Arthur Ransome

Author profile

born

in Leeds, The United Kingdom

January 18, 1884

died

June 03, 1967

gender

male

website

http://www.arthur-ransome.org/

genre

Literature & Fiction, Young Adult, Outdoors & Nature

About this author

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Arthur Mitchell Ransome was born in Leeds in 1884 and educated in Windermere and Rugby. His family spent their summers at Nibthwaite, to the south of Coniston Water.

In 1902, Ransome abandoned a chemistry degree to become a publisher's office boy in London. He used this precarious existence to practise writing, producing several minor works before Bohemia in London (1907), a study of London's artistic scene and his first significant book.

An interest in folklore, together with a desire to escape an unhappy first marriage, led Ransome to St Petersburg, where he was ideally placed to observe and report on the Russian Revolution. He knew many of the leading Bolsheviks, including Lenin, Radek, Trotsky and the latter's secretary, Evgenia Shvelpina...more

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Arthur Ransome's Books

Average rating: 4.01 · 17,851 ratings · 727 reviews · 54 distinct works · Similar authors

	Swallows and Amazons (Swallows and Amazons, #1) 3.97 of 5 stars 3.97 avg rating — 9,503 ratings — published 1930 — 36 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Pigeon Post (Swallows and Amazons, #6) 4.13 of 5 stars 4.13 avg rating — 981 ratings — published 1936 — 16 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Swallowdale (Swallows and Amazons, #2) 4.19 of 5 stars 4.19 avg rating — 995 ratings — published 1931 — 20 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Winter Holiday (Swallows and Amazons, #4) 4.24 of 5 stars 4.24 avg rating — 796 ratings — published 1933 — 18 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea (Swallows and Amazons, #7) 4.17 of 5 stars 4.17 avg rating — 726 ratings — published 1937 — 16 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Coot Club (Swallows and Amazons, #5) 3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 avg rating — 712 ratings — published 199 — 15 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Secret Water (Swallows and Amazons, #8) 4.12 of 5 stars 4.12 avg rating — 669 ratings — published 1939 — 15 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Peter Duck: A Treasure Hunt in the Caribbees (Swallows and Amazons, #3) 3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 avg rating — 669 ratings — published 1932 — 20 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship by Arthur Ransome, Uri Shulevitz (Illustrator) 3.73 of 5 stars 3.73 avg rating — 598 ratings — published 1968 — 6 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Big Six 3.93 of 5 stars 3.93 avg rating — 477 ratings — published 1940 — 13 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Arthur Ransome…

Series by Arthur Ransome

Swallows and Amazons (12 books)
by Arthur Ransome
4.01959748870504 of 5 stars 4.02 avg rating — 17,043 ratings

Quotes by Arthur Ransome

“BETTER DROWNED THAN DUFFERS IF NOT DUFFERS WONT DROWN”
― Arthur Ransome, Swallows and Amazons

23 people liked it

“You write not for children but for yourself. And if by good fortune children enjoy what you enjoy, why then you are a writer of children's books.”
― Arthur Ransome

12 people liked it

“Who would wave a flag to be rescued if they had a desert island of their own? That was the thing that spoilt Robinson Crusoe. In the end he came home. There never ought to be an end.”
― Arthur Ransome

tags: adventure

9 people liked it

See all Arthur Ransome's quotes »

Polls

Which Classic YA book should we read as a group in August 2012?

Amazing and Death Defying Diary of Eugene Dingman by Paul Zindel

19 votes, 51.4%

Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome

18 votes, 48.6%

37 total votes

6 comments

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