Product Description
The fourth book in Arthur Ransome's classic series for children, Winter Holiday takes intrepid explorers John, Susan, Titty, and Roger Walker, and fearsome Amazon pirates Nancy and Peggy Blackett to the North Pole. Joined by budding novelist Dorethes Callum and her scientist brother Dick, the children plan an "Arctic" expedition. But unforseen events seperate the travelers and disaster nearly strikes in the exciting climax of their race to the Pole. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

my favorite
The Swallows and Amazons series is great and I think that each book is great on its own but that hey are even better as a series.Who hasn't dreamed of owning an island and these kids basically get to do just that living on their own for the whole summer.Lots of adventures and intrigue, so fun.

How to Turn a Downer into an Upper!
I've never managed to find a way to go ice-sailing on a sled, but this book made me want to all my life.An unmatched read!Perfect for reading to your kids in the winter!

A winter holiday in the English Lake District in the 1930's
Beautifully written children's adventure set in the English Lake District in the 1930's. The same cast of characters as Swallows and Amazons and Swallowdale but with the addition of two new characters - Dorothy and Dick Callum, who also appear later in the series in The Big Six, Coot Club, the Picts and the Martyrs and Great Northern. All about an extended winter holiday on and around the lake as it slowly freezes over. Ice skating, sledging, exploring, rescuing crag-fast sheep, the adventures come one after the other. As well-written as all Arthur Ransome's childrens books were, and an enjoyable time-warped look at what life for the english middle class was like in the 30's in Britain. I grew up reading these books and find them just as enjoyable now as I did when I was 10 years old.

Worth the time
Our family has enjoyed the Swallows & Amazon series more than I initially expected.Each book has taken a few chapters to pull us in and we take it slowly; these are worth your time.The children in the stories are what my kids want to be like: independent and capable, fun loving and creative. The plots and themes are simple and interesting. I recommend the whole series for reading aloud and encourage readers to not drop them if they are not as fast paced as other stories.

Adventure knows no season...
Coming on the tails of a full-throttle fantasy in PETER DUCK, Ransome comes back down to earth in WINTER HOLIDAY.It's January at the old lake, and now we're seeing things from the viewpoint of Dick and Dorothea Callum, the children of two archaeologists who are digging in Egypt and sent their children to spend their winter holiday with a family friend.The D's, as they become known, are different from the rough-and-ready Swallows and Amazons; Dorothea is a dreamy sort, an aspiring novelist, and Dick is an intellectual, an amateur naturalist and astronomer.

Of course, they meet up with the Swallows and Amazons, quickly making friends and providing their worth to the group with their quick wit and superior ice-skating(!).The group is mourning that soon their holidays will be over when Nancy comes down with the mumps, meaning that the group can't go back to school for another month until they're sure they won't pass the infection to others.Then a huge freeze descends, blanketing the land in snow and freezing the lake.

The story is full of delightful exploring in the snow, something I remember myself from my own childhood.The crew build an igloo, rescue a stranded sheep, and learn field communication techniques (actual practical knowledge there).The D's encounter actual physical danger when they set off for the northern end of the lake after a miscommunication, and end up caught in a blizzard, but all ends well and their place in the group is firmly established when the rest are impressed with their courage and grit.

Again, another delightful adventure from Ransome, something great for kids and parents alike.A good guide for cold-weather adventure, and also a nice antidote to summer heat.Kids will learn the aforementioned field communication bit, but other messages include the importance of good deeds (in rescuing the sheep and also the kids' determination to rescue the D's when they're feared lost), as well as common themes of courage, capability, and that everyone has something to contribute.

Next in the series:The D's take center stage in COOT CLUB. ... Read more

Product Description
In this latest adventure (following Pigeon Post, winner of the Carnegie Medal), the Walker family has come to Harwich to wait for Commander Walker's return. As usual, the children can't stay away from boats, and this time they meet young Jim Brading, skipper of the well-found sloop Goblin. But fun turns to high drama when the anchor drags, and the four young sailors find themselves drifting out to sea - sweeping across to Holland in the midst of a full gale! As in all of Ransome's books, the emphasis is on self-reliance, courage, and resourcefulness. We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea is a story to warm any mariner's heart. Full of nautical lore and adventure, it will appeal to young armchair sailors and season
sailors alike. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Swallows & Amazons Fan
My ten yr. old son has read and re-read the entire Swallow & Amazon series.Other reviewers can give you a good summary of all the books.I can just tell you that my son has enjoyed every book in the series.He dreams of having his own adventures on his own sailboat.His first step being taking lessons in how to sail.

Still going strong...
We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea (Godine Storyteller)
I first read this, my first Arthur Ransome, when I was 23 years old and found it a delight - a thrilling entry into the world of childhood adventure. Now, 87 years old, I have just re-read it in December 2008 to see if it might be suitable for an adult English class that I take in Sweden. It is - incomparably so!Nietzsche said that in every true human being there is a child that wants to play. Arthur Ransome speaks to that child in this story - probably the best and most thrilling of all the Swallows and Amazons stories. If you have never read it, read it whatever your age. If you have children, grandchildren or great grandchildren give them a copy!

Sailing adventure in the 1930's
This was the book that got me started on the Swallows and Amazon's series when I was around 8 or 9. My father had an old copy he was awarded as a school prize back when he was at Boarding School in the UK during WWII. I enjoyed it from the time I first read it, and have reread it many a time since. The Walker children inadvertantly sail across the North Sea in a snall yacht, after first being swept out to sea and then sailing through a storm. Covers a short time-span but a lot of realistic adventures.

Some of the events in this book were based on real-life events that happened to Ransome himself and the yacht in the story, the Goblin, was based on a yacht that Arthur Ransome owned, all of which no doubt contributed to the realism of this book.

An unplanned adventure
This book takes place following the events of "Pigeon Post," and finds the four Walkers--John, Susan, Titty, and Roger--staying near Ipswich with their mother and four-year-old sister Bridget, waiting for their Naval father to return home from the Orient and take up his new assignment at the nearby station.Though Ransome doesn't say so directly, it's implied that they were called away from their beloved lake before the promised Second Battle of the Houseboat; they're thinking enviously of the Amazons and the D's making Captain Flint and his partner Timothy "Squashy Hat" Stedding walk the plank, and desperately missing the fun of having a small sailcraft of their own.Then they help Jim Brading, owner of the cutter "Goblin," moor to his buoy, and before they know it they've made a lifelong friend and been invited to do a little sailing while he waits to be joined by his uncle.Their landlady, who knows him, recommends him to their mother, who consents on condition that they'll be home by teatime Friday, since Cdr. Walker (returning overland by train) is expected on Saturday.But then Jim leaves them anchored near Felixstowe Dock while he makes a run ashore to get gasoline for the engine, and before he returns a sea fog rolls up the river, the tide rises, and "Goblin" begins to drag her anchor.To their horror the Walkers find themselves drifting out into the North Sea--on a stormy night.

Ransome portrays his young characters in a very believable way--worried, scared, yet determined to make the best of their situation, and making good use of the lessons they've learned aboard their little "Swallow" to keep themselves afloat.The storm prevents them from turning back, and Susan is deathly seasick, but they know that if they keep going they're certain to hit Europe--and they do, in the form of Holland, but not before their unplanned presence gives them the opportunity of rescuing a "shipwrecked sailor," a half-drowned kitten they name Sinbad.And just as they're coming into port, they encounter a very unexpected helper (you'll have to read the book to find out who it is!).Though this series is always at its best when set in the Lake Country, this entry is almost equally enjoyable, full of thrills and nautical throwaway.

In Peril on the Sea
You don't know how lucky you are to be able to simply order this book; I had to contact a bookseller in London to buy it when I was 16. This one completed my set of "Swallows and Amazon" books, and maybe that's why I love it so much. Live the adventure that starts as just a wonderful, if tame few days and nights onboard a small sailing boat and turns into a struggle for survival, and a journey of growth, as each of the four children learns his or her own weaknesses and strengths. A children's book for all ages. ... Read more

Product Description
In this (more or less) sequel to the adventures of Coot Club, Arthur Ransome returns once more to his beloved Norfolk Broads where trouble is again brewing for Joe, Bill, and Pete, the three boatbuilders' sons who (more or less) live full-time aboard the Death and Glory and the three Coots, Tom, Dorothea and Dick. The problem seems to be that boats are constantly being set adrift, and all the evidence points squarely at the three Death and Glories. In a clever bit of detective work, and with some help from a sophisticated photographic trap, the Big Six manage to exonerate themselves and catch the villains.

Of course, this book, like all Ransome titles, is about a lot more than clever detective work; it has the smell of water and tarred rope, the sound of birds, and the plight of children left to their own devices and coping with everything from catching monster pike to trapping midnight eels.

