Posted by Adam Quinan on May 31, 2010 at 07:15:09 user Adam.
In Reply to: Re: The time of year in "Great Northern" posted by Tom Napier on May 31, 2010 at 06:34:58:
I am pretty sure the very reason why Ransome was not specific about the dates in Great Northern? is precisely because he knew that they should have been in school during the nesting season. If he had put them in school, they wouldn't have found and saved the birds and he would have not been able to write the book.
It is fiction after all, so a little bit of latitude is allowable.
Remember that they had already been cruising for a week before the story starts and they are planning to return to the Sea Bear's home port and give up the ship to Mac. No half term holiday would have lasted a week and a bit and neither would it have been extendable, unless someone were to pull the old mumps trick again!