Arthur Ransome Literary Pages

Arthur Ransome Literary Pages
Books, Guides, References, Sources, Articles, Reviews, Booklists, Trivia

Ellen Tillinghast

Books Books by Arthur Ransome

Nature Books for Children Arthur Ransome The Child's Guide to the Seasons, Pond and Stream, and Things In Our Garden, written by Arthur Ransome in 1906, available electronically in PDF format.

Guides Guides and Indexes to Arthur Ransome, TARS and related works and compilations

Guide to Swallows &
Amazons novels Bill Wright A detailed summary of the characters, plots etc. of the 12½ novels.

The Children's Books of
Arthur Ransome Robert Thompson A survey of the dozens of editions of the twelve children's books of Arthur Ransome.

Online Index to Mixed Moss Peter Hyland Online Authors and Subjects Index to the TARS publication Mixed Moss, together with a list of major articles published in Despatches.

References and Allusions Poetry and prose references and allusions in the Swallows and Amazons Books

The Little Mermaid Hans Christian Andersen "Moving it at all reminded him of the mermaid who had to walk on sharp knives" – Roger's wounded foot in Swallowdale.

John Winter Laurence Binyon "He turns his head, but in his ear the steady Trade-Winds run" – Peter Duck Ch. I.

Casabianca Felicia D. Hemans "The boy stood on the burning deck" – The poem Nancy and Peggy already knew.

On first looking Into
Chapman's Homer John Keats "Silent, upon a peak in Darien" – Titty looking at the Atlantic from Crab Island; Swallows and Amazons Ch. I.

The Armada Thomas, Lord Macaulay "And the red glare on Skiddaw woke the burghers of Carlisle" – How Titty knew that Carlisle had to be nearby, upon seeing Skiddaw from the summit of Kanchenjunga.

The Yarn of the Loch Achray John Masefield "The old man said, 'I mean to hang on till her canvas busts or her sticks are gone'" – The bit Daddy read to them at Falmouth; Swallowdale Ch. V.

One of the Bo'sun's Yarns John Masefield "'And well,' says he, 'and how are your arms and legs and liver and lungs and bones afeeling now?'"" – Swallows and Amazons Ch. II.

Cargoes John Masefield "Stately Spanish galleon coming from the Isthmus" – Peter Duck, Ch. XXIX.

The Iliad of Homer Alexander Pope "By mutual confidence and mutual aid" – Swallowdale Ch. IV.

The Ballad of Sir Patrick Spens Traditional "Gae fetch a web o' the silken claith" – Swallowdale Ch. VII.

Sources Some of the sources for the characters, places and events of Ransome's books for children. *=complete text

The Great Frost Anonymous From the Kendal and County News, February 1895.

*Mehalah: a Story of
the Salt Marshes S. Baring-Gould A novel that "has much of the cannibal
atmosphere of Secret Water" (Hardyment).

* The Riddle of the Sands Erskine Childers A Ransome favourite in Captain Flint's houseboat library

*Thorstein of the Mere W.G. Collingwood With a magnificent introduction by AR himself

* The Swan and Her Crew Christopher Davies The adventures of the "Three young Naturalists and Sportsmen on the Broads and Rivers of Norfolk" are echoed by the Deaths and Glories in The Big Six.

* Robinson Crusoe Daniel Defoe Titty's favourite reading on Wild Cat Island

*Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse Joseph Jacobs The children's story which gave Mavis Altounyan her nickname

Bevis: the Story of a Boy Richard Jefferies Chapters 10-13 ('Savages') from a 19th century forerunner of Ransome

A General History
of the Pyrates Captain Charles
Johnson The true stories of those naughty pirates Mary Read and Anne Bonny.

* The Cruise of the 'Falcon' E.F. Knight The genesis of Peter Duck; the account of Knight's voyage across the Atlantic to South America in a 30-ton yacht, and the discovery of the crab-infested island which became Crab Island.

