The River of Adventure is a popular children’s book by Enid Blyton. It is the eighth book in the Adventure Series. The first edition was illustrated by Stuart Tresilian.
Like The Sea of Adventure, this book begins with Jack, Philip, Dinah and Lucy-Ann unable to return to school at the start of term because of illness. They are in convalescence after having influenza and the Doctor has advised Mrs Mannering that they should go away on holiday for a while. When Bill is suddenly called away to keep an eye on a man called Raya Uma, of whom the Government are suspicious, he suggests taking his wife and the children with him and posing as a family man.
The six of them fly to an unspecified Middle Eastern location, “some way from the borders of Syria,” where they set off on a river-trip on a small motor-launch driven by a native named Tala. The river is called the River of Abencha, leading Philip to dub it the River of Adventure. As they travel, Bill stops at various towns to make enquiries about Raya Uma and report back to headquarters. He knows that, in the past, Raya Uma has been involved with gun-running, spying and smuggling, but no-one seems certain what he is up to now.
