''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 and (as Walton le Soken) a former civil parish, now in the parish of Frinton and Walton, in the Tendring district in Essex, England. It is north of Clacton and south of the port of Ha ...

. It starts only a few days after ''

We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea ''We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea'' is the seventh book in Arthur Ransome's ''Swallows and Amazons'' series of children's books. It was published in 1937. In this book, the Swallows (John, Susan, Titty and Roger Walker) are the only recurring ch ...

'' 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 Nancy Blackett is a fictional character in nine of the twelve juvenile novels in Arthur Ransome's ''Swallows and Amazons series'' of books. She acts as captain of the dinghy, ''Amazon'' and usually directing her friends in their various adventu ...

''. 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 ''

'') to Hamford Water and camp with their father, but he is called away on naval business. To compensate, he

maroon Maroon ( US/ UK , Australia ) is a brownish crimson color that takes its name from the French word ''marron'', or chestnut. "Marron" is also one of the French translations for "brown". According to multiple dictionaries, there are var ...

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 ( 'breast' + 'tooth') is any proboscidean belonging to the extinct genus ''Mammut'' (family Mammutidae). Mastodons inhabited North and Central America during the late Miocene or late Pliocene up to their extinction at the end of th ...

; 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 in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...

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 men 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, hand or ...

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 Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

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