New Arthur Ransome Literary Estate Email

The Arthur Ransome Literary Estate has a new contact email address:
arthur-ransome-literary-executors@allthingsransome.net. This address is provided as a complimentary service by the excellent information website All Things Ransome.

Emails sent to this address forward to the three executors, Christina Hardyment, Geraint Lewis and Elizabeth Sewart. they are not read by anyone at All Things Ransome.

Arthur Ransome on the Broads

Roger Wardale’s new book, Arthur Ransome on the Broads, has recently been published by Amberley Publishing. In it, Roger examines the way that Arthur Ransome’s eight Broads cruising holidays inspired and informed his novels Coot Club and The Big Six.

From the book’s cover: “Drawing freely on Ransome’s sailing log, his diaries and those of his wife, an intimate portrait emerges of the iconic children’s author on holiday, as well as a unique picture of the Norfolk Broads at a crucial point in their transition from the wilderness that he loved to a watery playground” – a tension that will be familiar to readers of Coot Club.

Swallows and Amazons at the Coniston Regatta

Come and join the fun at this year’s Coniston Regatta, taking place at Bank Ground Farm, from Thursday, 30 May to Saturday, 1 June. The Regatta will have a packed programme: traditional dinghies, steam boats and the National Trust’s Gondola dressed as Captain Flint’s houseboat afloat, and attractions ranging from fishing competitions to displays by local craftsmen ashore.

ART is bringing a Voyage of Discovery, with information about Swallows and Amazons, Arthur Ransome, and the Trust’s plans. We’re planning to have fun too! So if you are in the Coniston area or planning a visit to the Lakes, please do drop by and say hello.

Swallows and Amazons Engraved in Liverpool

Liverpool’s Grade 1 listed Central Library re-opened to the public today, following a £50m refurbishment.

The refurbished library now includes a 22 metre long Literary Pavement. Made from granite, the pavement is engraved with book titles from world literature, including, at Liverpool Council’s request, Swallows and Amazons.

Swallows and Amazons Series Audiobooks

Good news for those who enjoy listening to Arthur Ransome, as Audible.co.uk prepare to release unabridged audiobooks of all twelve Swallows and Amazons series novels.

Recording is currently underway, with the first three novels due for release within the next few weeks. The remainder should be released in three tranches over the following three months. The books will be narrated by Gareth Armstrong, who has previously narrated a wide range books, including works by Neville Shute and Philippa Gregory.

Red Fox Plan Swallows and Amazons Series Revamp

Changes are afoot for the Red Fox paperback and digital editions of the twelve Swallows and Amazons novels.

Random House children’s books have decided to reissue their main Red Fox editions with new covers. Red Fox’s 80th anniversary edition of Swallows and Amazons was the first paperback edition to use the classic Jonathan Cape hardback dustjacket designs. Following that celebratory edition’s success, Random House Children’s Books have now decided to spread the Cape designs to the rest of the series. The picture shows a mock up of the artwork planned for Peter Duck.

Ransome Correspondence Set for Auction

A small collection of Arthur Ransome’s correspondence is set for auction in June.

In the mid to late 1930s, Ransome wrote several letters to Meriol Trevor who was, at the time, attending the Perse School, in Cambridge. The available evidence indicates that Ransome came to know Meriol whilst visiting Taqui, Susie and Mavis Altounyan (three of the “six” to whom Ransome originally dedicated Swallows and Amazons, “in exchange for a pair of slippers”), who were also at the Perse. 

Welcome Aboard at the Museum of Lakeland Life

Visitors to Kendal can currently enjoy insights into boating on Windermere at the Museum of Lakeland Life, Abbot Hall. The Museum’s temporary exhibition, Welcome Aboard: Boating on Windermere, is open until 7 July. Through beautiful dinner services, oil cans used to keep steam launches whisper quiet, and historical photographs, such as this one of Bowness Bay, the exhibition provides a glimpse into some of the stories that will be told at Windermere Steamboat Museum, once it reopens after its current rebuild.