Arthur Ransome

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Ransome related chats and quizzes, and all things Swallows and Amazons ⛵️

Image of the front cover of the Penguin 1970s paperback edition of Swallowdale. It shows Ransome’s line drawing of the camp in Swallowdale, featuring a pale blue grey sky, and yellowish green tones in the landscape. The Swallows and Amazons crossed pennants are in the bottom left corner, above the words ‘SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS FOREVER’
Three Hullabaloos unpleasantly aboard the Margoletta
Do you remember your first encounter with Coot Club? Coot Club sees Dick and Dorothea in a brand new setting from when we last encountered them in Winter Holiday. What role do you think the Norfolk landscape has in this story? Do you think that the Ds characters develop in this book, compared with Winter Holiday? If so, how? The cast of children in this story are from very different backgrounds from one another. What do you think draws them together? What impression do we get of the ‘Hullabaloos’? How does A.R. convey this? Are there any similarities between the cast of adult characters in Coot Club, and those in the Lake District books?
A photo of the spines of several Jonathan Cape editions of Arthur Ransome books. Two have dust jackets and the rest do not.
Line drawing showing the motor cruiser Margoletta. We see her approaching us in an intimidating fashion. Three Hullabaloos are on board sporting fashionable clothes, two sitting lounging whilst the third stands and looks at us through binoculars. Ughhhh.
Image of the Jonathan Cape edition of Coot Club. It has black and white illustrations from the book interspersed with a sort of cerise colour
Mother and nurse waving the Swallows off as they sail to the Island for their first camping trip
A photo of a partially completed crossword. 45 down reads: - o - e - a - e
This line drawing shows Dick wearing spectacles and Dot sporting pigtails they are walking towards Nancy and Peggy, who are both wearing their red caps, and are pointing towards the Dogs Home, a small stone hut surrounded by trees.
Image showing a box full of Tunnocks Caramel Wafers. It is in the Tunnocks colours of yellow/gold and red and there is a painting of a very happy rosy cheeked boy on the box. He is clearly full of caramel wafers.
Map of the lake, showing Wild Cat Island, Rio, High Hills etc, from early edition of Swallows and Amazons
A crossword clue - number 28 down - ‘Relative’ (5-4)
A line drawing showing a cross section through a lake and to the hills beyond. Titty is on the left, diving for pearls. Roger is on the right, swimming with one foot on the bottom.
A stile over nothing - no fence or wall - with a path next to it
Vintage copies of various Jonathan Cape Ransomes nestled on a bookshelf, including Pigeon Post and Secret Water in dust jackets, and Picts and Martyrs and We Didn’t Mean to Go to Sea without dust jackets, and Winter Holiday wearing half a dust jacket.
Four smart Brent geese swimming on a cold blue sea. They have black heads and backs and white underneath … they look a bit like what you might get if you crossed a mallard with a penguin
An image of the cover of the Jonathan Cape publication of ‘Coot Club: A Norfolk Broads Adventure’. It shows various pen and ink illustrations from the inside of the book, including of some dinghies, interspersed with deep pink shaded areas
Photograph of a moss covered set of sandstone steps going over a most sandstone wall
Winter Holiday begins with two new characters, Dick and Dot. Why do you think Arthur Ransome chose to do this? We get to know Mrs Blackett a little more during this story. What do you think of her as a person, and as a parent? There is a lot of humour in Winter Holiday. What are your favourite moments? We see a gentle friendship developing between Mr Dixon and Dick. Why do you think these two characters are attracted to one another? If you could be dropped into any scene in the story, which part would you choose? Nancy is absent for much of the action in this story. Why do you think Arthur Ransome chose to do this? To what extent do we feel her presence? How do you think Peggy's character responds to Nancy's absence? What role does the Fram play in this story?
Winter Holiday begins with two new characters, Dick and Dot. Why do you think Arthur Ransome chose to do this? We get to know Mrs Blackett a little more during this story. What do you think of her as a person, and as a parent? There is a lot of humour in Winter Holiday. What are your favourite moments? We see a gentle friendship developing between Mr Dixon and Dick. Why do you think these two characters are attracted to one another? If you could be dropped into any scene in the story, which part would you choose? Nancy is absent for much of the action in this story. Why do you think Arthur Ransome chose to do this? To what extent do we feel her presence? How do you think Peggy’s character responds to Nancy’s absence? What role does the Fram play in this story?
Photo of a bird table, with a neighbour’s cat sitting hopefully next to it
A photograph showing some spines of Jonathan Cape editions of Arthur Ransome books. Some are in good condition, and some less so, but all very much loved.
An image of the cover of Winter Holiday by Arthur Ransome
An imagine of the book ‘Reading Series Fiction’ by Victor Watson, gently resting on aged spaniel Molly
Line drawing showing the Swallows and Amazons flags, and the words ‘Swallows and Amazons For Ever’
A line drawing showing the Swallows sitting and looking out over the lake. The illustration is called ‘Making Ships Papers’
A crossword. 17 across: _ _ _ _ D _ _ _ O
A line drawing depicts a barren rocky landscape. A furtive figure wearing a hat appears in the left of the image, in the distance, and is marked A. Three characters marked B are in the foreground on the right. One wears a cap, the others have short hair. One of the three wears spectacles and carries a hammer. All three at B are looking towards A.
