Date: Mon, 5 Dec 1994 23:38:02 +0000
To:VTars
From:peter@physics.otago.ac.nz (peter)
Subject:Signalling to Mars 9: Ransome families/S&A synopses

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_______________________________________________________________________
ISSUE NUMBER 9 December 1994

HAPPY WINTER HOLIDAY!!

        I carol baby Jesus on a Nor'west day
        A summer breeze is blowing accross the beach and bay
        Seagulls are wheeling where the children run to swim
        Laughter in the breakers is their Christmas hymn

Carol for a New Zealand Child, by Dorothy Ballantyne. (v2)


....which doesn't have a lot to do with Arthur Ransome, except that the writer was 
New Zealand's foremost children's literature critic, and a great Ransome fan. It 
also serves to remind the reader that we have two hemispheres, and tells what the Ss 
and As would be doing for Christmas if they had the chance.

AR didn't mention Christmas much, not being a religious person maybe he wasn't 
really into it. Winter Holiday certainly exudes the joy of winteryness, and of 
presents (Silas' and Dixon's gift of the sled to the Ds), and it was probably 
published at Christmas time too.

The Ss and As, when not exploring frozen lakes, would sit around a cozy fire on 
Peter Duck's old Norfolk wherry, making up wonderful stories about treasure and 
piracy on the China Seas (sorry, "not pilacy, plotection" as Miss Lee would say). 
Literary discussions are also the proper activity for any good Tar in these frozen 
months. So instead of another wonderful Lakeland guided walk, Hamish has given us 
his insight into Ransome's characters and their families. And Bill has written a 
helpful guide to thse of us who have difficulty placing all the stories in the right 
order.

Personally, I'll be sailing while you're all toasting marshmallows, but I'll be 
thinking of you! Have a wonderful Winter Holiday.

Peter
The Signaller
============================================================================


HAMISH'S THOUGHTS ON THE RANSOME FAMILIES

From: Hamish@gunn.demon.co.uk (Hamish Gunn)

I've followed the talk on the background of the people in the S&A
books. AR was not apparently a great supporter of the English
(and I mean English, not British <grin) class system. His main
characters though did reflect his own privileged background. For
example, they go to public school. (A residential fee paying school where
children are sent to be educated). Their parents are upper middle
class: professional/officer/independent traveller/landowner. They
have servants. I see the Blacketts as being a long established Lake
District family perhaps owning several farms. Beckfoot is not a
holiday home but a permanent residence.

In the late twenties/early thirties these people were very well off compared
to the majority. However without this background it would be
difficult to see how the S&A&Ds could have achieved what they did. It
does AR credit that we simply accept their background and forget
about it (however untypical it may have been) to concentrate on what
they get up to.

Today I think we find it a lot easier to identify with the characters
because of our greatly improved economic position. In attending TARS
events I have observed that there is a correlation between the age of
the participant and their background. A sweeping generalisation, I know,
but the S&A&D contemporaries do seem to be well-off, public-school
types!

In the Lake District of the books, everyone knew and accepted his
place in the social strata. Now we have Yahoos in powerboats,
hikers in modest walking kit - and it is difficult to tell what
their backgrounds are. (The Yahoos in the East Anglia books were
clearly well off).

AR could not ignore the social framework of the time. To be an
officer did not necessitate a monied background, similarly to be
a professor required ability, but clearly family background
determined the degree of opportunity to become such. AR chooses
occupations which demonstrate talent not inherited wealth.

In the late twenties and early thirties, the UK still had the
remnants of a strong class system. Very roughly: working, middle and
upper class. These split on a number of points, one was
average income. There was not the general gradation of income we see
today. This meant that certain opportunities were open only if one
had the economic means. Take for example education: it was difficult
for an intelligent working class man to go to University.

Another point of difference was the notion of "worth". To be an
officer, one had to have come from the right background, i.e. middle
and upper class. Somehow the upper class were regarded as being
"better" than the middle and so on.

I maintain that AR tried as much as possible to ignore the class
system in his own life. For example, look at how he behaved when in
the Lake District. He socialised with coach drivers, gypsies, charcoal
burners, farmworkers etc. In those days, the middle classes did not mix
with the working classes. AR saw the humanity in people.

Now his fictional world was based on the real world he saw around
him. So he couldn't ignore it but had to use it as a framework. What
I find interesting is that he describes the interaction of the
children with the adults in much the same way as _he_ must have
behaved i.e. accepting people for what they are, not their place in
society. The relationship between the adults in the books do not
really broach class divisions. Where they do they tend to reflect
what did happen in his time. For example the working classes are
respectful to the middle classes.

AR chose occupations for the parents of the children 
to which even working class people could aspire. It was not
unknown for working class people to work their way up the ranks to
become officers. It was not unknown for working class people to
become academics. It was not unknown for working class people to
become wealthy farmers. All of these demonstrate the use of talent.
By doing so he did not alienate readers on the basis of class.

