This article is about the 1930 novel. For other uses, see Swallows and Amazons (disambiguation).
1930 children's novel by Arthur Ransome
Swallows and Amazons
First edition dust jacket cover 1930
Author
Arthur Ransome
Illustrator
1st edition was not illustrated, later editions illustrated by Clifford Webb and later Arthur Ransome
Cover artist
Steven Spurrier
Country
United Kingdom
Language
English
Series
Swallows and Amazons series
Genre
Children's, adventure novel
Publisher
Jonathan Cape
Publication date
21 July 1930
OCLC
5973192
Followed by
Swallowdale
Swallows and Amazons is a children's adventure novel by English author Arthur Ransome first published on 21 July 1930 by Jonathan Cape.[1] Set in the summer of 1929 in the Lake District, the book introduces the main characters of John, Susan, Titty and Roger Walker (Swallows); as well as their mother, Mary; and their baby sister, Bridget (nicknamed Vicky). We also meet Nancy and Peggy Blackett (Amazons); their uncle Jim (James Turner), commonly referred to as Captain Flint; and their widowed mother, Molly Blackett. It is the first book in the Swallows and Amazons series, followed by Swallowdale.
At the time, Ransome had been working as a journalist with the Manchester Guardian, but decided to become a full-time author rather than go abroad as a foreign correspondent. He did continue to write part-time for the press, however.
The book was inspired by a summer spent by Ransome teaching the children of his friends, the Altounyans, to sail. Three of the Altounyan children's names are adopted directly for the Walker family. Ransome and Ernest Altounyan bought two small dinghies called Swallow and Mavis. Ransome kept Swallow until he sold it a number of years later, while Mavis remained in the Altounyan family and is now on permanent display in the Ruskin Museum. However, later in life Ransome tried to downplay the Altounyan connections, changing the initial dedication of Swallows and Amazons and writing a new foreword which gave other sources.[2][3] In 2003, the novel was listed at number 57 on the BBC's survey The Big Read.[4]
^Muggeridge, Malcolm (21 July 1930). "Swallows and Amazons book review, 1930 – archive". The Guardian. Manchester. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
^Autobiography of Arthur Ransome, Arthur Ransome, ed. Rupert Hart-Davis, 1976
^The Life of Arthur Ransome, Hugh Brogan, 1984
^"BBC – The Big Read". BBC. April 2003. Retrieved 1 December 2012
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