Der Kampf um die Insel

2015-06-02T20:26:38Z

2.24.117.101: real-life connection isn't part of plot, and is mentioned in its own section anyway

{{Infobox book| 
| name = Swallows and Amazons
| title_orig =
| translator =
| image = [[Image:ArthurRansome SwallowAndAmazons.jpg|200px|First edition dust jacket cover 1930]]
| caption = First edition dust jacket cover 1930
| author = [[Arthur Ransome]]
| illustrator = 1st edition was not illustrated, later editions illustrated by Clifford Webb and later Arthur Ransome
| cover_artist = [[Steven Spurrier (artist)|Steven Spurrier]]
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| series = [[Swallows and Amazons series]]
| genre = [[Children's literature|Children's]], [[adventure novel]]
| publisher = [[Jonathan Cape]]
| release_date = 1 December 1930
| isbn = 
| oclc= 5973192
| preceded_by =
| followed_by = [[Swallowdale]]
}}

'''''Swallows and Amazons''''' is the first book in the [[Swallows and Amazons series|''Swallows and Amazons'' series]] by English author [[Arthur Ransome]]; it was first published in 1930, with the action taking place in the summer of 1929 in the [[Lake District]]. The book introduces central protagonists John, Susan, Titty and Roger Walker (Swallows) and their mother and baby sister, as well as Nancy and Peggy Blackett (Amazons) and their uncle Jim, commonly referred to as Captain Flint.

At the time, Ransome had been working as a journalist with the [[The Guardian|''Manchester Guardian'']], but decided to become a full-time author rather than go abroad as a foreign correspondent. He did continue to write part-time for the press, however.

The book was inspired by a summer spent by Ransome teaching the children of his friends, the Altounyans, to sail. Three of the Altounyan children's names are adopted directly for the Walker family. Ransome and Ernest Altounyan bought two small [[Dinghy sailing|dinghies]] called ''Swallow'' and ''Mavis''. Ransome kept ''Swallow'' until he sold it a number of years later, while ''Mavis'' remained in the Altounyan family and is now on permanent display in the [[Ruskin Museum]]. However, later in life Ransome tried to downplay the Altounyan connections, changing the initial dedication of ''Swallows and Amazons'' and writing a new foreword which gave other sources.<ref>''Autobiography of Arthur Ransome'', Arthur Ransome, ed. Rupert Hart-Davis, 1976</ref><ref>''The Life of Arthur Ransome'', Hugh Brogan, 1984</ref> In 2003, the novel was listed at number 57 on the BBC's survey [[The Big Read]].<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top100_2.shtml "BBC - The Big Read"]. BBC. April 2003, Retrieved 1 December 2012</ref>

==Illustrations==
The artist chosen for the first edition of the book was [[Steven Spurrier (artist)|Steven Spurrier]]; however, Ransome objected to his style and so the first edition did not have any illustrations. Spurrier's drawing for the dust jacket had to be used. The second edition contained drawings by [[Clifford Webb]] but after Ransome successfully illustrated ''[[Peter Duck]]'' himself, he decided to do his own drawings for all the books including those already published and Webb's drawings were replaced in later editions.

==Plot summary==

The book relates the outdoor adventures and play of two families of children. These involve sailing, camping, fishing, exploration and [[piracy]]. The Walker children (John, Susan, Titty and Roger) are staying at a farm near a lake in the [[Lake District]] of England, during the school holidays. They sail a borrowed [[dinghy]] named ''Swallow'' and meet the Blackett children (Nancy and Peggy), who sail a dinghy named ''Amazon''. The Walkers camp on an island in the lake while the Blacketts live in their house nearby. When the children meet, they agree to join forces against a common enemy - the Blacketts' uncle James Turner whom they call "Captain Flint" (after the character in ''[[Treasure Island]]''). Turner, normally an ally of his nieces, has withdrawn from their company in order to write his memoirs, and has become decidedly unfriendly. Furthermore when the Blacketts let off a firework on his houseboat roof, it is the Walkers who get the blame. He refuses even to listen when they try to pass on a warning to him about burglars in the area.

In order to determine who should be the overall leader in their campaign against Captain Flint, the Blacketts and the Walkers have a contest to see which can capture the others' boat. As part of their strategy the Walkers make a dangerous crossing of the lake by night, and John is later cautioned by his mother for this reckless act. The Walkers nevertheless win the contest - thanks to Titty who seizes the ''Amazon'' when the Blacketts come to Wild Cat Island. During the same night Titty hears suspicious voices coming from a different island - Cormorant Island - and in the morning it transpires that Turner's houseboat has been burgled. Turner again blames the Walkers, but is finally convinced that he is mistaken and feels he was wrong to distance himself from his nieces' adventures all summer. The Swallows, Amazons and Turner investigate Cormorant Island, but they cannot find Turner's missing trunk.

The following day there is a mock battle between Turner and the children, after which Turner is tried for his crimes and forced to walk the plank on his own houseboat. They agree at the post-battle feast that on the final day of their holidays Titty and Roger will go back to Cormorant Island while the others go fishing. Titty finds the trunk, which contains the memoirs on which Turner had been working, and is rewarded with Turner's green parrot.