*The Cruise of the 'Alerte' E.F. Knight The sequel to the Cruise of the '>Falcon': Knight returns to Trinidad in a search for pirate treasure, based on a treasure map on a piece of tarpaulin... Seems familiar?

*The 'Falcon' on the Baltic E.F. Knight Find out why this was Ransome's favourite among Knight's books ...

*Sailing E.F. Knight As used by John in WDMTGTS and by Dick in P&M.

*The Fairy Books Andrew Lang A childhood favourite of Ransome's', Lang's Fairy Books clearly influenced AR's Old Peter's Russian Tales

* The "Blue Bird" among
the Norfolk Reeds Walter E.Ledger An inspiration to Ransome, both as a sailor and as a writer.

I Sailed with Chinese Pirates Aleko E. Lilius Was Lai Choi San a model for Missee Lee? Read Lilius and decide for yourself.

*Sea Songs John Masefield The 1906 article in Temple Bar from which AR learned his Sea Chanties.

Sir Walter Ralegh's Third Voyage Thomas Masham From Hakluyt's Voyages vol. 4 (See Peter Duck, chapter 36).
"Ralegh" we are told is how Sir Walter spelled his name, and it is spelled this way in Masham.

* Moby Dick Herman Melville "The greatest of all books ever written" (Arthur Ransome)

The First Crossing
of Greenland Fridtjof Nansen Text and pictures showing how Nansen developed and trialled his sailing-sledges

Farthest North Fridtjof Nansen Pictures and text from the other book by Nansen that inspired Winter Holiday

The Logs of Cochy and Fairway 1938-1939 George Russell &
Josephine Russell The voyages of the Northern River Pirates, and of Coch-y-Bondhhu

*Sailing Alone Around
the World Joshua Slocum "Boys who do not like this book ought to be drowned at once." (Arthur Ransome)

*Voyage of the 'Liberdade' Joshua Slocum "One of the best stories of a small-boat voyage that have ever been written." (AR)

* Treasure Island Robert Louis
Stevenson A major influence on Arthur Ransome, and on the Amazon pirates.

The Holm Bank Hunting Song Traditional As sung by old Mr. Swainson in Swallowdale

The Anansi Stories Traditional Anansi the trickster is one of the most important characters of West African and Caribbean folklore. Arthur Ransome learned these stories in London from Pixie Colman Smith, who learned them in Jamaica.

Articles etc. A selection of writings that examine Arthur Ransome and his work from a variety of angles

"Sevens - I think that is what
this talk is about" Taqui Altounyan Slightly revised version of talk given to South-West region of TARS in 1994

From How the Heather Looks Joan Bodger An excerpt from Joan Bodger's book How the Heather Looks recounting an interview with Arthur Ransome in 1958.

Whose side was he on? Roland Chambers An article in the Guardian on Ransome's "double life" and possible relationship with MI6, and/or the opposition.

Motive and Motif in
Swallows and Amazons
and Pigeon Post Kirsty Cochrane Talk given at Second TARS Literary Weekend, Pulborough, October 1993.

The Lost Club Roger Dobson Paper on Ransome's Bohemia in London.

The Beckfoot Flag Jill Goulder How character influences plot in Arthur Ransome

A Syrian Boathouse Jill Goulder The search for the Altounyan's boathouse and lake in Aleppo

Treasure for Ransome Christina Hardyment Arthur Ransome's lost book on Robert Louis Stevenson. Article from the Independent 27 March 1994

Taqui Altounyan Christina Hardyment Obituary from the Independent 18th July 2001

Brigit Sanders Christina Hardyment Obituary for the 'Ship's Baby', and co-founder of TARS from the Independent, 17th November 1999.

The spy's story Martin Hickes The spy's story... childhood classic makes splash again, from the Yorkshire Post, 4th May, 2009.

