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Rogue Male  By  cover art

Rogue Male

By: Geoffrey Household
Narrated by: Robin Browne
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Publisher's summary

Rogue Male is one of the classic thrillers of the 20th century. It's a gripping adventure on the themes of liberty, tyranny, and the ethics of political violence.

An Englishman plans to assassinate the dictator of a European country. But he is foiled at the last moment and falls into the hands of ruthless and inventive torturers. They devise for him an ingenious and diplomatic death but, for once, they bungle the job and he escapes. But England provides no safety from his pursuers - and the Rogue Male must strip away all the trappings of status and civilization as the hunter becomes a hunted animal.

Please note: This is a vintage recording. The audio quality may not be up to modern day standards.

©1939 Geoffrey Household (P)2010 RNIB

Critic reviews

100 Must-Read Thrillers (International Thriller Writers)

What listeners say about Rogue Male

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

An Englishman's ditch is his castle

This is one of the (many) books I have loved. I read it first when I was about 12 and the plot and some of its scenes have lived in my head for a very long time.

It is very English.

It is very 30's.

It is very good.

It's Englishness and it's 30'sness mean that some of its language and some of its sensibilities will jar on many 21st century minds. Get over it. The point of historical texts is to let us see where we came from and this does that well.

The writing is clear and direct. The language is simple and the descriptions are concise. The story is simple in concept but deep enough to stay interesting.

It translates well to audio and Browne's narration is clear and without excessive characterisation.

This will make it to the repeat listen list with no problem.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Nice book, first person, not fly on wall

I usually enjoy books that are told by the hero or main character. Like, I did this and not, he did that. This book is written that way. I got this book for less than 4 dollars and consider it a little gem. It is a bit fantastic that so many people would chase this guy but still I suspended disbelief and just enjoyed it. It may not go down in the great books category, but it may go down in the great books category for four dollars.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

rather boring

for a supposed classic of the genre this is rather boring and dated and not at all up to the quality of others from the same time period.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Book

I never had heard of Geoffey Household. I really enjoyed listening to this book that i bought the rest of what audible had. I've listened to only part of another so far and it is very interesting so far. I recommend these books.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Hammond Innes is better

I bought this because William Gibson recommends it in "Zero History,:" and because I'ma fan of Hammond Innes's plot-driven adventure novels. This book has minimal plot. It's just an English gentleman trying to hide from the police in the countryside. I gave up halfway through the book.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

All War is Personal

"He who has learned to not to intrude his emotions upon his fellows has also learned not to intrude them upon himself."
- Rogue Male, Geoffrey Household

I've never read Household before. I picked this one up because it was an early thriller (published in 1939)* and was made into a movie (Man Hunt) directed by Frtiz Lang. I was scrolling through NYRB's offerings and I guess the moment was just right. The novel is short, interesting and well-paced (meat and potatoes for any book considered a thriller). It gave me similar vibes to 'The 39 Steps' which was published in 1915, and which I can't imagine wasn't an influence to Household. 'The 39 Steps' is set in a pre-WWI Europe, while 'Rogue Male' was set in a pre-WWII Europe. Rogue Male also seemed to possess similar qualities to the short story 'The Most Dangerous Game' which was published in 1924.

When I think back to my childhood I also felt it echoed in 'My Side of the Mountain' (p. 1959) and 'Deathwatch' (p 1973). Looking backwards, you can see how 'My Side of the Mountain' possesses some influence from 'Rogue Male' (replace a cave with a tree and a cat with a hawk). But the stronger relationship is definitely between 'The Most Dangerous Game' and 'Deathwatch'.

Anyway, enough nostalgia. The book is a must for those interested in early thrillers and cat & mouse novels. It isn't heavy and is a nice palate cleanser between other novels.

* I also apologize of being a bit OCD on publication dates here. I was just curious about how all of thesse books aligned in time and space.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable listen

Fast paced, enjoyable listen. Good narrator and an interesting storyline. I highly recommend this spy thriller.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

50 years on, just as good or better

I read this book 50 years ago when I was in my teens. I was captivated by the story and hooked on the suspense. When I saw it listed on Audible I thought I would see if my memories of the book were justified. After listening to the audio version I can confirm that the story is as riveting as I remember and the narrator brings it to captivating life.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Very unique

Story is very unique and quite creative. I would definitely recommend it, and I usually don’t like this type of book.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A gripping tale full of unexpected twists

Household entertains, instructs, and puzzles the reader while gently raising intelligent doubts about our unquestioned political allegiances. The title bears reflecting upon.

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