This is a great adventure/survival type book. It is set in the jungles and rivers of Africa sometime during World War I. The main characters of this book are Charlie Allnutt and Rose Sayer who are both British. They go on a mission to do something patriotic for their country against the Germans.
Rose Sayer is a 32 year old woman. She is the sister of a missionary and lives with him in a remote African village. When her brother dies of a fever, Allnutt comes to the rescue. Allnutt is a mechanic who isn’t religious at all. Rose somehow convinces Allnutt to navigate his old boat, The African Queen, down a dangerous river. There, Rose wants them to bomb a German ship. She thinks that would be a big help to Britain.
At first, Allnutt is hesitant and doesn’t think two “ordinary people” can pull this off. He has a better understanding of his old boat and knows how challenging it will be to steer it down the Ulanga River. But, Rose’s patriotism and optimism encourage Allnutt to stick to their plan.
So begins their journey. On the way they overcome many hurdles. There are ever present dangers like getting caught by the Germans, coming down with malaria and other diseases. The African rain forest is very uncomfortable and insects pester them every day.
During the course of their journey, there are many places when Allnutt and Rose have close encounters with death. At one time, they are passing close to a German military outpost. An officer spots them and orders his men to fire at them. By a miracle, none of them get hurt and their boat remains unharmed. Right after that dangerous encounter, their boat falls from a waterfall. Again, they emerge unharmed. Almost at the end of their journey, they both get malaria, but they somehow manage to make torpedoes and attach them to the African Queen. None of these dangers discourage them from deviating from their goal.
At last, they reach the lake where the German ship is stationed. They wait for a day and then decide bomb the ship with the night as their cover. However, as their boat nears the ship, the weather turns bad. There is thunder, lightning and strong winds. Their small, old boat is unable to withstand the weather and eventually sinks. Thus, Rose and Allnutt don’t succeed in destroying the ship.
On the next day, Allnutt is found on German land and presented to a German court. The judge suspects him to be a spy for the British. After a little while, Rose is found and is taken to the same court. Even though both of them might get into trouble, they are happy to see each other alive. The judge decides not to hang them. He says there aren’t many white women in Africa and punishing one would create a stir. Instead, he decides to hand them over to the Belgians.
A few days later, the Belgians get some new boats that are better and faster than the German ship. They decide to destroy the ship and they do. So, the German ship is destroyed even though Allnutt and Rose had failed.
During their excursion, both the characters go through many physical and emotional changes. They are much thinner and sick due to the malaria. Allnutt and Rose have also fallen in love with each other. Their everyday struggles and arguments help bring them closer together. Both of them are very different kinds of people. Rose is strong, resolute and religious, but Allnutt is weaker and needs a woman to depend on.
Rose changes in the sense that she is able to make her own decisions on their journey. Before, she had let her brother make all the decisions and depended on men. Now, she plans the whole plot and directs Allnutt. She also figures out that being religious isn’t everything. Allnutt too goes through change. He now has finally found someone who trusts him. He is very pleased that Rose would trust and encourage him on the journey. At the ned of the book, both of them decide to get married and head back to England.