Posted by Patrick Fox on November 19, 1997 at 23:20:15:
In Reply to: Re: Great Northern? posted by Mary on November 12, 1997 at 01:49:34:
Its remarkable how these discussions drift off topic! In response to your original question of which to read first, CITN or GN, I would have to say GN. CITN is an interesting diversion but at only 4(?) chapters I'm afraid it can't really count as a book. Read it by all means for an interesting insight into the characters of Bill, Pete and Joe, but GN is (unfortunately) the last AR book.
As to whether GN is a fantasy or "real" S&A story, I've never disagreed strongly with Christina Hardyment's placing of it in the "fantasy" class. As she points out, it, ML and PD are the only books in which real guns shoot real bullets. It also is not fixed in any particular time of the school year, unlike the others which are always careful to make it clear in which holidays they are taking place.
That said, GN has never been among my favourite Ransomes. Among the fantasies my greatest favourite is probably Peter Duck, largely for its detail of "blue water" sailing. I too preferred Missee Lee when I was younger, and remember shedding real tears when the Wild Cat went down. I was disappointed when rereading it more recently to find what I had remembered as an important and emotional moment only took a page or two and no longer moved me very much at all. Has anyone else found that about ML? I've gone on for far too long, but just to add what would actually be my "desert island" book - almost certainly SD - for a bit of everything, the most pages(!) and scenes (the shipwreck) which do still excite me as much as when I was a child.
Cheers
Patrick