Little God Ben — J. Jefferson Farjeon

Ben the tramp, self-confessed coward and ex-sailor, is back in the Merchant Service and shipwrecked in the Pacific.

Ben the tramp, self-confessed coward and ex-sailor, is back in the Merchant Service and shipwrecked in the Pacific.

Tired of being homeless and down on his luck, the incorrigible Ben has taken a job as a stoker on a cruise ship. But his luck doesn't last long when they are all shipwrecked in the Pacific. Seen through Ben's eyes, the uncharted island is a hive of cannibals, mumbo-jumbo, and gals who are more nearly naked than any he has ever seen. And every time he tries to bluff his way out of a situation, he just bluffs himself further in, somehow convincing the natives that he has God-like powers . . .

Brought back by popular demand after a gap of three years, Ben the tramp's reappearance in Little God Ben transported his humour, charm and rare philosophy to a startlingly new setting in this quintessentially 1930s comedy thriller.

Reviews

‘His dialogue is invariably amusing.' DAILY MAIL

‘Mr Farjeon's Ben is not merely a character but a parable. He is a mixture of Trimalchio and the Old Kent Road, a notable coward, a notable hero, above all a supreme humorist … Someone ought to make a film of this book. It would bring the house down.' Seton Dearden in Time and Tide

About the author

J. Jefferson Farjeon (1883-1955) was the author of more than 60 crime and thriller novels. His work was highly acclaimed in his day. He is now best known as the author of the bestselling “Mystery in White”, and also “No.17”, a play that was brought to the big screen by Alfred Hitchcock and led to the series of popular ‘Ben' detective novels.