NKVD account of diamonds smuggled abroad B.I.Kantorovich Document 265 Account of diamonds smuggled abroad to support foreign commmunist parties, 1919, from Revelations From The Russian Archives, U.S. Library of Congress, 1997, D.P.Koenker and R.D.Bachman, ed.

It's a Wise Child Isobel Laidler
(with Jill Goulder) The characters of the Swallows and the Amazons and how they were affected by the absence of their fathers and by Ransome's relationship with his daughter

Dreaming of the deep
and crisp and even Martin Kettle The Guardian, 1st January 1994.

Namesake Animals in the
Swallows & Amazons Books Molly McGinnis Articles about the "Totem" (Namesake) title animals and animals that drive the stories in the Swallows & Amazons books.

Reasons for Ransome Susan Price Extract from Books for Life (catalogue of Susan Price Collection, National Library of New Zealand).

The Chemistry of Pigeon Post Adam Quinan Original article

The Art of Telling What Happened Arthur Ransome An article from The Eyewitness, 4th April 1912, pp 502-3.

Famine On the Volga Arthur Ransome An article from The Guardian, 11th October 1921.

Rod and Line: Poachers Arthur Ransome An article from Ransome's regular column in The Guardian, 4th September, 1925.

Swallows and Amazons:
How it came to be Written Arthur Ransome An article from the USA journal The Horn Book, Feb. 1931, pp. 38-43.

The Truth About Russia Arthur Ransome An article from the USA publication New Republic, originally titled "On Behalf of Russia", reprinted by Utopia Press (the Workers' Socialist Federation), circa 1919. The reprint (and new title) appear to have been without Ransome's permission.

Lenin Interview by Arthur Ransome Arthur Ransome An Interview of V. I. Lenin by Arthur Ransome, correspondent for the Manchester Guardian, October 27 - November 5, 1922.

On the Origin of the Northern River Pirates Peter Roche Original article on the origin of the Northern River Pirates, including the Flag's Story and the World's Whopper

Tea with Mr. & Mrs. Arthur
Ransome Report by a member of TARSUS

Arthur Ransome as a
Children's Writer Nicholas Tucker Talk given at Second TARS Literary Weekend, Pulborough, October 1993.

Mavis Guzelian Nicholas Tucker Obituary for the original Titty from the
Independent, 8th July 1998.

Reviews Original reviews of books by, and about, Arthur Ransome

The Souls of the Streets (1904) One review from The Week's Survey

Bohemia in London (1907 & 1912) Nine reviews to date

Old Peter's Russian Tales (1916) Three original reviews

Six Weeks in Russia in 1919 (1919) Seven reviews, from the generally enthusiastic to the definitely hostile..

Racundra's First Cruise (1923) Six original reviews

Rod and Line (1929) One review

Swallows and Amazons (1930) Seventeen reviews

Winter Holiday (1933) Eight reviews to date

We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea (1937) Eight reviews so far

Puffin reissue of 1969 One review so far, by William Trevor

Autobiography ed. Hart-Davis (1976) Nine reviews

Signalling from Mars: Letters of Arthur Ransome ed. H. Brogan Two reviews

Arthur Ransome: a Bibliography
by Wayne G. Hammond Specially contributed review by Dave Thewlis

A sailor with strange credentials Jeremy Swift A review of Racundra's Third Cruise

Booklists These lists, which require revision, concentrate on books that are currently in print. An excellent place to start looking for new books is the TARS Stall; sale of some items is restricted to members of TARS.

Books by Arthur Ransome
Books about Arthur Ransome
Arthur Ransome books
published in Japanese

Arthur Ransome Trivia Trivia about Arthur Ransome's stories, places, things, and all manner of other things.

The Trivia List Originally compiled by Tim Johns from many contributors, and subsequently maintained by Woll Newall.

The Literary Pages were originally compiled by Tim Johns and are maintained by Andrew Goltz, Woll Newall, and Dave Thewlis.

Back to All Things Ransome.

Books	Books by Arthur Ransome
*Nature Books for Children*	Arthur Ransome	The Child's Guide to the Seasons, Pond and Stream, and Things In Our Garden, written by Arthur Ransome in 1906, available electronically in PDF format.

Guides	Guides and Indexes to Arthur Ransome, TARS and related works and compilations
Guide to Swallows & Amazons novels	Bill Wright	A detailed summary of the characters, plots etc. of the 12½ novels.
The Children's Books of Arthur Ransome	Robert Thompson	A survey of the dozens of editions of the twelve children's books of Arthur Ransome.
Online Index to Mixed Moss	Peter Hyland	Online Authors and Subjects Index to the TARS publication Mixed Moss, together with a list of major articles published in Despatches.

References and Allusions	Poetry and prose references and allusions in the Swallows and Amazons Books
The Little Mermaid	Hans Christian Andersen	"Moving it at all reminded him of the mermaid who had to walk on sharp knives" – Roger's wounded foot in Swallowdale.
John Winter	Laurence Binyon	"He turns his head, but in his ear the steady Trade-Winds run" – Peter Duck Ch. I.
Casabianca	Felicia D. Hemans	"The boy stood on the burning deck" – The poem Nancy and Peggy already knew.
On first looking Into Chapman's Homer	John Keats	"Silent, upon a peak in Darien" – Titty looking at the Atlantic from Crab Island; Swallows and Amazons Ch. I.
*The Armada*	Thomas, Lord Macaulay	"And the red glare on Skiddaw woke the burghers of Carlisle" – How Titty knew that Carlisle had to be nearby, upon seeing Skiddaw from the summit of Kanchenjunga.
*The Yarn of the Loch Achray*	John Masefield	"The old man said, 'I mean to hang on till her canvas busts or her sticks are gone'" – The bit Daddy read to them at Falmouth; Swallowdale Ch. V.
*One of the Bo'sun's Yarns*	John Masefield	"'And well,' says he, 'and how are your arms and legs and liver and lungs and bones afeeling now?'"" – Swallows and Amazons Ch. II.
*Cargoes*	John Masefield	"Stately Spanish galleon coming from the Isthmus" – Peter Duck, Ch. XXIX.
*The Iliad of Homer*	Alexander Pope	"By mutual confidence and mutual aid" – Swallowdale Ch. IV.
*The Ballad of Sir Patrick Spens*	Traditional	"Gae fetch a web o' the silken claith" – Swallowdale Ch. VII.

