''The Big Six'' is the ninth book of
Arthur Ransome's
Swallows and Amazons series
The ''Swallows and Amazons'' series is a series of twelve children's adventure novels by English author Arthur Ransome. Set in the interwar period, the novels involve group adventures by children, mainly in the school holidays and mainly in Eng ...
of children's books, published in 1940. The book returns Dick and Dorothea Callum, known as the Ds, to the
Norfolk Broads
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North ...
where they renew their friendship with the members of the
Coot Club
''Coot Club'' is the fifth book of Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series of children's books, published in 1934. The book sees Dick and Dorothea Callum visiting the Norfolk Broads during the Easter holidays, eager to learn to sail and ...
. This book is more of a
detective story as the Ds and Coot Club try to unravel a mystery that threatens the ''Death and Glories freedom to sail the river. Dorothea names the group of amateur detectives "The Big Six", an allusion to the "
Big Five" group of murder detectives at
Scotland Yard.
Plot summary
The Ds return to
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
, hoping to enjoy a holiday with their friends of the
Coot Club
''Coot Club'' is the fifth book of Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series of children's books, published in 1934. The book sees Dick and Dorothea Callum visiting the Norfolk Broads during the Easter holidays, eager to learn to sail and ...
. Unfortunately, they find the Death and Glories (Pete, Bill and Joe) coming under a gathering cloud of suspicion of setting moored boats adrift.
Everywhere they go, boats seem to be cast adrift; and they are threatened with being forbidden to sail, for fear of their fathers being disgraced and possibly losing their jobs. Things get worse when new
shackles are stolen from a boatbuilder after one of the casting off episodes and some of them are found aboard the ''Death and Glory''. At the same time, the boys seem to be flush with cash, but they won't say where they got it. However, they had accepted a tow from the ''Cachalot'', owned by a keen pike fisherman, and by chance and courage had hooked a colossal
pike
Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to:
Fish
* Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus''
* Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes
* ''Esox'', genus of ...
while the owner was at the local pub. The fisherman swore them to silence about this exploit, but, being an honourable man, had given them the money that the landlord of the pub had promised him, since he had done nothing towards landing the fish.
The Big Six (Dick, Dorothea, Tom Dudgeon, and the three Death and Glories) get together to investigate the crimes and collect evidence. Dorothea is the intellectual of the party and Dick's camera comes to the fore. The opposition consists of the local policeman, PC Tedder, and a group of local vigilantes, among whom is George Owdon, the villain of the earlier book, ''Coot Club'', who consequently has a grudge to work off. Eventually, with the help of the owner of the ''Cachalot'', a carefully prepared trap is sprung and in a flash (literally, to take a night photo of the real culprits) the villains are discovered and the boys are exonerated. The source of their secret supply of money is uncovered when the local pub unveils the magnificent pike, now
stuffed and mounted.
The book shows a distinct contrast between the Death & Glories, who are boys of artisan background, and the others. The Death & Glories are all sons of skilled workmen in the local boatyards. The Ds, however, are the children of university dons. Their intelligence attracts admiration, but in all practical matters they need helping out. Nevertheless, each group admires the qualities of the other. Tom Dudgeon, as the son of the local GP, occupies an intermediate station. He respects academic discipline, but when a Norfolk wherry needs saving from wreck, he is the one who knows what to do, and even his own father acknowledges it.
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
based on ''Coot Club'' and ''The Big Six'' in 1984.