Great Northern? - A Peter Duck Story? I don't think so


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Posted by Paul on April 05, 1999 at 21:59:49:

In Christina Hardyment's Arthur Ransome and Captain Flint's Trunk, the authour says that three of the Swallows and Amazons books are different from the rest. She identifies that Peter Duck, Missee Lee and Great Northern? are "pure romance, realistic fantasy instead of fantastic reality." Her reasons are that in these books the children are shot at with guns, and that "They are not set in the school holidays, but in a free time of their own; they are stories told round the fire in winter." I disagree with her and all the other people who think that Great Northern? is a Peter Duck story. These are my reasons:

1 At the beginning of Peter Duck on the title page, just beneath the Swallows and Amazons flags, there is a note that says, "Based on information supplied by the Swallows and Amazons and Illustrated mainly by Themselves". This would seem to indicate that this is a story-within-a-story, that the Swallows and Amazons made up the story themselves. On the title page of Missee Lee, a similar note can be found which reads, "(Based on information supplied by the Swallows and Amazons)". This means that Missee Lee is also a "Peter Duck" story. But if you look on the title page of Great Northern?, no such note can be found. I don't think that Arthur Ransome forgot to write it in, I think he didn't put it because it isn't the same type of book as Peter Duck and Missee Lee.

2 My second reason is that while the Swallows and Amazons may be shot at with real guns in Peter Duck and Missee Lee, they are definitely not shot at in Great Northern?, though the egg collector (Mr. Jemmerling) does have a gun and does try and shoot the Great Northern Divers, and later his sailor tries to shoot one of the Gaels' dogs.

3 My third reason is that in Great Northern?, Arthur Ransome actually says on page 26 (green hardback edition, page 19 in the 1993 Red Fox edition) that "This was no longer careless summer sailing." This seems to imply that Great Northern? is set in the summer and so it could be set during the school holidays.

4 My fourth and final reason (phew!) is simply that while the Carribean or the coast of China may be far-fetched, the Hebrides doesn't seem to me to be far-fetched at all. I mean, it is in Scotland and that's only a bit north of England, where all the other "real" (non-Peter Duck) stories are set.

Thank you for reading all of this and I would be interested if you replied with your opinion. Thank you.


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