Swallowdale

Swallowdale is a children's adventure novel by English author Arthur Ransome and first published by Jonathan Cape in 1931. The book features Walker siblings (The Swallows) and Blackett sisters (The Amazons), camping in the hills and moorland country around a lake, with Maria Turner, the Blacketts' Great Aunt, acting as an antagonist. It is the second book in the Swallows and Amazons series; preceded by Swallows and Amazons and followed by Peter Duck. Ransome was living in the Lake District and he drew on his experiences and memories of encounters over many years with the local farming community. Ransome had often climbed Old Man of Coniston and in the book this becomes the children's Kanchenjunga. Expeditions to Kanchenjunga in the Himalayas had been much in the news while Ransome was writing the book. Plot summary Returning to Wild Cat Island for their second summer holiday by the Lake, the Swallows find the Amazons and Captain Flint suffering from "native trouble". Great Aunt Maria has come to stay and she is a stickler for "proper" behaviour, demanding that the Amazon pirates act like "young ladies" who are on hand and on time for meals. Despite this, Nancy and Peggy escape the Great Aunt and arrange a rendezvous with the Walkers but on the way the Swallow hits Pike Rock and sinks. All are saved and the boat salvaged but she needs repairing, so camping on the island is impossible. "Captain" John of the Swallows learns some valuable life lessons about following his instincts while commanding a ship, and has time to reflect on the accident while he fashions a new mast for Swallow. An alternative to camping on Wild Cat Island presents itself when Roger and Titty find a beautiful hidden valley, Swallowdale, up on the moors above the lake.