Sources	Some of the sources for the characters, places and events of Ransome's books for children. *=complete text
The Great Frost	Anonymous	From the Kendal and County News, February 1895.
*Mehalah: a Story of the Salt Marshes	S. Baring-Gould	A novel that "has much of the cannibal atmosphere of Secret Water" (Hardyment).
*** The Riddle of the Sands**	Erskine Childers	A Ransome favourite in Captain Flint's houseboat library
**Thorstein of the Mere*	W.G. Collingwood	With a magnificent introduction by AR himself
*** The Swan and Her Crew**	Christopher Davies	The adventures of the "Three young Naturalists and Sportsmen on the Broads and Rivers of Norfolk" are echoed by the Deaths and Glories in The Big Six.
*** Robinson Crusoe**	Daniel Defoe	Titty's favourite reading on Wild Cat Island
**Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse*	Joseph Jacobs	The children's story which gave Mavis Altounyan her nickname
Bevis: the Story of a Boy	Richard Jefferies	Chapters 10-13 ('Savages') from a 19th century forerunner of Ransome
A General History of the Pyrates	Captain Charles Johnson	The true stories of those naughty pirates Mary Read and Anne Bonny.
*** The Cruise of the 'Falcon'**	E.F. Knight	The genesis of Peter Duck; the account of Knight's voyage across the Atlantic to South America in a 30-ton yacht, and the discovery of the crab-infested island which became Crab Island.
**The Cruise of the 'Alerte'*	E.F. Knight	The sequel to the Cruise of the '>Falcon': Knight returns to Trinidad in a search for pirate treasure, based on a treasure map on a piece of tarpaulin... Seems familiar?
**The 'Falcon' on the Baltic*	E.F. Knight	Find out why this was Ransome's favourite among Knight's books ...
**Sailing*	E.F. Knight	As used by John in WDMTGTS and by Dick in P&M.
**The Fairy Books*	Andrew Lang	A childhood favourite of Ransome's', Lang's Fairy Books clearly influenced AR's *Old Peter's Russian Tales*
* The "Blue Bird" among the Norfolk Reeds	Walter E.Ledger	An inspiration to Ransome, both as a sailor and as a writer.
I Sailed with Chinese Pirates	Aleko E. Lilius	Was Lai Choi San a model for Missee Lee? Read Lilius and decide for yourself.
**Sea Songs*	John Masefield	The 1906 article in Temple Bar from which AR learned his Sea Chanties.
*Sir Walter Ralegh's Third Voyage*	Thomas Masham	From Hakluyt's Voyages vol. 4 (See Peter Duck, chapter 36). "Ralegh" we are told is how Sir Walter spelled his name, and it is spelled this way in Masham.
*** Moby Dick**	Herman Melville	"The greatest of all books ever written" (Arthur Ransome)
The First Crossing of Greenland	Fridtjof Nansen	Text and pictures showing how Nansen developed and trialled his sailing-sledges
Farthest North	Fridtjof Nansen	Pictures and text from the other book by Nansen that inspired Winter Holiday
*The Logs of Cochy and Fairway 1938-1939*	George Russell & Josephine Russell	The voyages of the Northern River Pirates, and of Coch-y-Bondhhu
*Sailing Alone Around the World	Joshua Slocum	"Boys who do not like this book ought to be drowned at once." (Arthur Ransome)
**Voyage of the 'Liberdade'*	Joshua Slocum	"One of the best stories of a small-boat voyage that have ever been written." (AR)
*** Treasure Island**	Robert Louis Stevenson	A major influence on Arthur Ransome, and on the Amazon pirates.
The Holm Bank Hunting Song	Traditional	As sung by old Mr. Swainson in *Swallowdale*
The Anansi Stories	Traditional	Anansi the trickster is one of the most important characters of West African and Caribbean folklore. Arthur Ransome learned these stories in London from Pixie Colman Smith, who learned them in Jamaica.

