''Secret Water'' is the eighth book in

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 childre ...

's ''Swallows and Amazons'' series of children's books. It was published on 28 November 1939. This book is set in and around Hamford Water in Essex, close to the resort town of

Walton-on-the-Naze Walton-on-the-Naze is a seaside town on the North Sea coast. It is part of the parish of Frinton and Walton, in the Tendring District, Tendring district in Essex, England. The town is located north of Clacton and south of the port of Harwich; ...

. It starts only a few days after '' We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea'' ends. It brings the Swallows and the Amazons together and introduces a new group of characters, the Eels and the Mastodon. Ransome used to sail to Hamford Water, an area of tidal salt marshes and low-lying islands, in his yacht '' Nancy Blackett''. He set the book here to offer his characters new opportunities to explore and make maps in a different landscape.

Plot summary

The Swallows intend to sail in the ''Goblin'' (as featured in '' We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea'') to Hamford Water and camp with their father, but he is called away on naval business. To compensate, he

maroon Maroon ( , ) is a brownish crimson color that takes its name from the French word , meaning chestnut. ''Marron'' is also one of the French translations for "brown". Terms describing interchangeable shades, with overlapping RGB ranges, inc ...

s them with a small dinghy on an island. Before he leaves, Father gives them an outline map of the area they decide to call Secret Water, and suggests they survey and chart the area before he returns to pick them up. For the first time, their small sister Bridget accompanies them on this adventure. Titty and Bridget then find some mysterious footprints, which they think look as though they were made by a

Mastodon A mastodon, from Ancient Greek μαστός (''mastós''), meaning "breast", and ὀδούς (''odoús'') "tooth", is a member of the genus ''Mammut'' (German for 'mammoth'), which was endemic to North America and lived from the late Miocene to ...

; when nobody else seems to have any interest, they return to their camp, where they find a totem pole of an eel. They spot somebody escaping in a dinghy, and they track the person to his lair; it turns out that the footprints had been left by a local boy named Donald, whom they nickname the "Mastodon", wearing "splatchers" (mud-shoes), and he left the totem pole because he mistook them for the Eels, another family who camp in the area regularly. For a surprise, Father has arranged for the Amazons to come down from the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...

and join them with another dinghy, named the ''Firefly''. Island Lane - geograph

The Amazons then suggest that everybody becomes "blood brothers", which, after Bridget pricks herself from hunting berries, they do successfully. They take the Mastodon as their native guide, and they chart several islands. Later, the Eels arrive, and are initially hostile—to the point of kidnapping Bridget—but when they discover that the protagonists are now

blood brother Blood brother can refer to two or more people not related by birth who have sworn loyalty to each other. This is in modern times usually done in a ceremony, known as a blood oath, where each person makes a small cut, usually on a finger, han ...

s of the Eels, they settle down for a friendly war, culminating with feast of the Sacred Eel, complete with "human sacrifice". The "sacrifice" is Bridget, who very nearly does not arrive at her party, as a result of being trapped in the middle of a ford by a rising tide with Titty and Roger. The danger is genuine, since high tide level would have been well above their heads. Just before they have to swim for the shore, they are rescued by the Mastodon. It seems that due to the distractions of war and being cut off by the tides, the chart will not be completed. John is very disappointed about this, especially since the Swallows and Amazons have to leave the morning after the feast. However, early in the morning, two separate groups of children—Titty and Roger in their dinghy the ''Wizard'', and the Amazons in ''Firefly''—complete it.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Secret Water 1939 British novels 1939 children's books Jonathan Cape books Novels set in Essex Swallows and Amazons series Children's books set in Essex