Swallows and Amazons

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Overview

The first title in Arthur Ransome's classic series, originally published in 1930: for children, for grownups, for anyone captivated by the world of adventure and imagination. Swallows and Amazons introduces the lovable Walker family, the camp on Wild Cat Island, the able-bodied catboat Swallow, and the two intrepid Amazons, Nancy and Peggy Blackett.
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Swallows and Amazons

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More About This Book

Overview

The first title in Arthur Ransome's classic series, originally published in 1930: for children, for grownups, for anyone captivated by the world of adventure and imagination. Swallows and Amazons introduces the lovable Walker family, the camp on Wild Cat Island, the able-bodied catboat Swallow, and the two intrepid Amazons, Nancy and Peggy Blackett.
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What People Are Saying

From the Publisher
"A most enjoyable tale… A book for almost any age."—New York Times Book Review

"A master storyteller, sympathetically in touch with real children and their interests, has created plots which are eminently plausible and unexpected."—Sunday Times, in an article listing Swallows & Amazons among the "99 Best Books for Children"

"A ‘white-knuckle-ride action adventure' that could capture the imagination of the Harry Potter generation."—The Guardian

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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781567924206
  • Publisher: Godine, David R. Publishers, Inc.
  • Publication date: 7/28/2010
  • Series: Swallows and Amazons Series , #1
  • Edition number: 2
  • Pages: 351
  • Sales rank: 199,079
  • Age range: 9 - 12 Years
  • Product dimensions: 5.50 (w) x 7.90 (h) x 1.00 (d)

Meet the Author

Arthur Ransome is the author of more than thirty books for children. Born in Leeds in 1884, he enjoyed active, outdoor holidays, many of which became the settings for his children's stories. His most popular book, Swallows and Amazons, is regarded as a timeless classic of children's literature. He also wrote about the literary life of London, and about Russia before, during, and after the revolutions of 1917.

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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 5
( 11 )
Rating Distribution

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(9)

4 Star

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Sort by: Showing all of 11 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted November 12, 2012

    I love

    It is the best book,realy good worth buying

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted February 22, 2013

    Great

    This book is amazing!!!!!

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  • Posted May 22, 2012

    What did kids do to amuse and entertain themselves before televi

    What did kids do to amuse and entertain themselves before television, video games, computers, and smart phones? They played outside and used their imagination. That’s exactly what Captain John Walker, his sister Mate Susan, their sister Able-seaman Titty, and brother the Boy Roger do. Their father, probably in the Royal Navy, is on a ship at Malta but under orders for Hong-King, so for their summer vacation their mother has rented a cottage on a farm at Holly Howe located next to a huge lake. They also have a baby sister, Vicky, who is taken care of by a nurse. The children have been taught how to sail, and they have use of the farm’s sailboat, the Swallow. While out on the lake, they find an island where they receive permission to camp.
    During the course of their adventure, they meet up with the Blacketts, Captain Nancy (real name Ruth) and sister Mate Peggy, who have their own pirate sailboat, the Amazon, along with the girls’ uncle James Taylor who lives on a houseboat near the island and becomes “Captain Flint” to the children. The Swallows and the Amazons declare war on each other with victory going to the side who can take the others’ ship, then together they declare war on Captain Flint. Who will win? How will a burglary at Captain Flint’s houseboat affect their relationship? And what will they do when a huge storm comes up over Wild Cat Island? The book had its beginning long before when as a child author Arthur Mitchell Ransome, with his brother and sisters, spent most of their holidays on a farm at the south end of Coniston and played on the nearby lake, but it was further inspired by a summer in which Ransome taught the children of his friends, the Altounyans, to sail. In fact, three of the Altounyan children's names are adopted directly for the Walker family.
    Swallows and Amazons, a paean to children’s make-believe play and exploring their surrounding world, is a very pleasant story that involves the great outdoors, boats, fishing, and camping, with rich characterization, vivid descriptions, wholesome reading, and old-fashioned ideals. It includes a good deal of everyday Lakeland life in the early twentieth century, from the local farmers to charcoal burners working in the woods. Seldom have I ever come to the end of a book and felt sorry that it was over. If you read it and reach the same conclusion, you’re in luck! Ransome wrote eleven more books in the “Swallows and Amazons Forever” series: Swallowdale (1931); Peter Duck (1932); Winter Holiday (1933); Coot Club (1934); Pigeon Post (1936); We Didn't Mean To Go To Sea (1937); Secret Water (1939); The Big Six (1940); Missee Lee (1941); The Picts And The Martyrs: or Not Welcome At All (1943); and Great Northern? (1947). A thirteenth book, Coots in the North, was left incomplete at the time of Ransome's 1967 death and published in an unfinished form in 1988 with some other short works. In subsequent adventures in the series, the children progressively grow older, change their usual roles, and become explorers or miners.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted April 3, 2011

