WARDALE, Roger

Arthur Ransome Master Storyteller. Writing the Swallows and Amazons Books

Great Northern Books, Great Northern Books. 2010, 160pp. Illustrated. Cloth, with dust jacket. As new! Arthur Ransome's delightful adventure series of children's books, Swallows and Amazons , has captured the imagination of children and adults alike ever since they were first published in the 1930s. Even today, eighty years after the very first book was published, the series remains as popular and enduring as ever. Ransome once described writing books for children as like reliving the best part of childhood, but this was far from the whole truth. His genius as a storyteller stemmed from an almost infinite capacity for painstaking perfectionism. Once Ransome had completed the first draft, he would then settle down to write a complete revision and the most difficult chapters were written over and over again. Unhappy with the illustrations produced for the first book, Ransome persuaded the publishers to go to print with none at all, save for the cover image and by book three, he'd taken the decision to do all his own illustrations. Using primary written sources, including letters, diary entries and Ransome's own working notes, Roger Wardale expertly pieces together the fascinating story of how the twelve Swallows & Amazons books came to be written against the odds. Wardale observes how the stories evolved from the point of view of all those who were closely involved - Ransome's publisher, his mother, his wife, his friends and fans - as well as Ransome himself. It is an amazing story of a dedicated writer battling against the problems of ill health, a critical and argumentative wife, his own perceived shortcoming and an expectant publisher. Wardale's account provides a new fresh look at the enduring Swallows and Amazons series and how and why they came into being - a must-read for any Ransome fan.

Boekhandel-Antiquariaat Emile KerssemakersProfessional seller

Book number: 64900

WARDALE, Roger

Arthur Ransome: master storyteller

Great Northern Books Ltd, 2010. Used - Very Good. VG hardback in VG dust jacket First Edition. 2010 publication with numerous colour and B&W illustrations. Dust jacket not price-clipped; a clean, tidy copy. Photo:http://cibimages.blob.core.windows.net/img-1/stand_74468_jpg.jpg. ISBN: 1905080816

Cotswold Internet BooksProfessional seller

Book number: BOOKS296910I

Wardale, Roger,

Arthur Ransome and the World of the Swallows & Amazons.

Skipton, Uk., Great Northern Books, 2000. Hardcover., Vg (See Description), Vg/Vg Pages: 160.

Vintage BooksProfessional seller

Book number: MASTER299701I

Catalogue: Britain

WARDALE, Roger

In search of Swallows and Amazons: Arthur Ransome's Lakelands

Sigma Press, 2006. Used - Very Good. VG paperback . Reprint, 2007. A bright, tidy copy. Photo:http://cibimages.blob.core.windows.net/img-1/stand_74054_jpg.jpg. ISBN: 1850588392

Cotswold Internet BooksProfessional seller

Book number: BOOKS296522I

Wardale, Roger

Nancy Blackett under sail with Arthur Ransome.

Canada: Jonathan Cape Ltd, 1991. First Edition. Hardcover. Very clean & tightly bound hardback book with no inscriptions, in a bright unclipped dustjacket which is rubbed at the edges. 272 pages, photos on plates, illustrations in the text, bibliography, index. Very Good in Very Good dust jacket.

Aucott & ThomasProfessional seller

Book number: 67815

Catalogue: Biography

Keywords: Sailing Swallows & Amazons Lake District Arthur Ransome

WARDALE, ROGER

Nancy Blackett: Under Sail with Arthur Ransome

Jonathan Cape Ltd. 1993-07-15. (ISBN: 0224037544) paperback, 6x0x9. Posted within 1 working day. 1st class tracked post to the UK, Airmail tracked worldwide. Good.

M. Godding Ltd.Professional seller

Book number: 266521

Catalogue: Geography and Travel

Keywords: 0224037544