Ransome, who wrote these imperishable books, spent his childhood in England's Lake District, and after a career in journalism that took him to Russia (where he married Trostsky's secretary), China, and Egypt (interspersed with summers of cruising through the Baltic Sea and the canals of Europe), he retired to Coniston where he could practise his favorite pastimes of sailing and fishing and where he wrote Swallows and Amazons. What sets these books apart from other books of the period is both his attention to detail and his admirable ability to provide a wealth of practical information. If kids still exist who wish to know how to read a compass, handle a main sheet, reef a sail, bait a hook, or pitch a tent, these are the books they'll embrace. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Arthur Ransome
Many American children are tremendous readers.As a grandmother I find it difficult to give my grandchildren books that they haven't read.The Arthur Ransome books are a good solution. The books are nearly all about Messing About in Boats, and they are set in Britain.Get used to a girl named Titty and the books are not too dated.The kids all specialize in self reliance which I consider a vital characteristic in the young!

"I've never tried writing a detective story..."
That's what Dorothea Callum, aspiring novelist, says when she and brother Dick learn of the troubles of their old friends the Norfolk Coots.But a detective story is what the Callums end up living as they try to help mend the situation.This book probably takes place concurrently with "We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea" and "Secret Water;" it's September, near the end of the summer holidays, and Dick and Dorothea have come down to Horning to stay with Mrs. Barrable again (presumably their parents are off on another archaeological jaunt).The Six of the title are the D's, doctor's son Tom Dudgeon, and the young Death and Glories, Bill, Joe, and Pete (Port and Starboard, the twin sisters of "Coot Club," have been shipped off to boarding school in Paris).The D&G's, through circumstantial evidence, are suspected of setting adrift a number of boats and of stealing and selling a quantity of naval shackles, and Constable Tedder is determined to bring them to book.In sheer self-defense the Six resolve to prove their innocence--and thanks to Dorothea's creative mind and Dick's keen powers of observation, plus a clever photographic trap, they succeed.Though the very best volumes of this series take place in the Lake Country, and there's not as much sailing or even imaginative play in this one as in most, the detections of the Six are very well done, with some of the best scenes coming as Dorothea tries to put herself into the skin of "the villain," as they call whoever seems to be setting the D&G's up for a fall.A good change of pace for this beloved series.

A fun detective adventure
The D's return to the S&A series and to the Norfolk Broads in a late summer adventure.

This time, they come to the aid of their friends, the Coot Club, who find themselves suspects when boats are repeatedly set adrift along the broads, always when they're around.The police are questioning them and the townspeople are hostile.The kids, sadly realizing that they can't count on the law, start gathering evidence on their own.

What follows is a fun low-tech version of CSI as they inspect bicycle tire tracks, handprints in paint, and other clues.But when a theft heats things up, the kids have to set a cunning trap to reveal the real culprits.

This is a fun, stimulating novel for kids.Lots of independent adventure and some practical material for budding criminalists.And there's Ransome's affectionate portrait of the Norfolk Broads and its waterside lifestyle that (by all reports) is mostly gone now.

One debit:A character briefly cuts loose with some language that was innocent for the time period but is objectionable today.(The dreaded "N" word...)It's not done maliciously but parents might want to ready a discussion with their kids about it.But don't let that stop you from enjoying this fine book.

Next in the series:A problematic fantasy with MISSEE LEE.

This book is awesome!
I loved this book and all the other books by Arthur Ransome.My Mom read them when she was young and said I should read them too.She was right.The story is exciting, the characters are fun and I couldn't put this book down.

Detective work on the Norfolk Broads
The other group of children that Arthur Ransome created, the Death or Glories and Tom Dudgeon, Port and Starboard, collectively known as the Coot Club are here embroiled in another adventure. Accompanied by the Ds, whom avid readers will know from earlier AR books, they turn detective and track down the villians who are casting off boats on the Norfolk Broads. As usual Arthur Ransome was writing in a class of his own. A note of caution: don't imagine that Norfolk and the surrounding countryside, especially Lowestoft, bears any resemblance to the places described in these books. The last two thirds of the 20th century were notkind to our poor old country and nowhere is this more starkly illustrated than in our seaside towns. Read the book instead and dream of life before the car was king. ... Read more

Product Description
The second installment in the "Swallows and Amazons" children's book series focuses on camping adventures. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

One of my favorite children's authors
My favorite aspect of Arthur Ransome books is that they always take place in a self-contained community of children that is totally devoid of an adult presence. Ransome's characters are not only are skilled sailors (under the capable leadership of Captain Nancy), but they fish, camp and go on a variety of overnight adventures and arrange for their own food, shelter, warmth and the other personal needs without any adult intervention whatsoever. Of course, they also get into a variety of scrapes but also manage to get out of them on their own.

In Swallowdale they go exploring and camp in a secret valley, experience ship wreck and get temporarily lost. The writing is appropriate for a 4th grade reading level and up, though children five and up will enjoy having Swallowdale read to them. Arthur Ransome always leaves me nostalgic for a time when children spent most of their free time in the streets playing stick ball and kick the can, rather than taking piano and soccer lessons.

A great read for outdoor enthusiasts of any age who enjoy sailing, camping and/or fishing.

By Dr Stuart Jeanne Bramhall, author of THE MOST REVOLUTIONARY ACT: MEMOIR OF AN AMERICAN REFUGEE

love it
The Swallows and Amazons series is great and I think that each book is great on its own but that hey are even better as a series.Who hasn't dreamed of owning an island and these kids basically get to do just that living on their own for the whole summer.Lots of adventures and intrigue, so fun.

Knickerbockerbreaker!
What more can be said than knickerbockerbreaker?This was my guide to what camping should be - we even tried it once and called our camp Swallowdale - one can always dream!

Adventure and charm!
The Swallows return to their favorite lake a year later, but things have changed slightly...the Amazons are dealing with a visit from a tyrannical great-aunt and can't go sailing with them!While sailing about on their own, the Swallows' boat experiences a wreck and their sailing adventures on the lake are in danger.

This book continues the adventures of the brave kids we first met in SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS, only they're a year older and a little nervier.The books' descriptions of camping and exploring are fun, fun, fun; I remember doing similar things as a child.The story also gives some good lessons to kids, although not in a preachy fashion...we see the importance of being calm in a crisis, and how an otherwise bad situation can be turned into a positive experience.Also, the boat-race scene at the end has a great scene of good sportsmanship, as the losers enthusiastically and sincerely congratulate the winners and compliment them on their sailing.And, as present in SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS, there is the element of using one's imagination.

The mountain-climbing scenes are good, with an unexpectedly poignant moment at the summit.The lost-in-the-fog scenes are actually quite atmospheric and memorable.

The book's main problem is that it is rather dated, but for some readers, that's part of the charm.The great-aunt's insistance on Victorian-era manners may not click too much with modern readers, although they'll probably be able to think of their elders who they see as being too old-fashioned.The book takes place in a circa 1930 England, when charcoal-burners and horse-drawn wagons were still commonplace in rural areas; some might find the setting too alien, while others may become absorbed into it.

Despite those few flaws, this is still a 5-star book in my view.Great for parents and children, and a great inspiration for outdoor adventures.

Note:This book makes references to an imaginary character, "Peter Duck," who was the subject of a sort of collective fairy tale that the group made up over the winter holiday.That story is told in the next book in the series, PETER DUCK.

Peril and adventure on the Lakes
One year after the events of "Swallows and Amazons," the four Walkers return to the Lake to spend the summer holidays, looking forward to more thrilling adventures with the Blackett sisters and their uncle, Captain Flint.To their dismay, they discover that the Blacketts' Great-Aunt--a strait-laced and somewhat tyrannical person who brought their mother and uncle up--is staying at Beckfoot and badly cramping the two pirates' style.And then the Walkers' boat "Swallow" is wrecked on the far side of the lake, forcing them to find a new camp.In dealing with these challenges the six show their mettle once again--and even manage to get away for an overnight climb of Kanchenjunga, as they christen the tallest of the nearby hills.Along the way Roger and Titty get lost when a sea-fog rolls in over the moors, and the outwitting of Great-Aunt Maria furnishes a fair share of suspense.Once again Ransome tells his tale without talking down, seeming to assume a child's viewpoint with an ease matched by few writers.Another excellent family read-aloud that should be owned by every household even if they don't care for boats or camping. ... Read more

Product Description
The original cast of the famed Swallows and Amazons series is sailing under the stars and the command of Captain Flint in the South China Sea when Gibbet, their pet monkey, grabs the captain's cigar and drops it in the fuel tank. In minutes, the ship is ablaze (and doomed), and our seven luckless protagonists are adrift in two small boats. They make their way to land, only to find themselves the captives of one of the last remaining pirates operating off the China Coast. But Missee Lee, as it turns out, is no ordinary pirate; her father had sent her off to Cambridge University to prepare her for a life as a teacher. But when her father takes ill and dies, she finds herself struggling to hold together the Three Island Confederation (Tiger, Turtle, and Dragon) he had created, and to be recognized as his legitimate heir and ruler of the Island Kingdom.



