Product Description

Following up clues found amongst the contents of Ransome's old trunk which was bequeathed to Leeds University, Christina Hardyment set out to settle once and for all the questions that have tantalised generations of readers of the Swallows and Amazons books. Are the people real? Are the places true? Following in their footsteps, sailing in their wake, she resolves nearly all of the big questions. She has talked to the Swallows, untangled the mysteries, determined and identified the myriad influences, incidents and locations which Ransome incorporated into his narratives. Now fully revised to account for a further twenty years of research, and newly illustrated with many extra drawings and previously unpublished photographs, this book is not only an essential companion to the Ransome books but a magical transposition of story into reality which will enchant and bewitch Ransome's millions of readers of all ages.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #78693 in Books
• Published on: 2007-01-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Review
Not only an essential companion to the Ransome books but a magical transposition of story into reality. (Footsteps )

About the Author
Christina Hardyment has written books and articles on dizzying range of subjects (including her collection of historical sewing machines, domestic technology, family life and a biography of Sir Thomas Malory). She lives in a rambling house in Oxford with a huge garden, where she is already planning camps and a treehouse for her grandchildren. Time off is spent sailing on the river, in a British Moth dinghy.

To visit Christina Hardyment's website click here

Customer Reviews

Swallows and Amazons for Real
Like generations of youngsters I read and reread Ransome's books about Swallows and Amazons and had thought the maps looked a bit like Windermere. Christina Hardyment noted the same and went searching in the Lake district for places which Ransome said were all there but moved about a bit to fit the stories. She identifies definitely all but Swallowdale, leaving you several choices for that. There are photographs of the houses used and some of the posed children Ransome used as models for his hand drawn illustrations.

I spent a very enjoyable few days checking out the Lake district sites and can dream of the Norfolk and China sites she has also had a go at identifying. A book for Ransome fans and not just for fireside reading.

Solid information on Arthur Ransome
This is a second edition which benefits from the additional information that has come to light since the first edition was published.
Any Ransome fan will benefit considerably from the contents of this book and the research that went into it.
The book also gains from the inclusion of many relevant pictures and illustrations.
For content it should merit 5 stars but I personally find the writing style a little terse and unfriendly, but then perhaps I am comparing it with Ransome's own style.

Delicious Detective work
For anyone (like me) who spent hours dreaming of being a Swallow (or even an Amazon) and then visiting the Lakes in the hopes of a glimpse of Arthur Ransome's "Real" World, but never being Quite sure... This book is a delight. The author has done some serious research in Ransome's library (which delightfully contains Captain Flint's trunk), and provides us with a wonderful insight into the real places and real people who make up Ransome's Lakes and Broads. Original photos, intriguing maps and all sorts of odds and ends bring Ransome's original stories to light. I am already planning a new holiday in the Lakes - with Real Evidence!