I wouldn't go so far as to say AR made a strong conscious decision to
do this. Perhaps it was a subconscious acknowledgement of his own
beliefs.

It may be difficult for non-UK people to understand the strength of
the class system. We still have it but to a far less degree than
before the World Wars.

                             | Hamish |


============================================================================
BILL'S S&A SYNOPSES

From: BillTchr@aol.com

Kiaora Peter,

Happy Thanksgiving! (Yes, I know it's not a Kiwi holiday, but it is here, and
Mom has the turkey in the oven, and the house smells heavenly!)

I have finally finished the entire series, having just completed _Great
Northern?_ last night! I was trying to get a sense of the timeframe for the
series, and ended up making a chart/timeline from what information I could
glean from the books. I'm sure I missed various bits, as I went back through
the ones I had already read by skimming pretty quickly. I thought perhaps the
readers of S2M might be both interested and able to add a bit more
information. So, here's the chart:

Legend (characters): 
S(+) = Swallows (John, Susan, Titty, Roger) (+ = also Bridget as active
character)
A = Amazons (Nancy, Peggy)
CF = Captain Flint (Uncle Jim)
D = Dick & Dorothea
T = Tom Dudgeon
D&G = Death & Glory (Joe, Bill, Pete)
E = Eels (Daisy, Dee, Dum, Mastadon (Don))
JB = Jim Brading
PD = Peter Duck
GA = Great Aunt Maria
P&S = Port & Starboard
Adm = Admiral (Mrs Barrable)

[1] SWALLOWS & AMAZONS 
characters: S, A, CF, GA (?) (Peter Dowden thinks so)
location: Lake
boats: Swallow, Amazon, Fram (CF's houseboat)
time: end of summer hols (August), year 1
notes: Roger 7 yrs old, Daddy @ Malta, under orders for Hong Kong, Bridget 2
yrs old

[2] SWALLOWDALE
characters: S, A, CF, GA
location: Lake
boats: Swallow, Amazon
time: summer hols (August), year 2
notes: Roger 8 yrs old, Bridget 3 yrs old, story made up over winter about
Peter Duck

[3] PETER DUCK
characters: S, A, CF, PD
location: Lowestoft, Carribean
boats: Wild Cat, Swallow
time: winter, year 1??
notes: is this the made up story referred to in _Swallowdale_?

[4] WINTER HOLIDAY
characters: D, A, S, CF
location: Lake
boats: Fram, sailing sledges
time: Christmas hols, winter year 2
notes: Mother & Bridget to Malta to visit Daddy, kids learn semaphore
signalling

[5] COOT CLUB
characters: D, T, P&S, D&G, Adm
location: Norfolk Broads
boats: Titmouse, Teasel, Death&Glory, Dreadnought
time: Easter hols, year 3
notes: Easter after _Winter Holiday_, Amazons away with Captain Flint,
Swallows in South with Daddy on leave in England

[6] PIGEON POST
characters: S, A, D, (CF)
location: Lake
boats: Amazon
time: summer hols (August), year 3
notes: summer after _Winter Holiday_, 2 years after _Swallows & Amazons_,
Captain Flint in South America for most of book, Bridget has whooping cough

[7] WE DIDN'T MEAN TO GO TO SEA
characters: S, JB
location: Pin Mill
boats: Goblin
time: summer, year 3
notes: Daddy on way home from China

[8] SECRET WATER
characters: S+, E, A
location: Pin Mill
boats: Goblin, Firefly, Wizard, Lapwing
time, summer, year 3
notes: right after _WDMTGTS_ & _PP_, Dick & Dorothea left, Timothy & Captain
Flint only talk about copper, Bridget 4 1/2

[9] THE BIG SIX
characters: D, T, D&G
location: Norfolk Broads
boats: Death & Glory
time: late summer (September), year 3
notes: end of summer after _Coot Club_, right after _Pigeon Post_

[10] MISSEE LEE
characters: S, A, CF
location: China
boats: Wild Cat, Swallow, Amazon, Shining Moon
time: ??
notes: Gibber still around, knew semaphore signalling (therefore after
_Winter Holiday_)

[11] THE PICTS & THE MARTYRS
characters: D, A, GA
location: Lake
boats: Scarab, Amazon
time: beginning of summer hols, year 4
notes: beginning of summer, 2 hols after _Pigeon Post_)

[ see also "[11a] UNTITLED" below -sig]

[12] GREAT NORTHERN?
characters: S, A, D, CF
location: Scotland
boats: Sea Bear
time: summer, year 4? 5?