Ransome is, as always, the consummate storyteller. Here he takes the reader not only on the usual sailing adventures and cliff-hanging escapades, but also into Chinese culture. (It's no accident that, like so many of Ransome's protagonists, Missee Lee is a woman, or that her Latin is almost as refined as her sailing skills.) It is also no wonder that The Observer called this, the tenth book in the series, "his best yet . . . a book to buy, to read, and to read again, not once but many times." The Guardian put it "in a class by itself." For Ransome, unlike so many writers of his and our generation, was particular in writing about things he knew and had studied first-hand, whether it was a foreign culture, a classical language, a cryptographic code, or the finer points of seamanship. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Missee Lee, I never forgot you!
Some sixty years ago, in a two-room schoolhouse built in the 1800's, I met "Missee Lee". Our only teacher taught all grades (1st-6th),a total of about 20 children at any one time! She had amassed a small library, housed in orange crates; many of the status of Arthur Ransome's series. This book swept me away from post-war shortages, and into the China Sea. Pirates, sailing ships, rocky coasts covered with paths, caves, monkeys, smells of cloves and curry - children being valued for their clever ideas, adventures around every corner, intrigue and mystery! I dreamt about this story and sailing between the rocky islands, tidal bores and the Great Dragon of China - the Yangtze River. I am still fascinated with China to this day! Amazon.com reunited me with this and several other memorable books from my childhood, but none so loved as "Missee Lee"!Thank you!

One of the two "fictional" stories in the Swallows and Amazons series
As another reviewer has commented, MISSEE LEE is subtitled "A sequel to PETER DUCK" which is a tipoff that this is another "fantasy" entry in the Swallows and Amazons series. In one or two of the other books, it's mentioned that the Swallows and Amazons spent a winter holiday making up the "Peter Duck" story, and Missee Lee is the 2nd along this line. As such, it's a bit more of an adventure fantasy than the rest of the series, but a very entertaining one.

As the title would suggest, the story is set on the chinese coast before WW2 - the Walkers and Blackett twins plus their Uncle Jim are shipwrecked and captured by Chinese pirates, who are ruled by the title character, a young Cambridge-educated and very anglophile Chinese woman. She's a great character - torn between her anglophile views but with a very chinese sense of family loyalty and responsibilty. The Swallows and Amazons eventually of course make their escape without any heads lost.

Like all of the Swallows and Amazons books, it's a great read for kids - and, like all the series, it emphasises the children's independance and self-reliance and their ability to do things for themselves. Adults are generally fairly marginal characters in this series, as they should be. The portrayl of the chinese would be seen now as politically incorrect no doubt - lets just hope the book stays below the radar of the PC crowd.

Overall, it's a great read, a classic really, but best read after at least Swallows and Amazons, Swallowdale and Peter Duck. After those 3, it doesn;t really matter where it falls in the sequence of reading.

Dated but fun
MISSEE LEE is subtitled "A sequel to PETER DUCK" which should be a tipoff; this is another "fantasy" entry into the S&A series.As such, it has more exotic locations and real danger than the other books.

While cruising around the world with Uncle Jim, the Walker and Blackett children are thrown into serious danger when their sailboat burns and sinks, and then the two lifeboats are separated, while in the South China Seas.Eventually all are captured by Chinese pirates, who are lorded over by the title character, a young Cambridge-educated Chinese woman.

She's one of the most interesting characters in the series, a person with strong yearnings for Western culture and a Western way of life (her real ambition was to be a teacher), but also with a stronger sense of duty to her Chinese father's legacy of controlling the pirates on the three islands.The Blacketts are overjoyed to be in the hands of real pirates although Jim seems to be the only one cognizant to the fact that they could all lose their heads.

In fact, Missee Lee decides to have it both ways, keeping her English "guests" and starting her own Cambridge-style classes in Latin, while still maintaining her hold on the pirates.But things get messy (especially when she discovers the Walkers' father is a naval officer) and eventually Uncle Jim and the children engineer an escape.

It's quite dated in its view of the Chinese, although better than most of the period (that tended to think of the Chinese as all evil, period, end of sentence), and some of the Chinese characters are given some good dimension, including one of the pirates who's quite ruthless and violent but also has a soft spot for birds.

The typical S&A themes of courage, resourcefulness and self-reliance run through this book is more fantastic than the others in the series.Still, as all the S&A series, it's good fun.

Next:The D's return in PICTS AND MARTYRS.

Lovely, albeit dated, book
I love the whole Swallows and Amazons series, but somehow I read Missee Lee only once -- perhaps it got lost from the library or something. So I had the pleasure of rediscovering it a few years ago when my kids were the right age for it. It's a wonderful "reading aloud" book (as are "We didn't mean to go to sea" and "Great Northern"), with a strong female character -- unusual in children's books from 65 years ago! -- and terrific storytelling and pacing.

(Some of) the Chinese in this book come off as crafty, selfish, barbaric, etc. That's quite intentional -- their characters are supposed to be crafty, selfish, or barbaric. Because we see them only through the eyes of the English, they tend to be a bit one-dimensional as well. Probably some people out there is saying that this book is politically incorrect; if so, I urge them to tell their children not to read it. (The children will, of course, promptly read it!)

In the meantime, enjoy this with your family.

Twenty-two gong tale belong velly well all ages bimeby
Subtitled "Swallows and Amazons in the South China Seas", this tenth volume in Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series is actually a sequel to the second, "Peter Duck". Those readers familiar with the background to the earlier volume will not be surprised to learn that the emphasis within this book is on rather wild and exotic high-seas adventuring for a group of six English school children, together with their middle-aged uncle, a parrot and a mischievous monkey, aboard their schooner, Wild Cat.

This time around, the crew of the Wild Cat (without Peter Duck) again find themselves face to face with pirates, although under somewhat different circumstances and of a rather different kind from those in their earlier adventure. They also face a fate that English schoolchildren probably once considered worse than death - a life of perpetual Latin lessons!

Anyone coming to this book without the benefit of at least the first three volumes of the series ("Swallows and Amazons", "Peter Duck" and "Swallowdale") may struggle a little with just who people are and why things are the way they are, so I don't recommend diving straight into the series here! If you've read the first three books, though, there is absolutely no need to leave this one until its place in the published sequence, as it does not tie into any of the intervening volumes. Anyone familiar with the earlier books will know exactly what to expect here; nor will they be disappointed. Whilst aimed at children, the book remains a delightful read whatever one's age. ... Read more

Product Description
It all started with a coot's nest. Dorothy and Dick meet Tom Dodgeon, Port and Starboard, and three pirate salvagers all members of the Coot Club Bird Protection Society. When one of the coot's nests is disturbed by a shipful of Hullabaloos-rude holiday boaters - trouble begins. Frantic chases, calamitous boat collisions, and near drownings fill the pages of this exciting fifth addition to Ransome's classic children's series. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

new characters introduced
The Swallows and Amazons series is great and I think that each book is great on its own but that hey are even better as a series.Who hasn't dreamed of owning an island and these kids basically get to do just that living on their own for the whole summer.Lots of adventures and intrigue, so fun.

Ransome rocks!
Grew up reading this series - Ransome formed my understanding of how family life could be.Coot Club was my first mystery and all others pale in comparison.

Nice Lightweight Sailing Adventure
This is one of my favorites of the entire S&A series.It is one of the most sailing intensive books providing great details about sailing through tidal river regions.The Norfolk Broads region described is sort of a sailing paradise. Like all of these books, the adventure is very lightweight, and only really suitable for a child with some degree of patience.Part of the appeal is how realistic the books are.I think children enjoy reading stories in which child characters are doing so many fun things on their own with very minimal adult intervention.In my experience these books appeal most to children in the 9-11 age bracket.The book's theme of nature preservation and activism is one that also is fairly relevant even today.

Coot Club
If you have read any of the Swallows and Amazons books and liked them you will love this one too. In my opinion they are all good, but this is definitely one of his best!

The D's Take Center Stage
After being introduced in the last book, WINTER HOLIDAY, the D's (aka Dick and Dorothea Callum), have their own adventure.

It's the Easter holiday following their winter adventure, and they're going to the Norfolk Broads to stay with a friend of their mother, Mrs. Barrable, to stay on a boat.The D's are eager to learn some sailing but are desolated to find out that they can't.But soon they're involved with the Coot Club:leader Tom Dudgeon, twins Port and Starboard, and the Death-and-Glories, a trio of youngsters who play at piracy.The Coot Club watches over the waterbirds nesting in the Broads, and after a boatload of crass tourists anchors near an important nest and refuses to move, Tom sets them adrift and ends up being hunted.The D's and Mrs. Barrable come to the rescue, hiding him on their boat and using him to teach sailing.

