Who is Biggles ?

Major James Bigglesworth (Biggles) is the hero of a long series of childrens' flying adventure stories. Biggles (and his friends and enemies) are widely read and very popular in the UK, India, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and many European countries. Since Biggles is a pilot, most of his adventures have something to do with planes and flying. These adventures take him and his friends all over the world, beginning during World War I and continuing well into the Cold War. The Biggles books have appeared over a very long time, the first title appearing in 1932 and the last in 1970, with about a hundred books in between. Take a look at a short biography of Biggles.

The Books and the Author

The Biggles books were authored by Captain W.E. Johns (1893-1968).Ninety-six original titles were published - here's a complete list of the titles with a synopsis of each story.

Collecting

Most collectors look for the first edition hardcovers, preferably with dust jackets. These are not easy to find, however. More easily available are the Armada paperback editions, which were in print through the early 80's. These are OK for reading, but the hardcovers obviously survive better in a collection. Most of the hardbacks feature colour illustrations. Illustrations were usually done by Leslie Stead; some were done by Terence Cunio and Alfred Sindall. Later editions of the hardbacks are often available, usually without dust jackets. Some titles are nearly impossible to find in any edition. The cheapest sources are used book sellers in Australia and New Zealand - accessible over the Web. In India, used paperbacks are easy to find, hardbacks not so easy. They're cheap when they can be found, but you can't get them through the Web (mostly streetside used book sellers). For a list of used book sellers who have Biggles titles, see the Links page.

Other Stuff

Other Biggles-related Sites

There are several other Biggles-related sites on the Web. See the Links page for a list.