#58 Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome (1930)
36 points
“Nearly everything about this book is perfect. I love the descriptions of the water, the sailing terminology, the faux rivalry between sailors and pirates, the uncle-turned-enemy, Captain Flint, the sense of adventure coupled with the comfort and security of knowing the world is safe enough to travel alone. The writing is flawless, and the characters so well-crafted they become practically real people, with fully developed personalities and voices. This is the kind of book you don’t outgrow, no matter how old you get. “ – Katie Ahearn
I wanted a boat! I wanted English lakes! I wanted long holidays with very little adult supervision! - Anne Nesbet
Maybe some of you are surprised to see the appearance of Arthur Ransome on this list. Honestly the thing I knew him best for was his marriage to Trotsky’s secretary (and the fact he was almost prosecuted for treason, but that’s neither here nor there). Yet he was considered, according to The Guardian, “the 1930s equivalent of JK Rowling.” Prolific and fun all at once.
The description from (sorry) Wikipedia reads: “The story follows the Walker children (John, Susan, Titty and Roger), who sail a borrowed dinghy named Swallow, and the Blackett children (Nancy and Peggy), who sail a dinghy named Amazon. The Walkers are staying at a farm near a lake during the school holidays and want to camp on an island in the lake; the Blacketts live in a house nearby. The children meet on the island which they call Wild Cat Island, and have a series of adventures, involving sailing, camping, fishing, exploration and piracy.”
In these books (Swallows and Amazons was one of twelve altogether) Ransome took his memories of the English Lake District and used those recollections to conjure up, in Silvey’s words, “endless summer vacation.” Eventually he would settle in that same Lake District, finding time to grumble at tiny tot and future author Diana Wynne Jones (but that is a story for another day, my children).
Fans of this book are found far and wide. In Anita Silvey’s Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Children’s Book, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Anthony Lewis selected this book as the one that had the greatest impact on his life. Says he, “How I got into Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons books I cannot imagine . . . But the books had a charm and fascination that captured me despite my lack of acquaintance with many of the subjects.”
- Read some of the book here.
- Boat crazy? Find out what the boats from the books would have looked like.
- Gotta say, though. It’s odd how folks make money off of this book. Would you believe that there’s a Swallows and Amazons River and Jungle Tour Company?
The Guardian said of it, “Mr. Ransome has the same magical power that Lewis Carr
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Interestingly Kate Adie (yes the frontline reporter) was on "I've Never Seen Star Wars" BBC Radio 4 yesterday evening reading exactly this book.
She remarked, and I agree with her, that it was, even back then, a fantasy to which children were meant to aspire and that even having such adventures in their minds was the liberation needed.
I grew up in the country a long time ago and had some of the Swallows and Amazons freedom. I feel so sorry for youngsters today who cannot go anywhere alone or be given their longed-for autonomy.
I grew up first in the country, then in the city and then back to the country. Even as pre-schoolers we roamed in the country. (I lived in what you in the UK would call a "village". Everyone knew us. The traffic was light enough not to be a danger. I pedalled everywhere on my tricycle. Even in the city I pedalled my way to and from school and around the local district. My brother and I went to the beach alone - allowed to go into the water as high as our knees. Back in the country we would disappear at daybreak with sandwiches and bottles of water (and often a book) and come back when it was dark. All the local children did the same thing.
We liked Elinor Lyon's books more than Arthur Ransome's though - her children were much more like us!
My kids grew up on the outskirts of Cambridge. They had a boat, and were allowed to go on adventures on the river as long as I was in the rough vicinity. They cycled to friends' houses alone. This is in the early years of this century - it's still possible. It's parental fear rather than real danger that hobbles children. In fact, mobile phones should help to allay those fears. My kids could take their boat out because I was up-river with a phone. They could cycle to friends' houses because they could phone when they got there.
It's true that children's lives are but a shadow of what they used to be. I think this is mainly due to the ridiculous tabloid hysteria surrounding alleged paedophiles some ten years ago - and that was mainly to sell newspapers.
I used to walk into town unaccompanied all the time from the age of 8 to pick up my Beano (about 10p in those days, not a couple of quid like now) and back - and, even if I had been offered a sweetie or the chance to go to see some puppies back at the house of a moustached man in an Austin Allegro, I would have known not to thanks to a ginger cat voiced by Kenny Everett!
I also was lucky enough to have lots of freedom. I remember wandering round Belfast by myself, visiting the libary, the newly opened Museum, and my favourite bookshop in the town centre at the age of 10 or 11. If you got lost you just asked someone to tell you the way. More often than not they'd take you all the way there.
And I suspect that a modern day Just William would either be in care or Borstal.
Thanks everyone for your comments, and apologies that a virus on my computer led to such a long delay in replying.
Some lovely memories of country childhoods! Cat - was Elinor Lyon "The Children Who Lived in a Barn" - I remember that, although I preferred Enid Blyton's Secret Island - the Barn children did too much (very realistic) scrubbing and cooking for my escapist tastes.
Stroppy and Richie - I agree a lot of the dangers are in people's heads, but traffic isn't, unfortunately. And it's probably more of a blight on country roads - cars racing down winding lanes are a real danger to child cyclists - than it is even in towns. But yes, children should be allowed to take more risks...only it's hard when the whole culture now is so set against it.