Ransome's fondness for the Norfolk Broads shines through.I didn't get into it as much as some of the other books, mainly because I miss the Swallows and Amazons as well as the lake setting.But this book is interesting for some of the more serious themes that creep in.This is the first S&A book that takes a strong environmental theme, and it's great to see that in something from the 30s.It also explores the theme of sometimes you have to take a stand for what you believe in, even if it gets you in trouble.We also see the tension between residents of the broads and noisy vacationers who don't respect them or the rules of the area.There are also elegiac glimmers of the passage of time, of how the Broads aren't quite what they used to be, although that might not necessarily be bad.It's also fun to see Mrs. Barrable referred to as "The Admiral" by the crew.

It's a fun book, and easy for me to visualize after visiting places like Chincoteague and the eastern shore of Maryland.It's nice spending time with the D's and seeing some of the new characters, who will make a return appearance later in the series.Next book:PIGEON POST, in which the D's reunite with the S&As and return to the lake. ... Read more

Product Description
The third book in Arthur Ransome's wonderful series for children, Peter Duck takes intrepid explorers John, Susan, Titty, and Roger Walker and fearsome Amazon pirates Nancy and Peggy Blackett onto the high seas. Under the command of the infamous Captain Flint (Nancy and Peggy's Uncle Jim), the children brave a real-life pirate and his cutthroat crew, fogy, sharks, and the ravenous crabs of Crab Island in the search of buried treasure. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

they go to sea
The Swallows and Amazons series is great and I think that each book is great on its own but that hey are even better as a series.Who hasn't dreamed of owning an island and these kids basically get to do just that living on their own for the whole summer.Lots of adventures and intrigue, so fun.

Swallows and Amazons series-how I learned to sail
I grew up reading these books; I can't imagine going without them. In the 1970's, I had to write to the British publisher to get the one book missing from my father's collection. You're luckier; all you have to do is order them here. You will learn how to sail and how to speak British English. You will revel in simpler things and remember how annoyingly the grownups can try to stop us children from doing what we need to do. You will see strong female role models and learn how to bank a fire to keep it going overnight. You will learn how gypsies mark their trails and how to swim. And you will love every moment and wish there was more. You need theses books!

Peter Duck
This perfectly written pirate adventure storyranks favorably with Treasure Island.As a sea tale, the detail and description of the voyage of the schooner"Wild Cat" from Lowestoft, on England's East Coast, across the Atlantic to the Caribbean could stand alone without the added excitement of a ripping good pirate story populated with well developed and believable characters,

An edge-of-your-seat thriller that can be enjoyed by the young and old alike!!!
This is supposed to be "just a children's book", but I was about 30 when I first read this book, and I tell you... it was ABSOLUTELY AWESOME and WILDLY EXCITING to me!The author is really good at writing this series about the exciting outdoor adventures of the Walker and Blackett children, and this is one of his most intensely thrilling tales.His vivid descriptions of the various scenes are extremely good, and the unexpected and clever plot twists are very satisfying and enjoyable.Highly recommended!

Good fun
This book is actually a fantasy within the context of the series.In the previous book, SWALLOWDALE, we encounter Peter Duck as a fictional character and how he was the star of a story made up by the children and Captain Flint during a winter stay in a boat.

That aside, this is good adventure.The children assemble for a summer holiday sailing in the English Channel, and are joined by a crusty old seaman who's being pursued by some criminals, who know that he knows where a treasure is buried in the Caribbean.After some misadventures, the crew sets off across the Atlantic, along the way picking up a small boy who was part of the criminal's crew.

In the Caribbean, they encounter some eerie crabs and some harrowing scenes that are the aftermath of a volcanic explosion at some distance.The treasure is found and the villains are dispatched in a rather overly convenient deus ex machina ending that I rather disliked; it's the only reason I chopped a star off this otherwise grand entertainment.

This book has the usual S&A series messages about the joys of adventure and of being outdoors, and the importance of courage and self-reliance as well as teamwork.Next in the series:WINTER HOLIDAY. ... Read more

Product Description
The first title in Arthur Ransome's classic series, originally published in 1930: for children, for grownups, for anyone captivated by the world of adventure and imagination. Swallows and Amazons introduces the lovable Walker family, the camp on Wild Cat island, the able-bodied catboat Swallow, and the two intrepid Amazons, Nancy and Peggy Blackett. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (67)

Is it the book, or your childhood imagination?
This book comes enormously recommended by the Brits who read it as children. I read it as an American adult and I'll be interested to see what my children make of it. I think it fits into those books that were so magical not because of what they contained but because of what I, the 10 year old reader, contained. I can see this story of summer freedom with a sailboat, as a jumping off point for imagination.

My childhood equivalent was "What the Witch Left" -- it was my mind that made it a five star book.

Dated, but Nice
Four siblings, ranging in age from seven to about thirteen, are spending their summer vacation on a lake with their mother and baby sister.They gain permission to sail out to and camp on an island they can see from their property, and their grand adventure begins.

The kids soon meet up with two girls who live nearby and who have their own sailboat and their own claim to the island.The two groups plan a friendly battle to determine which boat crew is better, and a daring plan is hatched.

Although a rather old and somewhat dated novel, this story was compelling and interesting.I really liked the way the siblings got along with each other and were able to work together toward their goals.I also liked the interaction of the kids with the adults in the story, from the Swallows' mother, to the farmers who provide their milk, to the Amazons' uncle toward the end of the book.

I sometimes got lost in the sailing terminology, as I am not a sailor, but the plot of the story was enough to keep me going through the unfamiliar words.

Best summer reading!!
Excellent and as the gift was for my grandson I am writing for him who says he loves it and can't wait for more!!Thank you.

fun read
The Swallows and Amazons series is great and I think that the first one really starts the series off right.Who hasn't dreamed of owning an island and these kids basically get to do just that living on their own for the whole summer.Lots of adventures and intrigue, so fun.

Still magic
I first read these books in the late fifties, when I was about ten. My family was living overseas and these were among the few children's books available. I loved them from the first page, read every one, and as an adult I have collected all of them--some in old editions, much harder to find 20+ years ago. I tried reading them to my children in the 1980s, and they didn't care for them--vocabulary unfamiliar, old-fashioned, and British. But I still love them. They do indeed remind us of a much simpler time--pre WWII-Britain. Unlike "Five Children and It" and other books of the same vintage, or today's Harry Potter books, there is no "magic" in these books. The magic takes place in the real earth, water, and people world. Adventures are invented and carried out by the children themselves. Adults are a presence and affect the plots, but they stay in the background. When not feeling well, or in a nostalgic mood, I pick these up again. ... Read more

Product Description
The crew's on holiday, and they turn their energies to mining for gold, aided by pigeon messengers Homer, Sophocles, and Sappho. The adventurers comb the nearby hills for a fabled lost claim, while being shadowed by a mysterious figure they dub "squashy hat." Undeterred by drought, sudden brushfires, and the continuing presence of Squashy Hat, the young prospectors persevere in their quest - with surprising results. Full of the dangers and dark adventures of old mines and forgotten claims, Pigeon Post has an irresistible appeal to the persistent explorer in every child.


"There is plenty of excitement, a little danger, a quality of thinking, planning and fun in connection with a gold-mine. The ingenuity of this group of children is delightful and stimulating."
The Times Literary Supplement ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

More fun and adventure
The summer after the snowy adventures in WINTER HOLIDAY and the D's learning to sail in COOT CLUB, the three sets of children (the Swallows, the Amazons, and the D's) converge on the lake again for their vacation.(By the chronology of the series, it's summer of 1932.)

However, there's complications.Only one boat, so they can't all sail.Camping is difficult because Mrs. Blackett is distracted with redecorating, and also because it's an especially dry summer there and the locals are paranoid of fires.

Making the best of it, they hear rumors of gold in them thar hills from a local miner, and decide to prospect themselves while Uncle Jim is on his way back from a failed mining expedition in South America.They soon find a lanky stranger, dubbed "Squashy Hat," seems to be prospecting himself, and they view him as a dangerous competitor.

The kids face all sorts of challenges, from camping near a farm whose owner won't let them cook for themselves and insists they sleep near the house....to dealing with the pigeons of the title that keep them in touch with the Amazon's mum....to finding the possible gold mine....to very real dangers, including a cave-in in an abandoned mine to a runaway brush fire.

All the usual delights of the S&A series are here...the joys of camping and exploring, added to the information about pigeons (and Dick's invention of an alarm) and information about prospecting and mining (which few kids are likely to try today, but you never know if there's a junior metallurgist lurking in your brood).Also some environmental content in the snarky view of tourists who carelessly start a fire that nearly kills the heroes.

Good fun, might inspire your younguns.Heck, it's inspired this adult to investigate a gold mine said to be nearby....

Next in the series:WE DIDN'T MEAN TO GO TO SEA.

