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Arthur Ransome And Captain Flint's Trunk
A new edition of the classic account of a voyage in search of Arthur Ransome following clues found among the contents of the beloved author's trunk.
- GenresBiographyNonfiction
252 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
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51 people want to read
About the author
Christina Hardyment
43 books19 followersChristina Hardyment read history at Newnham College, Cambridge, and has twice held the Alistair Horne Historians' Writing Fellowship at St. Antony's College, Oxford. She is a writer and broadcaster with wide interests, and lives in Oxford, England.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 31, 2011
Not quite an autobiography of Ransome, but an interesting and engaging study of him as the author of the Swallows & Amazons series. Good read.
February 28, 2024
This is not primarily a biography of Arthur Ransome; instead, Christina Hardyment has explored the places, interviewed the people, and read the books that inspired him.
She’s also delved into Captain Flint’s Trunk: the papers Ransome left behind him, including some notes and unfinished fiction (she prints some quite lengthy excerpts).
She’s a capable writer herself, with a couple of other books to her credit, and I can recommend this book to any other Ransome fans out there.
For those who don’t know, Arthur Ransome wrote a series of twelve books about children’s adventures, starting with Swallows and Amazons in 1930 and ending with Great Northern? in 1947. Although they are children’s books, they’re also good novels; not all equally good, but I periodically reread and enjoy the best of them as an adult.
She’s also delved into Captain Flint’s Trunk: the papers Ransome left behind him, including some notes and unfinished fiction (she prints some quite lengthy excerpts).
She’s a capable writer herself, with a couple of other books to her credit, and I can recommend this book to any other Ransome fans out there.
For those who don’t know, Arthur Ransome wrote a series of twelve books about children’s adventures, starting with Swallows and Amazons in 1930 and ending with Great Northern? in 1947. Although they are children’s books, they’re also good novels; not all equally good, but I periodically reread and enjoy the best of them as an adult.
January 3, 2020
Story of the author’s hunt to identify many of the places in the Swallows series
May 28, 2018
I've probably read all of the Swallows and Amazons books in my time.
Although it's not possible to confirm EXACTLY how many I've read, as we didn't have anything like GoodReads back then. I wish we had have had, because this review would have been a whole lot better!
The books contained fantastic but attainable, outdoor adventuring by posher kids, who were around my own age when I read them... A Very Long Time Ago.
These children just messed about in boats on the river (in lakes, on the Norfolk Broads and in the sea) all day long. In fact it was surprising they didn't slowly rust to a complete standstill by the time the stories had been completed by Mr. Ransome.
Prompted by this book I started reading "Swallows and Amazons" again, but gave up on it as it seemed I had now grown up.
I enjoyed this book thoroughly, but if I hadn't got the Swallows and Amazons' background I mightn't have enjoyed it quite so much. If you have got that background, you'll love this.
There maybe a school of thought which says reading about the real places (Lakeland islands, Norfolk Broads, inlets, islands, farms and houses) which Ransome used in his plots but renamed, and reading about Ms Hardyment's meetings with relatives of the real people he based his story characters on, could take away from the readers' imagination. But actually for me it was quite fascinating to read about their origins and the way in which Arthur Ransome developed this wonderful world I used to run away to.
Although it's not possible to confirm EXACTLY how many I've read, as we didn't have anything like GoodReads back then. I wish we had have had, because this review would have been a whole lot better!
The books contained fantastic but attainable, outdoor adventuring by posher kids, who were around my own age when I read them... A Very Long Time Ago.
These children just messed about in boats on the river (in lakes, on the Norfolk Broads and in the sea) all day long. In fact it was surprising they didn't slowly rust to a complete standstill by the time the stories had been completed by Mr. Ransome.
Prompted by this book I started reading "Swallows and Amazons" again, but gave up on it as it seemed I had now grown up.
I enjoyed this book thoroughly, but if I hadn't got the Swallows and Amazons' background I mightn't have enjoyed it quite so much. If you have got that background, you'll love this.
There maybe a school of thought which says reading about the real places (Lakeland islands, Norfolk Broads, inlets, islands, farms and houses) which Ransome used in his plots but renamed, and reading about Ms Hardyment's meetings with relatives of the real people he based his story characters on, could take away from the readers' imagination. But actually for me it was quite fascinating to read about their origins and the way in which Arthur Ransome developed this wonderful world I used to run away to.
June 2, 2016
An intriguing read, especially for fans of Swallows and Amazons. The author goes on a hunt to find all the real places mentioned in the Swallows and Amazon series, and reveals information on the writing of the books. Includes excerpts from unpublished manuscripts.
August 19, 2012
If you're a Ransome fan you'll want to read and buy it
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews