Posted by Harry Miller on February 26, 1997 at 12:32:28:
In Reply to: Swallows and Amazons: Was the Great Aunt there? posted by peter on February 24, 1997 at 21:03:15:
I'm on Peter's side. From comments I've read in Hugh Brogan's
"The Life of Arthur Ransome", I recall AR stating that there was
much more that he knew about his characters than he ever wrote down.
He thought that was a factor in making them seem so real.
Also AR was not a young man when he started the series. These
characters and at least the earlier stories were probably floating
around in his mind for years before he had the opportunity to write
them down. So I see it as quite possible that the GA was an invisible
force in SA.