The ultimate volume of theseries
This was the first of Ransome's "Swallows & Amazons" series that I ever read, and it's still my favorite.We find the Swallows (the four Walkers), the Amazons (Captain Nancy Blackett and sister-Mate Peggy), and the D's (Dick and Dorothea Callum) headquartering at Beckfoot, the old Blackett house, while impatiently waiting for Captain Flint (the Amazons' Uncle Jim) to return from South America."His mine wasn't any good," says Nancy, and she decides to fill in the time by searching for gold up on the high fells above the lake, following hints given by Slater Bob, a local miner.Complicating the program is the distance from Beckfoot to the target area and the fact that the Lake Country is seeing its driest summer in memory--and the presence of the mysterious lanky man the explorers call "Squashy Hat," who seems to be looking for the same thing they are.The book takes its title from the three homing pigeons the Blacketts own and resolve to use to keep Mrs. Blackett informed of their adventures while they camp nearer to the moors.The countryside is splendidly drawn, the children are unique individuals well sketched, their adventures and inventions are so thoroughly described that an American child could probably duplicate them, and there are thrills galore when the fells catch fire.What's more, the eight actually find...but that would be telling!Read it for yourself and find out.

Like most children's books of its period, this one is equally enjoyable by adults and would make a splendid family read-aloud.Highly recommended.

A book to fire the imagination of children of all ages
In this sixth `S & A' adventure, summer has come once more, and the Swallows are back in the Lake District, together with the two D's, on another holiday with their boating friends, the Amazon pirates. This time, the children desert the lake and take instead to the High Topps, prospecting for gold.

While adult readers will be unable to do other than admire the children's enthusiasm (sufficiently infectious to draw most young readers into it wholesale), they will probably have a feeling of impending disaster from quite early on, in this book. The Amazons' impetuous natures, combined with the others' general inexperience and limited knowledge of mining and its chemistry, lead them all (except, perhaps, the more sensible Susan!) into more scrapes, as well as rather more dangerous situations, than usual.

This leads to a different (but no less absorbing) desire to keep reading this tale than that likely to affect the more naïve younger reader. Both young and old are, nevertheless, likely to spend much of the time on tenterhooks during this book, as the young prospectors explore old mine workings, try their hand at charcoal burning and build and operate a blast furnace in their camp, out on the tinder-dry fells! For once, one can only feel something of a sense of relief that times have changed since 1936, when this was written! One can't help feeling - and being grateful for the fact - that modern children would not be terribly interested in repeating some of the activities undertaken here.

In summary, then, "Pigeon Post" is every bit as exciting (and at times far more nerve-wracking) and educational as the other books in this series: another winner from Arthur Ransome.

Swallows and Amazons at their best!
Undoubtedly the best of Arthur Ransome's 10 book Swallows and Amazons series.Suspense, intruige and natural disasters keep children and adults alike on their toes throughout.The plausibility of the story adds anexciting dimension to the plot. Ransome's superb ability to developdistinct personalities for his characters is one of the most enjoyableaspects of his writing, and Pigeon Post is perhaps his best example ofthis.

8 children go searching for gold, but they have competition
The Swallows, Amazons and D's have regrouped and are now looking for goldin the high hills west of Mrs. Blackett's farm. But with the drought dryingup all the water from possible camp sites, fires occuring all the time anda rival gold miner on the high hills it isn't going to be easy. Anothermasterpeice from Authur Ransome and I recommend it for any child who'sdreamed of having adventures. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Racism In Ransome
...This is a great adventure story, but definitely has racist elements. However, like the racism in the Little House books towards the native American Indians, it may well be a result of ignorance rather than malice.

Swallows and Amazons in China
Once again Arthur Ransome comes up with a grand adventure for the children he introduced in his earlier books. This time they are sailing a small schooner through little-charted waters in the China Sea. After a disastrous fire on board, they are washed ashore, along with Captain Flint (Nancy and Peggy's Uncle Jim if you are not familiar with these books) on a small chain of islands and captured by Chinese pirates. Those over-sensitive souls among us may find the depiction of Chinese natives, and the rendition of their accents, less than PC, but I read this book for the first time at the impressionable age of nine and I don't think it coloured my attitude to Chinese people in any negative way. What this books does, as superbly as all Mr Ransome's others, is convey the excitement that children feel if they are allowed a little freedom. Our poor children today, molly-coddled and over-protected by our anxious selves can only dream of adventures such as these. Luckily, they have books like this to transport them to such faraway places where we, as parents, cannot interfere.

International Educator
I read this book as a child and they helped me to get interested in reading.I then went on to read every book in the series.About four years ago, I attend an international school's meeting in the Hague Holland and was sitting with 4 other teachers supervising students in a hotel at night and we got to talking about our favorite children's book.I named this book and two others agreed.I think that it was this book that fired me up to want to have adventure and is responsible for me becoming an international educator.I have spent most of my life searching for that thrill of adventure that I first experienced in these books.I recommend this series to you.

A marvelous realistic fantisy for the child in me
I am Roger Bowman,it's been ten years since i've read these books.I'm now reading them again for my girlfriend,and enjoying them as much now as i did the first fifteen times as a child-teenager. Were it not for this series i would not know how or have the desire to read books today... Thank-you!My mother would read a few pages and say "Good-night Roger" and leave me alone with the book and i just had to know what happened next. That's when i learned to read.Maybe the fact that one of the children was named Roger gave me the incentive to follow these children on their adventures,i just had to see what happened to the boy Roger next. ... Read more

Product Description
Roger Wardale's 40-year search uncovers the secret locations featured in Arthur Ransome's original "Swallows & Amazons" adventures. Containing fully revised text and rare photographs to satisfy even the most avid reader of "Swallows & Amazons", this book aims to give two-fold pleasure - enjoy the original stories, and...discover the farms, rivers, islands, towns and hills that formed their backdrop. It is abundantly illustrated with maps, sketches and more than fifty photographs to help identify the secret locations featured in the ever-popular series of books. Numerous quotations from Arthur Ransome support both text and photographs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Swallows & amazons
This book is probably more enjoyed by adults then children.I thought this book would be great for my 10yr old son who has read and reread the entire Swallows & Amazon book series.He did enjoy looking at the real places, but he was not as excited to read about them as he was the series.I think he will appreciate it more when he gets older.Thanks to Roger Wardale for doing this.I know I certainly enjoyed learning more about Arthur Ransome and seeing where all the adventures of the Swallows & Amazons were created!

Wonderful background to the Swalows and Amazons
A well written source to the background to Ransomes Swallows and Amazons stories. A lot of interesting information on the places of the Lake District and the real people that were the models for the characters. Very enjoyable

Extremely Helpful Navigation Tool
Having read the first of Ransome's books in 1958, then learning that the places actually existed, it took me most of 50 years to get to the source.

Business travel took me to England a few years ago, so I went to the Lake District, as I'd wished to do for decades.I made it to Coniston, had a pint (or so) at the Black Bull & found the National Park bookstore & this book.It's the best of the lot sold there.I ended up with a couple of others, but this is clearly the best for people who wish to find the places described in the books.

Perfect for locating the actual locations ArthurRansome used1
I went to Coniston, England to see the area where Arthur Ransome wrote many of the Swallows and Amazon books.I found this book at the National Park store and used it to locate almost all of the locations from the books!Wildcat Island took me right back to my youth reading these books and dreaming of what it was like.Must have if you plan to visit.

A Wonderful Book
This is a wonderful book for all ages. I love to read it, savouring each part until, sadly, I finish the book. 'In Search of Swallows and Amazons'is a must-have and truly a timeless classic for everyone. ... Read more

Product Description
In the eighth book in Arthur Ransome's beloved Swallows and Amazons series, the five Walker children are left on a "desert island" by their parents with provisions for a long stay and a blank map to fill in. Like all of Ransome's books, this is at once a real adventure and a lesson in the practicalities of exploring - in this case, of surveying the inlets, coves, mudflats, and estuaries of "Walker Island." Naturally, there are enemies to overcome (another clan named "The Eels") and friends to meet (who else but the intrepid "Amazons?"). And, as always, the children do it all solo. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

tides and mud
This is my least favorite Swallows & Amazons book.The Swallows, Amazons, and new friends the Eels are mapping the islands and channels in a tidal slough.This means waiting for the right tide, sailing somewhere, getting stuck a lot in the mud, taking bearings, and racing back to camp before the tide goes out.Repeat for five or six days.I wish they'd gone with Nancy's idea of a war instead!

The surveying and the illustrations of the map in progress are interesting, but you need the completed map (in the front cover) to follow Ransome's vague descriptions, and that map reveals many plot points, spoiling any sense of tension.

A slower paced Ransome
After writing some of the most thrilling children's stories ever (including those featuring a certain H. Potter), Ransome slowed the pace with Secret Water. Actually, the plot is just a bit feeble and while it has its moments of excitement, this may be the weakest of the Swallows and Amazons series. I read it directly after We Didn't Mean to go to Sea and Great Northern and it lacks their power and drama. Yet in Secret Water the reader is among friends and that, plus the usual Ransome writing skills, make it well worth reading.

