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Peter Duck
''Peter Duck'' is the third book in the ''Swallows and Amazons'' series by Arthur Ransome. The Swallows and Amazons sail to Crab Island with Captain Flint and Peter Duck, an old sailor, to recover buried treasure. During the voyage the ''Wildcat'' (Captain Flint's ship) is chased by another vessel, the ''Viper'', whose piratical crew are also intending to recover the treasure. The book, first published in 1932, is considered to be one of the metafictional books in the series, along with ''Missee Lee'' and perhaps '' Great Northern?''. Most of the book was written in Aleppo where Ransome was staying with the Altounyans. Sources The appearance, sailing background and many of the characteristics of Peter Duck are based on Captain Sehmel, a Latvian sailor who accompanied Ransome on a cruise aboard his yacht ''Racundra'' in the Baltic Sea, as documented in Ransome's sailing book, ''Racundra's First Cruise''. Ransome used as a major resource for ''Peter Duck'' a book by one of his f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthur Ransome
Arthur Michell Ransome (18 January 1884 – 3 June 1967) was an English author and journalist. He is best known for writing and illustrating the ''Swallows and Amazons'' series of children's books about the school-holiday adventures of children, mostly in the Lake District and the Norfolk Broads. The entire series remains in print, and ''Swallows and Amazons'' is the basis for a tourist industry around Windermere and Coniston Water, the two lakes Ransome adapted as his fictional North Country lake. He also wrote about the literary life of London, and about Russia before, during, and after the revolutions of 1917. His connection with the leaders of the Revolution led to him providing information to the Secret Intelligence Service, while he was also suspected by MI5 of being a Soviet spy. Early life Ransome was the son of Cyril Ransome (1851–1897) and his wife Edith Ransome (née Baker Boulton) (1862–1944). Arthur was the eldest of four children: he had two sisters Cecily ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |