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Arthur Ransome was born in Leeds in 1884 and went to school at Rugby. He was in Russia in 1917, and witnessed the Revolution, which he reported for the Manchester Guardian. After escaping to Scandinavia, he settled in the Lake District with his Russian wife where, in 1929, he wrote Swallows and Amazons. And so began a writing career which has produced some of the real children's treasures of all time. In 1936 he won the first ever Carnegie Medal for his book, Pigeon Post. Ransome died in 1967. He and his wife Evgenia lie buried in the churchyard of St Paul's Church, Rusland, in the southern Lake District.
The creator of Swallows and Amazons once again tells the story of his young heroes and heroines on vacation. Frankly, I found Secret Water disappointing. There is less of the nautical flavor that has won young seafarers to the Ransome banner. The children are deliberately marooned on an island, to fend more or less for themselves, and to map the island and the outlying waters. They have mild adventures - and anyone who feels that the children are old friends will want to read it. But I don't think it will stand on its own feet, as its predecessors do. (Kirkus Reviews)
