Manning Coles
Author of Drink to Yesterday
About the Author
Series
Works by Manning Coles
Guarding the Zeppelins 1 copy
The Dip 1 copy
Without Lawful Authority 1 copy
Smällen i Berlin 1 copy
Associated Works
The Case of the Glamorous Ghost | Death and Mr. Potter | The Man in the Green Hat (1955) — Contributor — 2 copies
Best-in-Books: Speak to the Winds / Far Traveller / Spring on an Arctic Island / Frogman / Men to Match My Mountains (2017) — Contributor — 2 copies
HEART OF A CHILD/DUTY FREE/LUDMILA/THE GREAT CHICAGO FIRE/ALASKA:THE LAST FRONTIER/TALES OF THE CARIBBEAN (1959) — Contributor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Manning, Adelaide Frances Oke
Coles, Cyril Henry - Gender
- n/a
- Short biography
- Manning and Coles were neighbors in East Meon, Hampshire. Coles worked for British Intelligence in both the World Wars. Manning worked for the War Office during World War I.
Many of the original exploits were based on the real-life experiences of Coles, who lied about his age and enlisted under an assumed name in a Hampshire regiment during World War I while still a teenager. He eventually became the youngest officer in British intelligence, often working behind German lines, due to his extraordinary ability to master languages.
Coles had two sons, identical twins and the Ghost stories were based on the tales he used to tell his young sons when he was 'back from his travels'. - Nationality
- UK
- Associated Place (for map)
- UK
Members
Reviews
4.5 stars
Not your typical WW2 spy thriller! Though there are some suspenseful moments (especially towards the end), this absorbing espionage novel (written in 1940) doesn't have gadgets or seduction scenes or even very many adventures so if that is what you are looking for, keep on searching. What it does have is a man living in Germany sending intelligence to Britain.
Some of the attitudes he espouses (particularly about Jews and blacks) may bother some readers but despite making me cringe, show more I think that they make him a more believable, fully rounded character. He is not a knight in shining armor but a real person with some great strengths but also some terrible flaws. This is my first Manning Coles book as I mistakenly thought it was the first in the series -- it won't be my last! show less
Not your typical WW2 spy thriller! Though there are some suspenseful moments (especially towards the end), this absorbing espionage novel (written in 1940) doesn't have gadgets or seduction scenes or even very many adventures so if that is what you are looking for, keep on searching. What it does have is a man living in Germany sending intelligence to Britain.
Some of the attitudes he espouses (particularly about Jews and blacks) may bother some readers but despite making me cringe, show more I think that they make him a more believable, fully rounded character. He is not a knight in shining armor but a real person with some great strengths but also some terrible flaws. This is my first Manning Coles book as I mistakenly thought it was the first in the series -- it won't be my last! show less
A man is discovered in the ocean, in Germany, still alive but with a damaged face and a serious head wound. He eventually recovers physically, but after many months has no idea who he is. He adopts the name of a doctor who treats him, adopts a kind elderly woman as an aunt, and finds work. He believes he is German.
This spy story is set mainly in Germany in 1938. Hitler is in power. I can't say more because it would be too easy to give away the plot, which is breathtakingly ludicrous. It show more romps along and, if you can suspend disbelief, is an entertaining read. show less
This spy story is set mainly in Germany in 1938. Hitler is in power. I can't say more because it would be too easy to give away the plot, which is breathtakingly ludicrous. It show more romps along and, if you can suspend disbelief, is an entertaining read. show less
I just finished Drink to Yesterday by Manning Coles. I'm reading down my mysteries and thought this was going to be another one of those rather silly, but fun, spy/mysteries with intrepid stiff-upper lip heroes. And it started out that way. But then a few chapters in there was a definite change and, my goodness, I found myself reading a grim, realistic story of life as a British spy living in Cologne during WWI Coles brings in the difficulty of maintaining a cover identity, the boredom show more between assignments, and what happens when a spy becomes a valued member of a community with dear friends he must betray.
The only thing that put me off was the age of the protagonist, 18. Then I read Manning Coles bio and it turns that that there were two authors. Adele Manning who worked in the War Office during the war and Cyril Coles, an espionage agent during the war. Coles lied about his age, joined the army at 16, and when they found out he had a gift not only for languages but for dialects within languages, he was sent into deep cover in Germany as the youngest member of British Intelligence. Because of the Official Secrets Act, there was speculation that he and Adele could only write fiction based on their true exploits. Hence, the ring of realism in the novel.
I am still pondering the insights into a spy's life. It is as though Bulldog Drummond bypassed James Bond and turned into George Smiley while I was reading. show less
The only thing that put me off was the age of the protagonist, 18. Then I read Manning Coles bio and it turns that that there were two authors. Adele Manning who worked in the War Office during the war and Cyril Coles, an espionage agent during the war. Coles lied about his age, joined the army at 16, and when they found out he had a gift not only for languages but for dialects within languages, he was sent into deep cover in Germany as the youngest member of British Intelligence. Because of the Official Secrets Act, there was speculation that he and Adele could only write fiction based on their true exploits. Hence, the ring of realism in the novel.
I am still pondering the insights into a spy's life. It is as though Bulldog Drummond bypassed James Bond and turned into George Smiley while I was reading. show less
Spoiler Alert: In the first installment of Manning Coles's series the reader is to think Tommy Hambledon has drowned. However, on the cover of A Toast to Tomorrow it reads "The second Tommy Hambledon book" so you know he's in it somehow. No mystery there.
The real mystery begins within a radio broadcast. Someone is sending Morse coded messages hidden in a drama; a code that hasn't been used since World War I. British Intelligence knows something is amiss. But what? One of my favorite parts of show more Toast was the different ways key people heard the broadcast and how they reacted.
But, back to Tommy Hambledon. He washes ashore in Belgium with a nasty wound to the head and a chewed up face. He can't remember his own name but can speak German fluently. His rescuers assume he is wounded German soldier and Hambledon agrees with that identity until his memory comes back: probably the best line to sum up A Toast to Tomorrow is uttered by Hambledon: ""I am the Deputy Chief on the German Police," said the British Intelligence Agent" (p 48). The intensity of A Toast To Tomorrow comes from German officials slowly starting to question Hambledon. They can't find evidence of him being a soldier, or even German. The more they question the more Tommy Hambledon is in danger of being exposed. He needs to run but the question is when is it too late? show less
The real mystery begins within a radio broadcast. Someone is sending Morse coded messages hidden in a drama; a code that hasn't been used since World War I. British Intelligence knows something is amiss. But what? One of my favorite parts of show more Toast was the different ways key people heard the broadcast and how they reacted.
But, back to Tommy Hambledon. He washes ashore in Belgium with a nasty wound to the head and a chewed up face. He can't remember his own name but can speak German fluently. His rescuers assume he is wounded German soldier and Hambledon agrees with that identity until his memory comes back: probably the best line to sum up A Toast to Tomorrow is uttered by Hambledon: ""I am the Deputy Chief on the German Police," said the British Intelligence Agent" (p 48). The intensity of A Toast To Tomorrow comes from German officials slowly starting to question Hambledon. They can't find evidence of him being a soldier, or even German. The more they question the more Tommy Hambledon is in danger of being exposed. He needs to run but the question is when is it too late? show less
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- Works
- 40
- Also by
- 15
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- 1,678
- Popularity
- #15,318
- Rating
- 4.0
- Reviews
- 56
- ISBNs
- 84
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