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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.
You either are a Swallows' and Amazons' fan, eagerly awaiting every new book by Arthur Ransome, or you aren't. I happen to qualify, so perhaps I am prejudiced. Anyhow, here's another book about a seafaring holiday in the Hebrides, with Dick, least aggressive of the crowd, as central figure, in his role as Naturalist. The usual nautical adventure, so accurately termed that even the most critical can find no fault; some shore excitement, as the youngsters run afoul of the natives, and are accused of disturbing the game; and finally, the story culminates in an exciting pitting of wits against an unscrupulous egg-collector, determined to raid the nest of the Great Northern Diver, which Dick has spotted. Lively story for children who like boats- and the personalities of the boys and girls cruising with Uncle Jim are familiar to faithful followers. (Kirkus Reviews)
