, this crook gang will be getting peeved after the way we’ve diddled them twice in succession.”
Biggles, why are you like this.
sholio: "We'll diddle the swine again."
STAAAAAHP.
rachelmanija: ... Someone please tell Biggles what diddling means.
sholio: "Shades of Guy Fawkes!" he ejaculated.
BIGGLES PLZ. No one swears like that but you.
scioscribe: Pls give me all the “von Stalhein is reluctantly charmed by Biggles’s bizarre swearing.”
[We are now all reading Biggles & Co]
rachelmanija: IIRC, Algy and Von Stalhein didn't meet in person, right? Please tell me I'm right about that, because this means that Biggles just described him at length, memorably enough for Algy to remember it.
sholio: OMG, you're absolutely right, and I hadn't even realized that! I am now picturing Biggles describing him in endless detail in the intervening 5-10 years or however long it's been.
Biggles: And he has the bluest eyes you've ever seen ....
Algy: SHUT UP ABOUT THE GERMAN SPY ALREADY.
scioscribe: This is EXACTLY what I was imagining. Poor Algy just sitting there thinking that at this point he could draw this guy from memory; Biggles reminiscing about the distinctive way von Stalhein tapped ash off his cigarette.
rachelmanija: "And he rode magnificently!"
rachelmanija: The Biggles/von Stalhein content in this book is amazing.
I also want to note that the cake is specified to be homemade. No store bought cake for Biggles!
scioscribe: Von Stalhein so made that cake.
sholio: They're the very definition of that Kate Beaton comic about sleeping with your nemesis's picture under your pillow. Or, in this case, baking him a cake.
scioscribe: “At the sound of the well-remembered voice Biggles’ nerves slipped back to normal like a piece of elastic when it is released from tension.”
You know, the way anyone reacts when hearing the voice of an enemy who essentially has them at gunpoint.
Biggles & Co. is definitely one of my favorites so far, by the way. It's got a delightful screwball-heist vibe and some really fun set pieces, as well as Biggles and von Stalhein unsubtly flirting all over a castle while both of them are trying to steal a box of jewels from the other one.
Since we're still reading the books, there will probably be more to come.
... I hoped I would enjoy these, but I really wasn't expecting to get as hooked as I am! I've bounced hard off a couple of them (there is a lot of Period Typical Everything), but the better ones are not only compulsively readable with great action scenes, but also have lavish descriptions of scenery, really lean into every aspect of their premise, and have unexpectedly likable characters treated, on the whole, with a great deal of sympathy. Biggles in most of the books is a lot less Macho Action Hero Man than I was expecting; he messes up, makes mistakes, worries about his friends, is sympathetic to most of his enemies, and generally comes across as a really sweet guy.
rachelmanija, scioscribe, and I have been reading these together (although not necessarily reading the same book at any given time; I had a head start on the rest of them), which tends to result in long email chains liveblogging our reactions. A lot of it is just random commentary on various aspects that happened to catch our eye:sholio: I just looked up the Biggles books in order:#74 Biggles Takes It Rough
OKAY THEN.
scioscribe: Damn, Biggles. Respect.We are genuinely really enjoying these books, but at the same time, there's also, for example, Biggles' tendency to swear by saying things like "Stiffen the crows!" and "Shades of Guy Fawkes!"
scioscribe: I think Biggles definitely makes up most of his sayings. I almost wonder if that's supposed to be the case--maybe a kind of Bertie Wooster-ish vibe where he's charmingly a little addled? But these books don't seem long on irony, at least not from these bits.sholio: I don't think he's supposed to be intentionally doing it, but I like the headcanon that he's either that much of a weirdo and makes every one up from scratch, or can't actually remember them and everyone around him is just being kind about it.sholio: “Not so fast, my cock,’ growled Biggles, as he stood on the rudder and shoved the stick forward.”I'm just gonna leave this here.
sholio: “Biggles smiled, and took a small, flat, sealed package from his pocket. ‘Look at that,’ he said. ‘Fifty thousand jimmy-o’-goblins’ worth.”He is 100% making these up.
I looked this up later and it's actually Cockney rhyming slang! Which is an interesting character note, actually. Period Typical Everything aside, Biggles in the books does actually come across as someone who is friendly with people from all walks of life and generally pretty open-minded towards people he meets. He is absolutely someone who would have absorbed bits of slang from fellow soldiers or just random people he runs into.
I still choose to believe he makes at least some of them up, though.
More excerpts from our email conversations under the cut. A lot of it is talking about Biggles' rival/our main ship for him, German spy Erich von Stalhein. I have no idea how much sense this will make to anyone who hasn't read the books, but I just threw in various bits that amused me.
sholio: “What about the Atlantic, though?”“Dash the Atlantic."
