Posted by Harry Miller on November 07, 1998 at 01:27:57:
In Reply to: Should I re-read Peter Duck, Misee Lee etc posted by John Richardson on November 06, 1998 at 22:53:15:
I'm tempted to just say yes and let it go at that but as your
preferences seem to be an exact match of my own I'll add my
2 cents worth. As I am 2.4 times as old as you I've had plenty
of time to re-read all the books even those three that were our
least favourites. I'm still not much of a fan of Great Northern?
and I agree that it just doesn't satisfy as much as the others.
As for Peter Duck and Missee Lee I liked them better upon re-reading
but not as much as the others. (If I had to choose a single one that
would be the only one I could ever read again I would flip a coin
between Swallowdale and Pigeon Post.)
Regarding the original reviews I think that Peter Duck and Missee Lee
were reviewed more favourably because they were easier to review.
How much easier it is to describe an adventure involving pirates and
ocean voyages than to communicate the feelings evoked by Ransome
in his little stories of children playing on a lake or river!
Read them all again and again.