I read Pigeon Post by Arthur Ransome as my first book for the 1936 Club, it’s the sixth book in his Swallows and Amazons series and I can’t say that it was a favourite of mine. To be fair the the Swallows and Amazon children aren’t enjoying themselves much to begin with. It has been a dry summer and the ground is parched so there’s no water near the camping ground they intended to pitch their tents. This means that they’re having to camp out in the back garden and because of the fear of a camp fire setting the whole area on fire they aren’t even allowed to cook for themselves.
Nancy and Peggy’s Uncle Jim is on his way back home to the Lake District, he’s been having an adventure of his own in South America, searching for treasure unsuccessfully. The children hear a rumour of a long forgotten old gold mine in the nearby mountains and set about looking for it, they know it is in a cave with some heather nearby. But they’re upset by the appearance of a suspicious man that they name Squashy Hat. He’s roaming all over the hills and daubing paint on stones, they’re sure he’s also looking for the gold.
Things improve when Titty discovers that she’s able to dowse for water and they manage to dig a well which gives them good water, so they are able to camp out after all, and they can communicate with Mrs Blackett by using some carrier pigeons.
Other readers seem to have really liked this one, and it did win the Carnegie medal, but I was never going to enjoy the subject as the children went off every morning, all armed with their hammers, merrily attacking the Lake District mountains with them and crushing up loads of quartz. Even as a child I had an aversion to mines and quarries, especially quarries due to my beautiful local mountain being completely hollowed out for use as hard core for road building! I’m looking forward to reading the next one in the series though.
I haven’t read any of the Swallows and Amazons series or anything by Arthur Ransome. Someday I will have to try at least one. I love that book cover. Very good choice for the 1936 club.
tracybham,
I suppose the books are very old-fashioned adventures now but they have such charm, and as ever with older books the children have such a lot of freedom to be self-sufficient.
I love the Swallows and Amazons series–all of them. I fell in love with them as a kid and I have all the books still. I also bought a full set for my son and each of my nephews and nieces. I suspect none of them still has a single one of these books, but they enjoyed them as kids.
aline,
I didn’t get around to these books until I was an adult, I moved on to books for adults far too early in life, so I’m trying to catch up with the classics now. We visited the area of the Lake District that inspired Ransome to write the books in 2018 (I think) and that inspired me to read them.
I enjoyed this series but clearly do not remember this one very well because I thought it was about Dick and Dot! I thought about rereading it for the 1936 Club and now I wish I had – but it is waiting for me upstairs whenever I am in the mood.
Swallows & Amazons is another series I inherited from my mother. My favorite was always Winter Holiday when they are quarantined with the mumps! I tried reading the first book aloud to my nephew but it did not appeal to him so I gave up on the next generation. Godine put out some nice new paperbacks not long ago and I was able to complete my collection.
Constance,
I think all the children have more or less the same prominence in the book. As the youngest of a large family myself I feel so sorry for Roger as the others never let him forget he’s younger than them! I enjoyed Winter Holiday too, I’m reading them in order. I liked the way the Swallows and Amazons meet up and become friends, learning from each other as they have different strengths and experiences. I’ve managed to buy either old hardbacks or facsimiles of the originals. https://piningforthewest.co.uk/2020/08/06/winter-holiday-by-arthur-ransome-20-books-of-summer/
I have never read these books. For some reason I wasn’t much interested in adventuring children. I much preferred school and family stories. I’m not sure uhy but it carries through to day and is probably why I dont love crime or fantasy or sci-fi. When I watch crime, I pay little attention to solving the crime and more on the relationships. But a Lakes District setting would appeal.
BTW, do I have to re subscribe by email? I guess I can check my emails to see If this one came through!
Whispering Gums,
I went from the Enid Blyton Famous Five books to Christie as they seemed similar to me as a ten year old. I’m not a fan of SF or fantasy either although my husband is an SF fan and I sometimes read one that he has recommended, usually books by writers who are also friends – so I feel I should read them!
This comment didn’t have to be approved anyway as you had commented before, but you aren’t in my list of subscribers under Whispering Gums anyway.
Gosh, I had no idea there were this many (or, indeed, that they were so early in the century). I’ve only read the first, which I liked a lot, but found that I had to wade (!) through a lot of boating terminology.
Simon T,
Ah yes, I well remember having to wade too, I didn’t even know what a painter was boat-wise, but I did learn a lot! Each book is quite different from the others, setting wise anyway. I particularly enjoyed Peter Duck as it features pirates and a trip to the Caribbean in search of treasure, a bit of a cliche now I suppose but a good adventure.
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I tried reading the first Swallows to my very modern American children. First off, “Titty…” Once the laughter died down….Yeah…. LOL Then it was just ceaseless whining that they couldn’t do anything alone like those kids do or we’d have CPS at our door LOL. Some things just don’t age well, even though I enjoyed the book very much. I’d never heard of it until lI was an adult.
Lisa of Hopewell,
I must admit that nobody can understand why he named her Titty, apart from the fact that she was a real young girl he met, and her family complained about the recent film of the books – because they changed her name to Kitty (I think). I didn’t read these books with my own boys, but I’m of the generation that was allowed to roam around up the hills and go back home when we were hungry. No parents allowed that in more recent times, my kids didn’t know I had had that freedom!