Product Description

To John, Susan, Titty and Roger, simply being allowed to use the boat Swallow, to go camping on the island is adventure enough. But they soon find themselves under attack from the Amazon pirates, Nancy and Peggy. Thus begins a summer of battles, alliances, exploration and discovery. Ages 9 and over.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1875 in Books
• Published on: 2001-09-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

From Amazon.co.uk
Arthur Ransome was a prolific writer of children's books. Born in Leeds in 1884, it was his father, a nature-loving history professor, who inspired his love of the outdoors and nurtured a passion for fishing. As a child he enjoyed active, outdoor holidays: sailing, camping and exploring the countryside. He used many of these holiday settings for his children's stories, notably the much loved Swallows and Amazons, a book that sits comfortably in the category of "timeless classic" and remains one of his most popular titles for young people.

It is the wholesome story of four young children, John, Susan, Titty and Roger, who set out in their boat (the Swallow of the title) to an island of adventure. All seems well until they encounter their enemy. At first they are angry at the invasion of their peaceful haven by these Amazon pirates, Nancy and Peggy, who claim ownership of the land. But in time a truce is called and the Swallows and Amazons become firm friends. Camping under open skies, swimming in clear water, fishing, exploring and making discoveries is the stuff of dreams which serves to make this so charming a tale. The author manages to capture the innocence of a time when all this was real and possible. Swallows and Amazons will transport children to a fantastical place where they can play safely and roam freely, without an adult in sight.

Amazon.co.uk Review
Arthur Ransome was a prolific writer of children's books. Born in Leeds in 1884, it was his father, a nature-loving history professor, who inspired his love of the outdoors and nurtured a passion for fishing. As a child he enjoyed active, outdoor holidays: sailing, camping and exploring the countryside. He used many of these holiday settings for his children's stories, notably the much loved Swallows and Amazons, a book that sits comfortably in the category of "timeless classic" and remains one of his most popular titles for young people.

It is the wholesome story of four young children, John, Susan, Titty and Roger, who set out in their boat (the Swallow of the title) to an island of adventure. All seems well until they encounter their enemy. At first they are angry at the invasion of their peaceful haven by these Amazon pirates, Nancy and Peggy, who claim ownership of the land. But in time a truce is called and the Swallows and Amazons become firm friends. Camping under open skies, swimming in clear water, fishing, exploring and making discoveries is the stuff of dreams which serves to make this so charming a tale. The author manages to capture the innocence of a time when all this was real and possible. Swallows and Amazons will transport children to a fantastical place where they can play safely and roam freely, without an adult in sight.

About the Author
Arthur Ransome was born in Leeds in 1884 and went to school at Rugby. He was in Russia in 1917, and witnessed the Revolution, which he reported for the Manchester Guardian. After escaping to Scandinavia, he settled in the Lake District with his Russian wife where, in 1929, he wrote Swallows and Amazons. And so began a writing career which has produced some of the real children's treasures of all time.

Customer Reviews

Qiute simply the best childrens' book ever!
Yes, I know it's sad, but this book changed my life.

"Swallows & Amazons" is now derided by many for being dated, dull and politically incorrect.

However it proved to this reader that books were A GOOD THING. To a seven year old, the book gathers you in and makes you care about and identify with the characters. This was the first proper book I ever read and understood.

Of course the writing is dated. Of course children can't roam as free as John, Susan, Titty and Roger do any more. Yes, there's no real story as such - but it DOESN'T MATTER.

I challenge anybody with open mind to read the first 50 or so pages of this book and not care about the participants and carry on entranced to the end. And the good news....there's plenty more in the series to read.

Last year, for the first time, I was ecstatic to be able to visit "the" Lake and actually landed on "the" Island. I was 34 years old at the time.

Swallows and Amazons has gripped this reader for nearly 30 years. Even now, every few months or so, I dust down a treasured copy of one of the series and read on.

Timeless evocation of the way things once were
Arthur Ransome's "Swallows and Amazons" is the first in a classic series of children's stories that will appeal to readers of all ages. The book is set in the English Lake District in the period between the two World Wars, (where the author was living at the time). It tells of a time when a healthy imagination (and the freedom to take advantage of it) was enough to keep most youngsters both amused and out of mischief. The world was a safer and simpler place back then and this book does much to make us realise just how much has been irretrievably lost since.

Not that this was ever Ransome's intention, of course. He was simply drawing upon his own boyhood experiences (from a yet earlier time) as well as contemporary ones of the children of a family friend. He used these to weave an enchanting tale that would remind those same children (by then returned 'home' to the deserts of the Middle East) of a happy summer spent sailing in England.

The story's strong basis in reality (albeit several separate realities, as it were), tempered with Ransome's love of sailing (and his knowledge of Lake District life), imbue the book with a strong sense of authority. Both the text and the author's own pen-and-ink illustrations also have an endearing charm that comes across even now, some 70 years after the book was first published. One of the great things about this book (and indeed, the whole series of books that was to follow) is that Ransome avoids most of the stereotypical treatments of children's roles that his contemporaries (as well as later authors) continually espoused. He always manages to treat (nearly!) all of his characters as equal partners in their activities, whatever their age, gender or background. The children are also afforded a greater respect and rather more freedom by the adults than is common these days, too.

And while the children's 'adventures' are nothing fantastical or extra-ordinary when viewed from an absolute perspective, Ransome manages to convey so much of the children's own excitement at their activities that the reader can't help being drawn into their world and so come to share some of that same excitement. All in all, this a delightful book and should be on everybody's essential reading list, regardless of their age!

Swallows and Amazons
Simply one of the finest children's books; in fact make that just one of the finest books. Check out the opening pages and the last paragraph - more perfect prose you will not see. Add to that his genius at creating an almost timeless period with fantastic attention to detail (camping, firelighting, sailing, cooking, childrens' relationships with adults, the list goes on and on) - although as a child I was always perturb as to when and where they went to the loo!
My father introduced them to me when I was young and now at the age of 42 with 3 small chidren I am hoping to do the same for them (am also hoping that my eldest might as a result of reading it might fixate on a sailing dinghy rather than a pony...).
If you are like me and have precious little time, then buy the Gabriel Woolf narated version on CD. Almost brought me to tears with the beauty of the prose and Woolf's faultless interpretation.
But whatever you do buy the book for the children otherwise they will miss out on the fantastic illustrations and the simple joy of creating the world of the Swallows and the Amazons for themselves.