Explorers and savages
Set immediately following the events of "We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea," this volume in the Swallows & Amazons series finds the Walkers once again sunk in gloom as their father, Cdr. Walker, has been denied his hoped-for leave, which will apparently prevent them from going on their planned family cruise to a region of marshes and islands suggested by their friend Jim Brading.Then Daddy gets his Great Idea: he and Mother will "maroon" the children (including Ship's Baby Bridget and Ship's Kitten Sinbad) with camping gear and provisions while they go up to London, and the "shipwrecked sailors" will explore and chart the unknown regions in which they've found themselves.The large island that will serve as their headquarters is surrounded by mud flats at low tide and has a farm (promptly christened a "native kraal" by Titty) near the middle of it, and with a small sailing boat of their own, the "Wizard," the self-sufficient and experienced Walkers anticipate no real trouble.

They've scarcely set up camp when they meet a local boy whom they dub "the Mastodon" (for the queer round tracks he leaves while walking with his "splatchers," a kind of snowshoe for use in mud) and learn that he's anticipating the arrival of his "tribe," the Eels, who camp on a nearby island every year for a spell of pretend savagery.(Why they're so late in coming--it's almost the end of the summer holidays--is never properly explained.)Then, to their astonishment and delight, the Amazons, Nancy and Peggy Blackett, join them with another small boat, "Firefly," and Nancy, as always, starts livening things up by suggesting that the explorers become blood members of the tribe.The Mastodon is willing: he thinks Bridget would make a much better human sacrifice (the centerpiece of the annual corroborree) than the usual one, skinny Daisy.Then the Eels hear of the explorers' presence and send word to him to get rid of them any way he can, and at first it looks as if the whole expedition will be ruined.But this time it's Bridget, though only four, who saves the day when she gets "captured" by the Eels and explains the situation to them.Immediate friendship results, and the mapmaking and corroborree are both resounding successes.

As always, Ransome draws his characters and setting with skill and avoids "talking down" to his readers.Titty and Roger, the Able-Seamen, though still young enough to get in trouble, are clearly growing and maturing through their past experiences, as is shown in one episode where they're stranded on the mudflats with the tide coming in.Suspense and tension abound almost to the very last page, as the Amazons in "Firefly" and the AB's in "Wizard," having resolved to complete the blank map left by Cdr. Walker, race the returning "Goblin" to the explorers' camp.The harum-scarum Blacketts, who always improve any book they appear in, add their special brand of imagination, and while it still isn't quite as good as the adventures set in the Lake Country, this volume in the series is a definite keeper.

One of the best
This Arthur Ransome is as good as the rest, well written and with a new venue. This is a real location in almost all respects. What I missed reading this as a child was the context. Commander Walker gets an urgent summonds from the navy. As an adult, looking at the date of publication, I see that the book came out in November 1939. This was immediately after WWII was declared by Britain and Commander Walker was obviously very busy!
The plot of this book uses the usual Ransome themes, sailing exploration and a human sacrifice! You may not learn as much about sailing in this one, but that's all been covered in the others. As usual some of the main characters are strong females, in this case two!
Read and enjoy!

A step backwards for the S/A series...
...but still worth reading.

After the serious adventure in the last book, WE DIDN'T MEAN TO GO TO SEA, we have the Swallows and Amazons back in the pretending and exploring mode.The major difference this time is that they're completely on their own, since the Swallows' parents were so impressed with their responsibility in the last book.

We get John's growing sense of responsibility toward the others, and some of the pains of growing up.We also get a boat race, some pretend-cannibalism, and a serious problem when some of the kids are trapped by a rising tide.

The scenery and setting are well-described; one really gets a visual sense of where they are and what they're doing.Some new kids, the Eels, are introduced, and are fairly interesting, but are never seen again in the course of the series.

Next:The D's return in THE BIG SIX. ... Read more

Product Description
Jibbooms and bobstays! Those two Blackett sisters are back at it again, and Nancy is right there in the thick of it. Their mother (doubtless suffering from exhaustion) has gone off sailing in the North Sea with Captain Flint on a rest cure, but she has allowed her two daughters to stay a fortnight at Beckfoot on the lakeshore with their trusty cook. She's also permitted their two old friends, Dick and Dorothea Callum, to come up for a visit. But when their redoubtable Great Aunt (aka G. A.) hears of their abandonment, she's horrified and off on the next train. The Amazons are dismayed; not only will their solo holiday be ruined but now they'll have to hide their two guests in the woods in an abandoned shepherd's cottage (where they'll be forced to live off the land like savages, ergo "The Picts") while they'll be required to dress up in white pinafores, practice the pianoforte, and recite reams of parlor poetry aloud (ergo "The Martyrs"). Not much stretch here; no one dares trifle with the G.A.



As usual with Ransome, the fun is gentle, the action nonstop, and the instructions on everything from tickling trout to setting anchors are precise and informed. Even the formidable maiden aunt proves to have virtues, not the least of which is her ability to say she's sorry.



This is the eleventh title in a beloved series that have endeared themselves to three generations of readers, books as credible today as when Ransome penned them on the shores of his beloved Lake District in the 1930s. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

A jaunty and amusing tale
This story gives us the D's and the Amazons together in their own tale.





Dick and Dot Callum have come to the Blackett home, to stay with their friends Nancy and Peggy, aka the Amazons.Things are a little odd; Mrs. Blackett is away on a Scandinavian cruise (recovering from a bad bout of the flu) and her brother Jim (nicknamed "Captain Flint" by the kids) is with her.The children are to be watched over by the household servants and Jim's friend and business partner Timothy (surely not a situation to be condoned today!).But the Blackett's great-aunt, whom series fans will remember from previous volumes, gets wind of the mother's absence and is quickly on her way to oversee things.





This is simply unacceptable!The children look for a solution, and finally find one worthy of an "I Love Lucy" episode:until the Great-Aunt leaves and Mrs. Blackett returns, the D's will hide out in a nearby abandoned hut, still in good shape, and the Amazons will have to act like proper little ladies until Mother returns.





Quite a bit is spent on the D's learning to cope for themselves, with the help of a local farm boy.The D's are more intellectual than physical (Dick is an analytical naturalist, Dot is a dreamy would-be novelist), but they quickly learn to deal with life in the wild.But when they have to get some of Jim's chemical equipment from the house, and then the Great-Aunt disappears, things start getting out of hand....





This is an amusing tale, perhaps one of the more comic of the series.This one brings back the infamous Great-Aunt, an ogre of previous novels, but this time Ransome treats her with more depth and compassion.Instead of simply being an ill-tempered fussy brute, we see her as a woman shaped by her times and circumstances, trying to do what she thinks is right and do well by her family.As a reader, I certainly can't blame her for wanting to be sure the children were propery watched over, although I could emphasize with the kids' desire to have their usual freedom back.





As always, all ends well, and the reader is left with a sense of a growing understanding between the Great-Aunt and the Amazons, and some mutual respect.





As always, the feel of rural England in the 30s is part of the fun of the novel, and the adventures of the D's as they grow in self-confidence and self-reliance, handling their own boat and cooking their own meals.





Coming up next:A last hurrah for the gang in GREAT NORTHERN?

Possibly my favorite of the series
When Dick and Dot arrive in the lake country they are expecting a pleasant visit with friends while learning how to sail their very own boat.But things never work out as planned, especially when Nancy has a hand in things -- first thing anyone knows she has Dick and Dot living in hiding from "the Great Aunt" and everybody else reluctantly in on the secret that must not be found out.

This is a charming book telling of a simpler time, yet it manages to be adventurous and exciting, too.Perfect for all ages, even my 4 year old enjoys listening to these novels.

Perhaps my favorite in the series
It's hard to pick a favorite -- all the Swallows and Amazon books are good, and I'm sure everybody has their own favorite -- but I particularly like the character of the Great Aunt in this book. She is so...PROPER and so...INTIMIDATING, and the interactions the other characters have with her make for a good story. There is plenty of intrigue, plenty of almost-crisis, plenty of devious scheming by Nancy & crew to subvert the tyranny of the Great Aunt so they can achieve their own goals.

Amazon Hospitality?
Very few things scare Amazon Pirate First Mate Peggie Blackett -- mostly thunder, but also the Great Aunt.

The only thing that scares Amazon Pirate Captain Nancy Blackett (well, "Ruth", properly, but Amazon Pirates are ruthless) is the Great Aunt.

Great Aunt Maria Turner, who raised Nancy & Peggie's widowed Mother and their Uncle Jim, is a formidable maiden lady of firm opinion, unbending will and repressive manner."Having fun" is not on her list of summer tasks that well-brought-up children need to perform during the Summer Holidays.And dressing in comfortable shorts, knit shirts and red stocking caps is hardly suitable for Young Ladies in their early teens.

Not that this is particularly worrisome in the normal frame of things, because she lives Far Away.

But somehow Aunt Maria gets word that Ruth and Margaret are to be alone for a goodly part of the Summer Holidays as Uncle Jim (Captain Flint) takes their mother on a cruise for her health... and decides to visit Beckfoot for most of that period and make sure that Nancy and Peggie don't get into trouble.

