Posted by Nina on May 26, 2000 at 03:05:31 from 155.205.65.82:
In Reply to: Re: Why Kanchenjunga? posted by Andy Clayton on May 24, 2000 at 13:49:48:
Lord, I don't know what happened there, and I'm not sure I can remember it all, but I'll try:
I had always thought, when I was young and hadn't done the maths, that Bob Blackett had died in the great war. It would mean Peggy would have to be at least 12 in SD - is she? (I've never been able to keep track of ages, except Roger & Bridget's!)
My main reason for thinking deceased rather than bunked off is the (reported) conversation between Mrs B and the GA. When the GA expressed doubts that their father would think very highly of his girls, Molly says something like "he would have been proud of them the way they are." a) she wouldn't have cared much what he thought if he'd chosen to absent himself and b) the GA wouldn't have been able to use that particular piece of emotional blackmail.
Just on the absence of fathers, and Mr B in particular, it has been noted before now that one of the hallmarks of a good children's book is the absence of parents/grownups. (I don't mean adults, Captain Flint is an adult, but hardly a grownup!) While two of the mothers pop up quite often, Ted Walker's presence is very much plot driven - he is needed at the end of WDM in order to get the Swallows home safely and he is needed at the beginning of SW to get the story started. Mr Callum is always kneedeep in antiquities or exam papers, with the loyal Mrs C by his side, and the presence of Nancy & Peggy's father would have made difficult the relationship between the girls and Captain Flint. He could not have been so central to the children's lives if their dad had been around. Also, there might have been more children, and I think one of the strenghts of the Amazons is that there are just two of them and they are very very close.
Nina