Biggles, no, I think you still need to deal with the Atlantic.
sholio: By the way, when/if you guys read the later books in the series, I'd like to know if you can figure out Biggles' living situation. It seems very much as if he's living in a London flat with several of his closest bachelor friends and co-workers, which is definitely A Certain Vibe.scioscribe: Biggles is very committed to occupying a certain British niche.sholio: “Do what?’ ejaculated Mayer. ‘What are you going to do?”I have encountered my first ejaculation sighting in these books!
Also, Biggles Flies East is genuinely really fun. At the moment he's lost in the desert trying to save the life of an injured German pilot (not von Stalhein, unfortunately).
scioscribe: I feel obscurely betrayed by Biggles saving the life of a different German. He's cheating on von Stalhein!sholio: Of all the amazing aeroplane crashes that surely holds the palm.This is from the author's note on one of the books. Maybe Biggles talks that way because the author also talks that way.
scioscribe: Yeah, that's a real "mystery solved" moment right there.[This is probably more context than anyone really cares about, but the initial bit here is in reference to hugelkultur, a German/Eastern European technique for building raised garden beds in cool climates that I've recently become an aficionado of, which we were talking about in an earlier email.]
sholio: I need to go out and finish hugeling my beds*, but I don't want to.*This sounds like something Biggles would say, except in that case it would mean something like "the look of surprise on an enemy pilot's face when you shoot their landing gear off."
[shortly]
By the way, you know what really hugeled my beds about the Biggles books? I completely mis-osmosed Von Stalhein's role in the series. I thought he was a pilot! Without really thinking about it, I assumed the entire basis of his and Biggles' frenemyship was a Red Baron kind of aerial dogfight antagonism. HE'S TOTALLY NOT.
rachelmanija: Me too! TIL."Strafe me again and I'll hugel your beds!"
sholio: I appreciate the detailed description of von Stalhein in this book. This is very useful for people who might be writing porn about him later.rachelmanija: I am also surprisingly into von Stalhein.sholio: Description of Lt. Sterne, which turns out to be his first view of von Stalhein:“As he walked swiftly towards the aerodrome where he had left his machine he paused in his stride to admire a beautifully mounted Arab who swept past him, galloping towards the camp. The Arab did not even glance in his direction, and Biggles thought he had never seen a finer example of wild humanity.”
That's it, Biggles, just be subtle with that crush.
sholio: From the one I'm currently reading, Biggles & Co:“There’s a lady to see you, sir,’ she said.
‘A lady!’ Biggles frowned. ‘What sort of a lady?’
‘Oh, quite a lady, sir.’
‘But I don’t know any ladies.”
[....]
“And don’t stare at the door as if you’d never seen a lady before,’ he added, turning to the others.”
James Bigglesworth: Confirmed Heterosexual.
scioscribe: Very straight, much heterosexual.rachelmanija: None of his totally platonic roommates know any ladies either.sholio: “And secondly, this crook gang will be getting peeved after the way we’ve diddled them twice in succession.”Biggles, why are you like this.
sholio: "We'll diddle the swine again."STAAAAAHP.
rachelmanija: ... Someone please tell Biggles what diddling means.sholio: "Shades of Guy Fawkes!" he ejaculated.BIGGLES PLZ. No one swears like that but you.
scioscribe: Pls give me all the “von Stalhein is reluctantly charmed by Biggles’s bizarre swearing.”[We are now all reading Biggles & Co]
rachelmanija: IIRC, Algy and Von Stalhein didn't meet in person, right? Please tell me I'm right about that, because this means that Biggles just described him at length, memorably enough for Algy to remember it.sholio: OMG, you're absolutely right, and I hadn't even realized that! I am now picturing Biggles describing him in endless detail in the intervening 5-10 years or however long it's been.Biggles: And he has the bluest eyes you've ever seen ....
Algy: SHUT UP ABOUT THE GERMAN SPY ALREADY.
scioscribe: This is EXACTLY what I was imagining. Poor Algy just sitting there thinking that at this point he could draw this guy from memory; Biggles reminiscing about the distinctive way von Stalhein tapped ash off his cigarette.rachelmanija: "And he rode magnificently!"rachelmanija: The Biggles/von Stalhein content in this book is amazing. I also want to note that the cake is specified to be homemade. No store bought cake for Biggles!
scioscribe: Von Stalhein so made that cake.sholio: They're the very definition of that Kate Beaton comic about sleeping with your nemesis's picture under your pillow. Or, in this case, baking him a cake.scioscribe: “At the sound of the well-remembered voice Biggles’ nerves slipped back to normal like a piece of elastic when it is released from tension.”You know, the way anyone reacts when hearing the voice of an enemy who essentially has them at gunpoint.
Biggles & Co. is definitely one of my favorites so far, by the way. It's got a delightful screwball-heist vibe and some really fun set pieces, as well as Biggles and von Stalhein unsubtly flirting all over a castle while both of them are trying to steal a box of jewels from the other one.
Since we're still reading the books, there will probably be more to come.
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