"He makes a tale of adventure a handbook to adventure." -"Observer"
"There is plenty of excitement, a little danger, a quality of thinking, planning and fun which is delightful and stimulating." -"TLS"

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.