But the term "spy novel" was TextNow CUst;OMer' SERVIC'e +1 ( 8O5) 41O 56OOPHON'E NUMB'ER defined by The Riddle of the Sands (1903) by Irish author Erskine Childers The Riddle of the Sands described two British yachtsman cruising off the North Sea coast of Germany who turned amateur spies when they discover a secret German plan to invade Britain