Some things I couldn't quite work out were exactly where  _Peter Duck_ and
_Missee Lee_ fit into the time frame, and with English summer hols being only
the month of August, could all that seemed to be crammed into that 3rd summer
really have fit? In _Missee Lee_, I thought I remembered somewhere them
saying their father was stationed in China, and how that made certain things
work out differently, but could not find it skimming through. Also, I could
find nothing about the ages of the other children besides Bridget and Roger.
Did I miss something along the way? Also, can anyone fit _Great Northern?_
more firmly into the timeline? All I could figure was that it was summer
(lack of true darkness at night), and it had to be after _Coot Club_ and
_Pigeon Post_ and _Winter Holiday_, but that still leaves it pretty wide
open. 

If the timing is right for _Pigeon Post_, _WDMTGTS_, and _Secret Water_, then
the fact that Bridget has whooping cough in _Pigeon Post_ causes a problem or
two. How long does whooping cough last? It couldn't be long, as no mention is
made of it in _WDMTGTS_ and _Secret Water_, and would she have been allowed
to go along on the _Secret Water_ expedition is she had so recently been
sick. Also, weren't Mrs Walker and Bridget (after Bridget was recovered) supposed to 
join the older Walker kids who were already up at the Lake (which was why Mrs 
Blackett had all of the kids--Swallows, Amazons, and the D's)? But then, when she 
found out that her husband was returning to England, recalled John, Susan, Titty, 
and Roger so they could be there to greet their father.How did they have time to do 
that, and get back down to Pin Mill, AND time for _Secret Water_ all before the hols 
were over? Or did Cmdr. Walker's imminent return from China change plans for going 
North? I know they all had to be the same summer, as it was the next summer after 
_Pigeon Post_ in _Picts and Martyrs_ (based on the fire notice). Hmmm...


Finally, has anyone read the sometimes mentioned unfinished book, _Coots in
the North_? I can make a guess at the characters just from the title, but
would love to know how to find it and read it! 

Hope the summer sailing season is going well, and the Great Aunt Maria is
enjoying wonderful wind and weather! Turning cold and wintry up here--most of
the leaves are down off the trees, we had our first snow flurries this week.
Temperature was in the mid-20s (F) this morning. 

Bill Wright:)
Old Greenwich, CT USA
billtchr@aol.com

SOME NOTES FROM THE SIGNALLER ON WHOOPING COUGH 

My mum (who had it as a child in Tasmania) said the infectious period lasts only a 
couple of weeks, but whooping and vomiting can last up to six months. Children, 
especially small ones, become run-down, mostly through lack of nourishment, as 
little food is "kept down". My Mum reckons poor little Bridget had probably had it 
all winter and spring,and was recovering in summer, at which time Mary Walker was so 
knackered she used Whooping Cough as an excuse to get  the biggies to clear out so 
she and Brdgie could enjoy Bridgie's convalescence in peace!
I had no idea that Wh. C. was so ghastly, indeed about the nastiest disease 
mentioned in the S&A books (worse even than Susan's seasickness!)

Bridget is obviously fully recovered in WDMTGTS, this being her period of being 
"well but under observation" that would precede her going on any adventures.

PETER DUCK etc:

Peter Duck, Missee Lee and sometimes Great Northern are regarded by "experts" as 
what I call Peter Duck Stories, told around the campfire as it were. I *dispute* 
this classification of Great Northern.

I offer the following as a further addendum:

-------------------------

[11a] UNTITLED/UNFINISHED about half a dozen chapters, plus plot notes.
[Edited by Hugh Brogan, who nicknamed it "Coots in the North"]

[published in "COOTS IN THE NORTH" AND OTHER STORIES, Ransome, ed Brogan, Cape, 
London 1988 or 1990 I think.]

characters: D&G, Adm, Skipper of the Bonnka, [A], [D], [Jacky the Pict], [implied in 
notes]
location: Horning, overland road trip to Lake, [Lake].
boats: Death and Glory, motor yacht Bonnka, [Amazon], [Houseboat].
time: Peak of Horning boat-hire season, year 4
notes: D&G hitch-hike to Lake, story ends. AR's notes sketch following plot: Violent 
clash between southern and northern pirates averted as Dorothea recognises them. 
Houseboat slips moorings. D&G mastermind a salvage with the help of their new adult 
ally, skipper of the Bonnka.
More notes: First few chapters are vintage Ransome -- obviously D&G are among the 
writer's favourite characters by this time. Plot notes would make nice TV [BBC of 
course!]


========================================================================

LETTER 

Hi Peter,
Thankyou for signalling to Mars...even though there
may be times when you wonder if anyone is out there.
I was interested in the reference to Susan Price's
publication and I have passed a note of it to the
TARS literary committee - now called TARPAULIN, I believe -
for forwarding also to Sheila Ray who is maintaining an
ongoing bibliography on AR. The excerpt you quoted begins
`...other more honest writers, such as...', which makes one
wonder who were the less honest writers?!
I've taken a look at the WWW page: it looks fine. Well done!
Enjoy your sailing.
Best wishes,
Philip

================================================================

END OF SIGNALLING TO MARS 9