*Articles etc.*	A selection of writings that examine Arthur Ransome and his work from a variety of angles
"Sevens - I think that is what this talk is about"	Taqui Altounyan	Slightly revised version of talk given to South-West region of TARS in 1994
From How the Heather Looks	Joan Bodger	An excerpt from Joan Bodger's book How the Heather Looks recounting an interview with Arthur Ransome in 1958.
Whose side was he on?	Roland Chambers	An article in the Guardian on Ransome's "double life" and possible relationship with MI6, and/or the opposition.
Motive and Motif in Swallows and Amazons and Pigeon Post	Kirsty Cochrane	Talk given at Second TARS Literary Weekend, Pulborough, October 1993.
The Lost Club	Roger Dobson	Paper on Ransome's Bohemia in London.
The Beckfoot Flag	Jill Goulder	How character influences plot in Arthur Ransome
A Syrian Boathouse	Jill Goulder	The search for the Altounyan's boathouse and lake in Aleppo
Treasure for Ransome	Christina Hardyment	Arthur Ransome's lost book on Robert Louis Stevenson. Article from the Independent 27 March 1994
Taqui Altounyan	Christina Hardyment	Obituary from the Independent 18th July 2001
Brigit Sanders	Christina Hardyment	Obituary for the 'Ship's Baby', and co-founder of TARS from the Independent, 17th November 1999.
The spy's story	Martin Hickes	The spy's story... childhood classic makes splash again, from the Yorkshire Post, 4th May, 2009.
NKVD account of diamonds smuggled abroad	B.I.Kantorovich	Document 265 Account of diamonds smuggled abroad to support foreign commmunist parties, 1919, from Revelations From The Russian Archives, U.S. Library of Congress, 1997, D.P.Koenker and R.D.Bachman, ed.
It's a Wise Child	Isobel Laidler (with Jill Goulder)	The characters of the Swallows and the Amazons and how they were affected by the absence of their fathers and by Ransome's relationship with his daughter
Dreaming of the deep and crisp and even	Martin Kettle	The Guardian, 1st January 1994.
Namesake Animals in the Swallows & Amazons Books	Molly McGinnis	Articles about the "Totem" (Namesake) title animals and animals that drive the stories in the Swallows & Amazons books.
Reasons for Ransome	Susan Price	Extract from Books for Life (catalogue of Susan Price Collection, National Library of New Zealand).
The Chemistry of Pigeon Post	Adam Quinan	Original article
The Art of Telling What Happened	Arthur Ransome	An article from The Eyewitness, 4th April 1912, pp 502-3.
Famine On the Volga	Arthur Ransome	An article from The Guardian, 11th October 1921.
Rod and Line: Poachers	Arthur Ransome	An article from Ransome's regular column in The Guardian, 4th September, 1925.
Swallows and Amazons: How it came to be Written	Arthur Ransome	An article from the USA journal The Horn Book, Feb. 1931, pp. 38-43.
The Truth About Russia	Arthur Ransome	An article from the USA publication New Republic, originally titled "On Behalf of Russia", reprinted by Utopia Press (the Workers' Socialist Federation), circa 1919. The reprint (and new title) appear to have been without Ransome's permission.
Lenin Interview by Arthur Ransome	Arthur Ransome	An Interview of V. I. Lenin by Arthur Ransome, correspondent for the Manchester Guardian, October 27 - November 5, 1922.
On the Origin of the Northern River Pirates	Peter Roche	Original article on the origin of the Northern River Pirates, including the Flag's Story and the World's Whopper
Tea with Mr. & Mrs. Arthur Ransome	Report by a member of TARSUS
Arthur Ransome as a Children's Writer	Nicholas Tucker	Talk given at Second TARS Literary Weekend, Pulborough, October 1993.
Mavis Guzelian	Nicholas Tucker	Obituary for the original Titty from the Independent, 8th July 1998.

Reviews	Original reviews of books by, and about, Arthur Ransome
The Souls of the Streets (1904)	One review from The Week's Survey
Bohemia in London (1907 & 1912)	Nine reviews to date
Old Peter's Russian Tales (1916)	Three original reviews
Six Weeks in Russia in 1919 (1919)	Seven reviews, from the generally enthusiastic to the definitely hostile..
Racundra's First Cruise (1923)	Six original reviews
Rod and Line (1929)	One review
Swallows and Amazons (1930)	Seventeen reviews
Winter Holiday (1933)	Eight reviews to date
We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea (1937)	Eight reviews so far
Puffin reissue of 1969	One review so far, by William Trevor
Autobiography ed. Hart-Davis (1976)	Nine reviews
Signalling from Mars: Letters of Arthur Ransome ed. H. Brogan	Two reviews
Arthur Ransome: a Bibliography by Wayne G. Hammond	Specially contributed review by Dave Thewlis
A sailor with strange credentials	Jeremy Swift	A review of Racundra's Third Cruise

Booklists	These lists, which require revision, concentrate on books that are currently in print. An excellent place to start looking for new books is the TARS Stall; sale of some items is restricted to members of TARS.
Books by Arthur Ransome Books about Arthur Ransome Arthur Ransome books published in Japanese

Arthur Ransome Trivia	Trivia about Arthur Ransome's stories, places, things, and all manner of other things.
The Trivia List	Originally compiled by Tim Johns from many contributors, and subsequently maintained by Woll Newall.