James Turner appears in some ways to be modelled on Ransome himself. The story, set in August 1929, includes a good deal of everyday [[Lake District|Lakeland]] life from the farmers to [[charcoal]] burners working in the woods; [[Corned beef#United Kingdom|corned beef]], which the children fancifully refer to as [[pemmican]], and [[ginger beer]] and [[lemonade]], which they call [[grog]], appear as regular food stuff for the campers; island life also allows for occasional references to the story of [[Robinson Crusoe]].

==Major characters in ''Swallows and Amazons''==
See also [[List of characters in Arthur Ransome books]]

*'''John Walker''' – Eldest of the Walkers and captain of the ''Swallow''
*'''Susan Walker''' – Second eldest of the Walkers and mate of the ''Swallow''
*'''Titty Walker''' – Able Seaman of the ''Swallow''. This name was the nickname of the real life Mavis Altounyan, from [[Joseph Jacobs]]'s children's story, ''Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse'',.<ref>[http://www.allthingsransome.net/literary/tit_tat.htm Origin of Mavis Altounyan's nickname of Titty]</ref> It has caused titters among generations of children, causing it to be changed to ''Kitty'' in the original BBC adaptation of the book
*'''Roger Walker''' – Youngest of the sailing Walkers and ship's boy of the ''Swallow''
*'''Bridget Walker''' – (nicknamed "Vicky" due to a resemblance to pictures of Queen Victoria in old age, and referred to as such in the book) Youngest of the Walkers and ship's baby of the ''Swallow''
*'''[[Nancy Blackett (character)|Nancy Blackett]]''' (Ruth) – Captain of the ''Amazon''
*'''Peggy Blackett''' (Margaret) – Nancy's younger sister and mate of the ''Amazon''
*'''James Turner''' – Nancy and Peggy's uncle. Known to the children as "Captain Flint"

==Places in ''Swallows and Amazons''==
According to Ransome, every place in his book can be found in the Lake District, but he took different locations and placed them in different ways: the lake is a fictionalised version of [[Windermere]] but the surrounding countryside more closely resembles that around [[Coniston Water|Coniston]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Hardyment|first=Christina|title=Arthur Ransome and Captain Flint's Trunk|edition=1988|year=1984|publisher=Jonathan Cape|page=47|quote=…the ''lake'' of the books is almost exactly Windermere, but that the ''land'' round about it was much more like Coniston.}}</ref> Wild Cat Island, the location of the island camp, has elements from [[Peel Island, Cumbria|Peel Island]] in Coniston and Blake Holme (or Blakeholme) in Windermere.<ref>Hardyment (1984: 66–67)</ref>

==Film, TV, radio or theatrical adaptations==

===1963 TV Adaptation===
In 1963, the [[BBC]] produced an adaptation, ''[[Swallows and Amazons (1963 television series)|Swallows and Amazons]],'' with [[John Paul (actor)|John Paul]] as "Captain Flint" and [[Susan George (actress)|Susan George]] as the renamed "Kitty".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/3500|title=Swallows and Amazons: Swallows and Amazons Episode 1 Sailing Orders|last=Staff|publisher=[[British Film Institute]]|accessdate=2008-10-22}}</ref> The theme music used was the opening of [[George Butterworth]]'s "Banks of Green Willow".

===1974 Film Version===
{{Infobox Film
| name = Swallows and Amazons
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| director = [[Claude Whatham]]
| producer = Richard Pilbrow
| writer =
| narrator =
| starring = [[Virginia McKenna]]
| music =
| cinematography =
| editing =
| distributor = [[EMI Films]]
| released = 1974
| runtime =
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| budget = £250,000<ref name="amazons"/>
| gross =
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
}}
{{anchor|1973 film}}In the summer of 1973, Theatre Projects adapted the story of ''Swallows and Amazons'' in colour for the big screen and went up to the [[Lake District]] National Park in [[Cumbria]] to film it on the actual locations used by Arthur Ransome to create the fictional lake of the novel.

Released by EMI in 1974, directed by [[Claude Whatham]] and produced by [[Richard Pilbrow]], the film starred [[Virginia McKenna]] and [[Ronald Fraser (actor)|Ronald Fraser]] in the main adult roles and Sophie Neville ''(Titty)'', [[Suzanna Hamilton|Zanna Hamilton]] ''(Susan)'', Simon West ''(John)'' & Stephen Grendon ''(Roger)'' as the Swallows.