Not that this, even so, would be worse than Unpleasant... except that their friends, Dick & Dorothea Callum ("the D's") are to be staying at Beckfoot... and it's a sure bet that the Great Aunt would visit a devastating scold on their Mother if she found out that they were having other guests their own age to stay, to be supervised only by Cook.

And so, quicker than you can say "Are you sure this isn't a Bad Idea?" Dick and Dorothea, city kids with limited experience at camping and fending for themselves, wind up ensconced for the length of the GA's visit in "the Dog's Home" -- a one-room stone forester's hut in the woods up above the lake.

And, since a number of people know that they're supposed to be at Beckfoot, and don't know it's a secret, and because Dick is supposed to be working with Captain Flint's friend on Captain FLint's houseboat on some chemical analysis of samples from a mine they discovered in the previous book and because Murphy's Law applies to everything in life, from there the story becomes more and more complex and full of hair's-breadth escapes and humourous adventures and close calls (the burglary at Beckfoot being particularly fun).

In the end, of course, all is (relatively) well, the GA gone, the D's have their own boat to race with "Swallow" and "Amazon" and the Swallows are due to arrive any day and most of the Summer still stretches ahead.

Like all the rest of the series, humourous adventure fiction for the YA age group. (And perhaps a bit younger; since they were mostly written for British juvenile audiences, and sixty to seventy years ago to boot, the "Swallows & Amazons" books may contain references and language that today's younger readers may have some problems with.OTOH, i first read "Swallows & Amazons" [the first book] at age eight or nine and i had no problem with it.)

Which is not to say that adults can't enjoy them -- many do.Buy them for a son, daughter, nephew or niece and give them a try before you pass them on; Ransome has a huge adult readership worldwide, even today.

More great tales from the Lake District
One of the greatest of the series, this book unusually partners the Ds and the Amazons, with the Swallows not arriving until the day after the last page. As usual Nancy and Peggy are in dire straits, this time thanks to a surprise visit from the dreaded Great Aunt. With their guests, Dick and Dorothea just arrived, they are forced to take extreme measures to keep life on, what they consider, an even keel. Dragged into their web of deception are a myriad of �Natives� including the doctor, Squashy Hat, Cook and the postman. As usual, there is continual suspense and excitement and once again we are transported to a better world and left the better for it. ... Read more

Product Description
The third book in Arthur Ransome's wonderful series for children, Peter Duck takes intrepid explorers John, Susan, Titty, and Roger Walker and fearsome Amazon pirates Nancy and Peggy Blackett onto the high seas. Under the command of the infamous Captain Flint (Nancy and Peggy's Uncle Jim), the children brave a real-life pirate and his cutthroat crew, fogy, sharks, and the ravenous crabs of Crab Island in the search of buried treasure. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

they go to sea
The Swallows and Amazons series is great and I think that each book is great on its own but that hey are even better as a series.Who hasn't dreamed of owning an island and these kids basically get to do just that living on their own for the whole summer.Lots of adventures and intrigue, so fun.

Swallows and Amazons series-how I learned to sail
I grew up reading these books; I can't imagine going without them. In the 1970's, I had to write to the British publisher to get the one book missing from my father's collection. You're luckier; all you have to do is order them here. You will learn how to sail and how to speak British English. You will revel in simpler things and remember how annoyingly the grownups can try to stop us children from doing what we need to do. You will see strong female role models and learn how to bank a fire to keep it going overnight. You will learn how gypsies mark their trails and how to swim. And you will love every moment and wish there was more. You need theses books!

Peter Duck
This perfectly written pirate adventure storyranks favorably with Treasure Island.As a sea tale, the detail and description of the voyage of the schooner"Wild Cat" from Lowestoft, on England's East Coast, across the Atlantic to the Caribbean could stand alone without the added excitement of a ripping good pirate story populated with well developed and believable characters,

An edge-of-your-seat thriller that can be enjoyed by the young and old alike!!!
This is supposed to be "just a children's book", but I was about 30 when I first read this book, and I tell you... it was ABSOLUTELY AWESOME and WILDLY EXCITING to me!The author is really good at writing this series about the exciting outdoor adventures of the Walker and Blackett children, and this is one of his most intensely thrilling tales.His vivid descriptions of the various scenes are extremely good, and the unexpected and clever plot twists are very satisfying and enjoyable.Highly recommended!

Good fun
This book is actually a fantasy within the context of the series.In the previous book, SWALLOWDALE, we encounter Peter Duck as a fictional character and how he was the star of a story made up by the children and Captain Flint during a winter stay in a boat.

That aside, this is good adventure.The children assemble for a summer holiday sailing in the English Channel, and are joined by a crusty old seaman who's being pursued by some criminals, who know that he knows where a treasure is buried in the Caribbean.After some misadventures, the crew sets off across the Atlantic, along the way picking up a small boy who was part of the criminal's crew.

In the Caribbean, they encounter some eerie crabs and some harrowing scenes that are the aftermath of a volcanic explosion at some distance.The treasure is found and the villains are dispatched in a rather overly convenient deus ex machina ending that I rather disliked; it's the only reason I chopped a star off this otherwise grand entertainment.

This book has the usual S&A series messages about the joys of adventure and of being outdoors, and the importance of courage and self-reliance as well as teamwork.Next in the series:WINTER HOLIDAY. ... Read more

Product Description
The stories in this book are those that Russian peasants tell their children and each other. In Russia hardly anybody is too old for fairy stories, and I have even heard soldiers on their way to the war talking of very wise and very beautiful princesses as they drank their tea by the side of the road. I think there must be more fairy stories told in Russia than anywhere else in the world. In this book are a few of those I like best. I have taken my own way with them more or less, writing them mostly from memory. They, or versions like them, are to be found in the coloured chap-books, in Afanasiev's great collection, or in solemn, serious volumes of folklorists writing for the learned. My book is not for the learned, or indeed for grown-up people at all. No people who really like fairy stories ever grow up altogether. This is a book written far away in Russia, for English children who play in deep lanes with wild roses above them in the high hedges, or by the [vi] small singing becks that dance down the gray fells at home. Russian fairyland is quite different. Under my windows the wavelets of the Volkhov (which has its part in one of the stories) are beating quietly in the dusk. A gold light burns on a timber raft floating down the river. Beyond the river in the blue midsummer twilight are the broad Russian plain and the distant forest. Somewhere in that forest of great trees—a forest so big that the forests of England are little woods beside it—is the hut where old Peter sits at night and tells these stories to his grandchildren. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

As an avid reader of Arthur Ransome's books, make sure you're ordering from a reputable publisher
Be warned, the book published by General Books LLC is an el cheapo version, using OCR scanning and an automated scanning device which can miss complete pages. Typos are frequent and there's no table of contents, also, there was absolutely no editing of the book. This is all stated on the publishers web site (google them and read - you'll be as shocked as I was when you get all the details). There are NO illustrations.

The reviews asoociated with this book from General Books LLC are from a version from a different (and reputable) publisher. The owner of General Books LLC, VDM Publishing, is gaining noteriety for these ripoffs - almost every review of their books (around 500,000 of them from one imprint or another now listed on Amazon) by an actual buyer is negative, many are extremely so.

If you have bought the version from General Books LLC by mistake, you can return to Amazon within 30 days(but check Amazon's Return Policy for the details)

Some will love, some won't
OK, yeah, my title is a truism, but I think it applies here.If you like old-fashioned folk tales, as opposed to Disneyesque fairy tales, then you'll love this book.In other words, if you like the original Grimm tales, as opposed to the cleaned-up and defanged versions you often see nowadays, then you'll love this book.If you only let your kids read stuff where nobody is ever naughty and where nothing is really scary, then you should pass on this.Examples: One story has a bad-tempered man who hits people, and who gets his comeuppance in the end.Several stories have a traditional Russian witch, who is dangerous and not particularly nice, but who is also not altogether evil.

I think I enjoyed it more than my kids, so I only gave it 4 stars, since I think most people would buy this for a kid.

Best people to buy this for: adults who like folk tales, kids 8+ if good reading skill, kids 11+ if average reading skill, parents who are sick and tired of the usual pablum they are forced to read to their kids at bedtime.

Imaginative Tales for Kids
This was the first storybook that was ever read to me. TheBook tells the story of an uncle that lives in the chill of Russia during the winter with his nephews. As days go by, he starts telling stories to them ...

Thesestories, are perfect for children ages 10 and up. They arewritten prettymuch as fables, all of them having some kind of insight as to how peopleare. No violence is included in the text, though some is meant to beunderstood, as in Little Red Riding Hood.

