Sanders of the River [Paperback]

A REVIEW OF 'SANDERS OF THE RIVER' by EDGAR WALLACE

The year is 1911. Britain commands the largest overseas empire that the world has ever seen and insists upon being revered as 'Great'. In three years, Europe will be engulfed in The Great War and the world will never be the same. Meanwhile, London-based author Edgar Wallace is struggling for inspiration and struggling to pay his bills. Responding to a suggestion from his editor, and using his own war correspondent experiences as source material, Wallace developed a winning formula for the short story format by relating tales of British rule in West Africa, overseen by the very British Commissioner Sanders.

The reading public lapped them up, both in journals and in novel-length collections. 'Sanders Of The River' is the first of no less than a dozen volumes of stories in the series published in a 17-year period. Not wanting to dilute a successful product, further volumes had such cunning names as 'Again Sanders' and (for purists) just 'Sanders'.

And so, what do we have here in the opening selection of Wallace's African tales? A surprisingly engaging and enjoyable collection of stories that offer a dash of mystery, history and style, whilst never over-staying their welcome. What is surprising is how little over imperialistic tub-thumping is included. Wallace makes it clear that Britain's role is to civilise the wilder peoples of West Africa and that Sanders personifies this commendable keeping of the peace. However, there is no sense that Britannia is home to a race of demi-gods who rightfully rule the world. In fact, much of the appeal of the stories in 'Sanders Of The River' is the author's decision to allow the reader to make up his/her mind about the events being narrated.

Each of the tales conforms to a pattern and adopts a fable-like structure. Some are tragedies, others ironic character studies, but each resembles a parable in its delivery. Wallace carefully introduces diverse segments of the story before neatly tying them up in a swift and pithy conclusion. When this works well, as in 'the Lonely One' with its twist ending, it works splendidly. In fact, such is the brevity of the tales, that even the weaker ones among the collection are very readable because of their coffee-break length.

Sanders himself is an interesting hero. He glides in and out of the stories and retains a world-weariness in his role as Commissioner. He is highly-respected by those whom he governs, despite many acts of cold and calculated justice. Particularly effective is Wallace's decision to provide Sanders with his own vehicle, the steamer, the 'Zaire' which acts as a craft of order and vengeance, almost like a 1911 Batmobile! We learn very little about Sanders, which adds to the over-riding sense of mystery throughout the stories.

What perhaps works best in 'Sanders Of The River' is Wallace's ability to create an authentic backdrop for his tales. His Africa is always credible and he peppers the stories with liberal tribe names, place names, chiefs and customs. Indeed, the superstition of the Africans contrasts effectively with the ice-cold and reasoned style of Sanders' rule.

With a collection of short stories such as this, the quality inevitably varies. The opening few tales rather flash by and fail to really set the scene of pace of the best stories to come. Likewise, others would have benefited from being fleshed-out to novella length to allow for real character development and increased suspense. The overall tone is perhaps too earnest, and opportunities for humour are missed. Wallace recognised this himself and chose to introduce a more comical character called 'Bones' to later volumes of his African stories.

Nevertheless, 'Sanders Of The River' is far more than an antiquated product of its time. Today, it can be read as a child of the Empire, but to do so would detract from the creativity and cleverness of its best stories. This reviewer will certainly be looking forward to further adventures, punctuated by the sound of drums and the chugging of the 'Zaire' gliding downstream...

Barty's Score: 7.5/10

I have long been in love with the whole range of "Sanders of the River" books. They bring back a time when the world was a simpler place and the map was mostly Red.
Sanders himself was a very honest soul and really cared for the native population under his protection. Although the idea of colonial power is not now politcaly correct there is no denying that it brought about peace and stability to some very warlike tribes and nations.
I wish there was many more books by Edgar Wallace featuring Sanders and his world.

I bought this for my Mom who remembered it fondly from her childhood. She enjoyed it again. It is an easy read and the stories are straightforward and entertaining. Be warned this was written by a man who was a child of Empire and so its view of simple child-like natives and benevolent white man ruling them may grate modern sensibilities.