    A great read, very entertaning

    Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome is the first book in a series of 12. It is a group of British school children named John, Susan, Roger, and Titty, having all sorts on their boat, the Swallow. Once on the boat, they refer to everything in a different way. The people on shore are natives, large fish are sharks, and unidentified sailors are pirates. They come across a grouch that lives in a house boat and call him the lead pirate after they see one cannon on his deck. They later meet the Amazon pirates, who are two girls, Nancy and Peggy, who say that the Pirate is their uncle, whom they all Captain Flint. The Swallows set up a base camp on Wild Cat Island in the middle of the lake, while the Amazons use their boat house on the River Amazon. The real conflict starts when John is falsely accused of burgling Captain Flint's houseboat. The Swallows and Amazons decide to declare war on the house boat and form a fleet out of their two ships. To determine the admiral of the fleet, they will have war games, where the side to capture the other's boat wins. Titty proceeds to capture the Amazons' boat and John becomes admiral. Towards the end of break, they declare war on the houseboat, and proceed to take it over. They then make Captain Flint Walk the plank, and afterwards, he apologizes to John and he tells him that some thieves took his trunk, containing his autobiography. The group then goes to find the trunk and Captain Flint becomes an ally of the Swallows and Amazons. This is an old classic that is a great read for an avid reader or a young adult needing something to read. Reviewed by Timothy P. Corder.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 27, 2006

    Enchanting

    It's hard to explain what makes this book so charming: The writing, the way the children and their relationships with each other are shown so clearly and believably, the REALISTIC adventures they have, the sense of place....but listing those traits doesn't do the book justice. It's also really funny in places! Ransome creates a world that is clearer and lighter and more enchanting than the one most of us live in -- but he's also written a realistic book. The Lake District DOES look the way he describes it, and there could be children like the Swallows and their friends the Amazon pirates. Thank you David Godine for republishing this series and doing such a beautiful job!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted August 20, 2002

    This is a personal favorite!

    I first read this book at about age 10, and I have re-read it several times since - whenever I get the longing to go back to Wildcat Island. It is a wonderful blending of make-believe and reality that never fails to carry me away. Enjoy it for the story, yes, but even more for the way you feel while you're reading it.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 13, 2001

    Great adventure story

    You want books that promote family values? You and your youngsters are interested in camping? sailing? the outdoors? Do you like fiction that is funny, joyful, fascinating and well-paced? Books that are well written? If your answer to any of these questions is yes, here's a book you should have. Written between the great wars of the last century, set in England, it follows a family of four young children, the Walkers, through their summer of sailing, and camping adventures where their fantasies are given free rein, they band together as the Swallows, and they meet the intrepid Blackett sisters in what develops into lifelong friendships. A bonus is the inclusion of the author's pen and ink illustrations. Just an outstanding book.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted December 26, 2000

    Wonderful Book!

    I read this a while back and I loved it! I always wanted a boat like the kids have, and to go exploring.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 12, 2000

    A book for the child in all of us

    What a wonderful, gentle book! It speaks of another time, but shows us that the adventures that we take through imagination are timeless! My kids (ages 6 and 8) loved it as much as I did.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted July 21, 2000

    Swallow's and Amazon's is AMAZing

    Great book about four kids named Roger, John, Susan, and Titty, that go on a camping trip to a nearby Island in their boat Swallow. There they have many adventures. They also meet the Blackett's whose ship is named the Amazon and form an everlasting friendship.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted February 28, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

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