Its budget was provided by [[Nat Cohen]] of [[EMI Films]] who was hoping to repeat the success of the film of ''[[The Railway Children]]''.<ref name="amazons">Tim Devlin. "A day in the life of Swallows and Amazons." Times [London, England] 20 June 1973: 12. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 14 July 2012.</ref>

====Release====
This has been made available on video, both in VHS and DVD, in the UK, but is not readily available in the US and elsewhere. In April 2010, the boat used as ''Swallow'' in the film was bought by a group of enthusiasts and has been restored to sailing condition. It is intended to give people an opportunity to sail in a boat like the original ''Swallow''.<ref>[http://www.sailransome.org/ Sailing Swallow - the boat from the 1973 film]</ref>

===Other versions===
In August 1999 BBC Radio 4 broadcast a Radio adaptation by [[David Wood (actor)|David Wood]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.davidwood.org.uk/all_about_me-chronology.html |title=Other Writing 1999 |publisher=David Wood |date= |accessdate=2011-05-18}}</ref> with [[Jean Anderson]] as Titty seventy years later narrating. Young Titty was played by Phoebe Phillips, John by John Paul Ekins, Susan by Flora Harris, Roger by [[Joe Sowerbutts]], mother by [[Penny Downie]], Nancy by Catherine Poole, Peggy by Jackie Swainson and Uncle Jim by [[Nicholas Le Prevost]].

The [[Royal National Theatre]] started developing a musical version of ''Swallows and Amazons'' in 2007. [[The Divine Comedy (band)|The Divine Comedy]]'s frontman [[Neil Hannon]] wrote the music. The musical premiered at the [[Bristol Old Vic]] on 1 December 2010 and played at the [[Vaudeville Theatre]], in London's West End, from 15 December 2011, prior to going on tour around the UK from January to May 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.inthenews.co.uk/entertainment/music/divine-comedy-singer-pens-musical-$1079112.htm/ |title=article revealing the Royal National Theatre's plans for a stage musical adaptation of Swallows and Amazons |publisher=Inthenews.co.uk |date= |accessdate=2011-05-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.timeout.com/london/theatre/event/234653/swallows-and-amazons|title=Swallows and Amazons at Vaudeville Theatre - West End|work=[[Time Out (company)|Time Out]]|accessdate=6 September 2011|location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://swallowsamazons.co.uk/|title=Swallows and Amazons UK Tour 2012|accessdate=24 January 2012}}</ref> The production features adults playing the children and has been received favourably by reviewers.<ref>{{cite web|last=Spencer |first=Charles |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/theatre-reviews/8189591/Swallows-and-Amazons-Bristol-Old-Vic-review.html |title=''Swallows and Amazons, Bristol Old Vic, review''. Daily Telegraph, December 8, 2010 |publisher=Telegraph.co.uk |date=2010-12-08 |accessdate=2011-05-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Michael Billington |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/dec/08/swallows-and-amazons-review?INTCMP=SRCH |title=''Swallows and Amazons review'', Guardian, December 8, 2010 |publisher=Guardian |date=2010-12-09 |accessdate=2011-05-18}}</ref>

==Release details==
*1930, UK, Jonathan Cape, Pub date 1 December 1930, hardback (First edition, unillustrated)
*1931, UK, Jonathan Cape, Pub date 1931, hardback (First "Clifford Webb" illustrated edition)
*1931, US, J.B.Lippincott company, Philadelphia, 1931. Hardback, no full illustrations, front and back plates plus chapter headings by Helene Carter.
*1938, UK, Jonathan Cape, Pub date 1938, hardback (First "Ransome" illustrated edition)
*1958, US, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (ISBN 0-397-30015-8), Pub date ? June 1958, hardback
*1994, US, David R. Godine, Publisher (ISBN 978-1-56792-420-6), paperback
*1995, UK, ISIS Audio Books (ISBN 1-85695-974-0), Pub date August 1995, audio book cassette (unabridged)
*1999, UK, Jonathan Cape (ISBN 0-224-60631-X), Pub date 1999, hardback
*2001, UK, Red Fox Classics (ISBN 0-09-950391-3), Pub date 5 April 2001, paperback
*2001, UK, Red Fox (ISBN 0-09-942733-8), Pub date 5 October 2001, paperback
*2005, UK, Gabriel Woolf (ISBN 0-9550529-0-4), Pub date July 2005, audio book CD
*2010, US, David R. Godine, Publisher (ISBN 978-1567924206), Pub date July 16 2010, paperback revised edition

==See also==
{{portal|Novels}}
*[[List of characters in Arthur Ransome books]]
*[[Roger Altounyan]] - real-life scientist; Ransome named characters in the story after Altounyan and his sisters.
*[[Swallows and Amazons series]]

==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.tarboard.net/ TarBoard, the Arthur Ransome and 'Swallows and Amazons' forum]
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0200383/ The 1963 TV series at the Internet Movie Database]
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072233/ The 1974 film at the Internet Movie Database]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/cumbria/content/image_galleries/swallows_amazons_gallery.shtml The original boats now housed in the Cumbrian museum - BBC photo website]
* [http://swallowsamazons.co.uk/ The 2011-12 theatrical production official site]

{{SwallowsandAmazonsbooks}}
{{EdwardianChildrensLiterature}}

[[Category:1930 novels]]
[[Category:Swallows and Amazons series]]
[[Category:Novels set in Cumbria]]
[[Category:Novels set on islands]]
[[Category:1929 in fiction]]
[[Category:British novels adapted into films]]
[[Category:Adventure novels]]
[[Category:British children's novels]]
[[Category:Jonathan Cape books]]

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Der Kampf um die Insel