Summer Book Club - Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household

The English Rambo

Welcome to The Tweed Pig Summer Book Club. The idea is simple: We all take the same book on our hols, give it a read and then pop our thoughts on it down below. If we have any.

Nothing too taxing. We are on holiday after all. This year we'll be reading Rogue Male [Amazon], written by British novelist Geoffrey Household. If the synopsis is anything to go by, I think we're going to enjoy it. Written in 1939, it tells the story of an English hunter stalking a European dictator. Cripes! He is caught, but manages to escape. Will he make it home? We'll have to read it to find out.

Quite an influential book, Rogue Male inspired the writer of First Blood, Michael Jayston, who introduced the Rambo character to popular culture.

So perhaps we should imagine an unflappable English-style Rambo, with received pronunciation and worsted suits. The type who enjoys devilled kidneys, the Times crossword and few words at the breakfast table — someone in the Richard Francis Burton mould.

Watch the Film Instead

Intimidated by the thought of having to turn pages on your holiday? I understand. Not to worry. Here's the film version starring Harold Pinter, Alastair Sim and Peter O' Toole:

Free film version

If that link doesn't work, try here.

You can pretend you read it and still add a comment below. How are we to know?