Do get this book. Read it outloud to your young and see their reaction. ... Read more

Product Description
Arthur Ransome is best known for the twelve immortal ''Swallows and Amazons'' books he wrote on his return from Russia in 1928. From his prose he appears a genial and gentle Englishman, who, like his protagonists, pursued benign maritime adventures. Nothing could be further from the truth. By the time he wrote his masterpieces, the most interesting episodes of his life were well behind him. For Ransome led a double, and often tortured, life. Before his fame as an author, he was notorious for very different reasons: between 1917 and 1924, he was the Russian correspondent for the Daily News and the Manchester Guardian, and his sympathy for the Bolshevik regime gave him unparalleled access to its leaders, policies, politics, and plots. He was also the lover, and later the husband, of Evgenia Shelepina, Trotsky's private secretary, as well as friends with Karl Radek, the Bolshevik's Chief of Propaganda, and Felix Dzerzhinsky, founder of the secret police. In denying the horrors that followed the Revolution, and in considering Stalin a latter-day Cromwell, he was the bane of the British establishment. Yet his contacts earned him not only the admiration of liberals, both in the U.K. and the U.S., but a place in the British Secret Intelligence Service.

In this biography, Chambers traces Ransome's life back to his earliest childhood, his struggles as a hack writer, and his flight from a disastrous marriage, then on to the decade he spent in Russia during that country's violent, formative years, ostensibly as a journalist, but more accurately as a spy (albeit a sympathetic one). The book's genius lies in Chambers's complete understanding of the Revolution's complexity, the rise and fall of the factions, the extreme personalities who guided it and were often sacrificed to it. He explores the tensions Ransome always felt between his allegiance to England's decencies and the egalitarian Bolshevik vision, between competing romantic attachments, between the Lake Country he loved and always considered home and the lure of the Russian steppes to which he repeatedly returned. What emerges is not only history, recorded by someone who was there to witness it, but also the story of an immensely troubled and conflicted human being not entirely at home in either culture or country.

Winner of the Biographers' Club Best First Biography Prize, 2009 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Fascinating insight into Arthur Ransome
Arthur Ransome was, in the mid-twentieth century, what J.K. Rowling is today: author of a series of children's books which shaped the imagination of a generation. Rooted in the heyday of the British Empire, "Swallows and Amazons" and it's numerous and very populat sequels described a nostalgic Utopia that's still popular today.

However, before becoming a popular children's author, Arthur Ransome was famous for different reasons and this book illuminates his life all too well. Between 1917 and 1924, as Russian correspondent for the "Daily News" and "Manchester Guardian", he was an uncritical apologist for the Bolshevik regime, with unique access to the revolutionary leaders. As the Red Army engaged with an Allied invasion of Russia, Ransome was conducting a love affair with Evgenia Shelepina, private secretary to Leon Trotsky, then Soviet Commissar for War. As the intimate friend of Karl Radek, the Bolshevik Chief of Propaganda, he denied the Red Terror and compared Lenin to Oliver Cromwell. No English journalist was considered more controversial, or more damaging to British security. This is a fascinating, often chilling revisionist biography of an English icon through perhaps the most formative decade of the twentieth century.

Well worth the read for anyone who wants to know more about Ransome - but beware, reading this book will undoubtedly alter any image you may have had of the man if all you have read previously are the Swallows and Amazons series.

So who exactly was he?
Roland Chambers gives us the materials that we need to understand this elusive, adventurous, enigmatic man, who seems to have spent most of his life running away from anyone or anything that caused him difficulty or might question his own view of himself. He ran away from his education, his wife and child, from his country, his early friends and from the revolution that he espoused but eventually found too shocking. He could never, though, rid himself of his romantic notion of Lenin -- the very prototype of the unerring man of power from whom the liberal romantic never can withhold his admiration and even love. Ransome saw Lenin as "generous and humorous, every line on his face a line of laughter". Tell that to his political opponents, if you can find their graves.

Ransome was born into the English middle-class intelligentsia -- a cousin of Laurence Binyon -- inheriting a confident, liberal attitude to social change. He fled to Russia in 1913 from an acrimonious divorce, the source of lifelong estrangement from his daughter, Tabitha. In Russia he fell in with a romantic ideal of revolution, also middle-class in origin but spiced with an intoxicating whiff of persecution. It was a tradition that was to swing progressively to the Left under the stress of wartime defeat and Tsarist military and civil incompetence, destroying its adherents in successive convulsions until only the Bolsheviks, and of course Ransome himself, remained standing. What distinguished the Bolsheviks, besides their ruthlessness, was their centralist economic dogma, the aggression of their vision for Russia and the world, and their determination to end the war with Germany. In 1920 Bertrand Russell visited Russia with some naive English intellectuals. But he was not deceived: "Cruelty, poverty, suspicion, formed the very air we breathed ... everything that I valued in human life [had been] destroyed in the interests of a glib and narrow philosophy" was his verdict. Lenin was no doubt still smiling, but Ransome, whose ideal of revolution had managed to accommodate every step in the leftward slide, and who had made cronies of each successive coterie of rulers, had not stayed to see the worst. He left Russia in 1919, returning only for brief journalistic visits during the Twenties.

Having begun his literary career as an author, Ransome became a journalist. His inside knowledge of the Russian situation was thought valuable to some in London, as in reverse was his knowledge of Britain to successive Russian contacts. Was he a spy? His personality -- venturesome, inquisitive, bold but self-doubting -- is not at all untypical of many who have decorated the fringes of the intelligence community since time immemorial and who are able to serve more than one master and to turn difficult political situations to their own literary and personal account. MI5 regarded him with acute suspicion. MI6 recruited him for what he could offer, but he could not have told either side much that they did not already know and he was certainly not a man to poke around in corners looking for secret information. On the contrary, he was entirely public in what he did and said, and both sides probably calculated his usefulness very accurately. The Russians never locked him up or threatened him with execution as they did Lockhart. Ransome deceived nobody but himself. As Chambers makes clear, he was an idealist who sought and spoke the truth as he saw it, almost to anyone who cared to listen.

Rare Perspective on "Embedded" Journalism
Having read none of Ransome's children's books for which he is well known in Britain, I was fascinated by the account of the role of journalists in Russia during World War I and during the Russian Revolution.Apart from Ransome'sinternal struggles to know what things he believed and what political forces he supported was the intrigue of his need to be trusted and of use to all sides in the world-changing struggles he was witnessing.I couldn't help but wonder what parts of his experience offer insights for understanding the concept of "embedded journalism" today. Gaining access to inside information and retaining ones's exit options must be a struggle for modern journalists as well as it was for Ransome.The book often reads like a novel but is rich in helping one understand the birth of the Russian Revolution, especially in its relationship to Britain and her WW I allies and the world of journalism.Ransome often seems a confused and confusing individual but his later work seems to be that for which he was best suited.I came away feeling that he was happiest when engaged in a new lark and that the Russian experience, overall, became a little too serious to fit his personality.

... Read more

Product Description
A new edition of the classic account of a voyage in search of Arthur Ransome following clues found among the contents of the beloved author's trunk. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Excellent overview and history of Ransome's Swallows & Amazons series
Hardyment does a wonderful job of dealing with the history and background of Ransome's Swallows & Amazons stories.She gently removes some of the veil from the family of children that Ransome used to partially create his characters, but leaves dedicated readers with most of their illusions still intact.

She also spent quite a bit of time traveling around the Lake Country trying to pin down the various locations from the stories, some which were easy and others still a mystery (like Swallowdale).This book will be a welcome addition to any Ransome fan's library.

The story behind my favourite childhood books
Like many English boys (and girls... and not just English, come to think of it) growing up in the 1940s and 1950s, my favourite books were Arthur Ransome's wonderful stories about children messing about in boats in the Lake District, Norfolk Broads, and elsewhere. I read them all at least five times, from "Swallows & Amazon" to "Great Northern". I bought a paperback set for my children, and I think my son really got into them too. Now there's a new book (technically a new expanded edition) that gives the complete back-story: of Arthur Ransome, his life, and his boats; of the family whose children inspired the original stories; of the relationship between the geography of the books and the real world; and of visiting the places about which he wrote so many years ago. Nicely written, well illustrated with historic and contemporary photographs, and utterly fascinating.

Not surprisingly, I'm planning to re-read the stories all over again, with fresh eyes. ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
Arthur Ransome began to fish as a boy in the Lake District, but the pursuit became almost an obsession when he lived in Russia during World War I and reported the Revolution and its aftermath for the "Daily News" and the "Manchester Guardian". When he returned to England with Trotsky's secretary as his wife, he settled in Lakeland and began his four-year weekly column "Rod and Line" for the "Guardian", stopping only to write the twelve Swallows and Amazons books for children which made him famous. Although he published a few of these and other fishing essays in two books, "Rod and Line" and "Mainly about Fishing", most of his writing and broadcasting on the subject has never appeared in book form. Jeremy Swift's book not only tells for the first time of Ransome's fishing adventures - in exotic places with men of history or by small English streams with unknown, eccentric fellow countrymen - but it rescues many of Ransome's fishing articles from the oblivion of the archive shelf. ... Read more

Product Description
Publisher: G. Allen ... Read more