Posted by kate crosby on November 02, 1998 at 19:26:08:
In Reply to: Re:Engines and Plots was Two Aubrey de Selincourts? was Other Sailing Series posted by Terence McManus on November 02, 1998 at 10:20:23:
Sorry, sorry, sorry, it was the SELIGMAN's Breton Cottage that the parents went to, my error. ( Adrian Seligman is the author of Thunder in the Bay, Thunder Reef etc. so there IS some connection).
As far as the de Seligman oeuvre goes, I have this list:
Family Afloat
Three Green Bottles
One Good Tern
One More Summer
Calicut Lends A Hand
Mickey
Kestrel
printed in front of The Ravens Nest. (Routledge & Kegan Paul 1st Edition 1949)
(Three Green Bottles was 1st published 1941 by George Routledge & Sons,Ltd.
It's The Ravens Nest that takes place in the thinly disguised Percuil River with St. Mawes and Falmouth in the background.
As far as AR is concerned, the following will sound oddly familiar:
"Don't take it," said the Bosun.
"Why not?" said Anthony.
"Because there's something much better you could do - make one yourselves."
"Gosh," said Anthony; "I wonder if we could."
"A proper chart of the river, large scale, with soundings."
"With all the creeks in,"said Anne.
"And caves," said Elizabeth. "If charts have caves. And that queer house.".......
Robin stared with round eyes. His face flushed, his nose twitched,
"I don't suppose," he said,"the river's ever been surveyed before. I mean - pproperly." He stammered becvause he was excited. The Bosun's idea was so obviously a good one.
Actually there isn't any real chart making in the story, just a reference at the end. I suspect that if AdeS was consciously borrowing from Secret Water he realised he's better stop or he'd pretty much be rewriting it. Is he still alive, byt the way? If so someone could ask him. His books were quite successful, I think, Three Green Bottles went into at least 4 editions.