A snapshot of a coloured map of High Moor and High Topps.
A view of Grasmere. The sky is blue with a few fluffy white clouds.
A drawing of Captain Nancy climbing up the newly erected trellis at Beckfoot
A photograph of a bridge over a canal, with some shrubs to the right
A line drawing shows character A (wearing a dress and leading the way) and character B (scruffy hair and shorts, following A) up to their ankles in a stream, and passing beneath a stone bridge.
An acrylic painting of Coniston, with two sailing dinghies in the foreground… one with a white sail, and one with a red sail.
A photo showing a hillside covered with snow
Character A, who wears pigtails, is holding a bottle and standing next to a table set for a meal. Character B holds a bottle and is relaxing in an open doorway. Character C, who is wearing spectacles, watches on.
A snowy scene. We see character A in the foreground, moving towards a small building which has light shining from its windows
A line drawing shows the backs of seven characters, six of whom are looking at an upper window in a house, and one is leaving on a sundial, writing. At the upper window a blue circle obscures the face of a character, although we can see two outstretched arms. A flag hangs above the window.
A character wearing spectacles sits between two rocks, behind a net that has some foliage woven into it. They are looking towards a lake and watching something intently.
A busy scene shows the inside of a lean-to, where Dot, Dick, Joe, Pete, Bill, and Tom seem engaged in various activities including marking locations on a map. A sign ‘A’ hangs on the wall, and a canine character B breaks the fourth wall.
A tall straight stick has been hammered vertically into the ground, as have three small signs. The landscape is barren, and the stick/signs throw some long shadows.
A line drawing shows a tall figure marked A, wearing a hat, appearing from between some rocks. In the foreground three characters are watching him, hidden behind some rocks. B is wearing pigtails, C has short scruffy hair, and D is sporting spectacles.
A line drawing shows four characters sitting on some raised ground overlooking a lake. A lies on his stomach and is busy writing, resting the paper on an upturned plate. B sits with her hand on a kettle. C is looking towards a small island in the distance. D has slightly scruffy hair and is busy looking through a telescope
A slightly ovoid structure floating in the sea, like ‘an enormous parrot cage with a pointed top, built on a round raft. At the top of the cage was a lantern’
A line drawing shows some shelves above a stove. On the shelves we see tea, sugar, salt, tapioca, and rice. We can also see some items with parts of their names obscured: ‘Captain’s A, Squashed B, and C Loaves’. Bubbling away on the stove is a large kettle and a saucepan (D). Outside we can see Gibber, and someone with a telescope looking at a dot on the horizon.
A line drawing shows a barren landscape. In the background a character C lies on a stretcher, which is being carried by a small party. C is waving a linear object in the air. In the foreground two characters are running towards the stretcher party, arms aloft. A is an adult, and B a child. Both wear dresses, and B wears a sun hat.
A line drawing showed a bespectacled person sporting a moustache, sitting at a desk and measuring an ovoid object using some callipers. He is frowning.
A line drawing shows a night time scene. Two characters are walking though a slightly wooded area. Character A carries a suitcase C, and leads the way. Character B follows behind and seems to sport pigtails.
A line drawing shows a long winding path, with many stick characters waving their arms in different formations
A line drawing shows a character B reaching over the side deck of a sailing vessel, grasping onto a small animal A. Character C is tugging on a rope which is tied around B’s waist, and two characters at D are holding onto B’s legs.
A line drawing shows a motor vessel marked A moored along a staithe. At C, three small characters are surrounded by several larger ones. In the foreground at C we see the back of a character holding an animal by a lead, and they are both approaching C.
An ink drawing shows a stormy scene. We see the silhouettes of characters sitting inside a tent, illuminated by a lantern. Three characters are walking away from the tent, using a torch to guide their way, and all rather bent over due to the wind and rain. The trees are blowing, and we see a fork of lightning in the night sky.
A line drawing showing a barge, with bows intact, but middle and stern rotted away. A character stands on deck, talking to three other characters who stand on the bank. A little plume of smoke is rising from a chimney.
A complicated diagram showing steps in the construction of a contraption. Components include wires, a door, a battery, and a bell.
A line drawing shows three characters (B) carrying a plank, covered with a cloth (D), towards a building (A) in the distance. A man wearing a hat (C) watches on.
A line drawing shows a snowy scene. In the foreground three characters are pulling a sledge and heading towards a cliff. Halfway up the cliff is a ledge, upon which sits another character marked A. Three more characters at the top of the cliff are pulling on a rope which reaches down close to A. A limp looking animal seems to be tied to the rope.
A line drawing shows six characters sporting hats, short-sleeved shirts and shorts, clustered about an open box. A monkey watches on from a short distance away. A spade sits unused in the foreground, and in the background we see a tangle of tree roots, fallen palms, and undergrowth.