The Picts and the Martyrs they can be questioned, and Nancy manages to save the Great Aunt some embarrassment for which she gets praised in a letter to her mother. Ransome's wife Evgenia hated the book while it was being written, but his mother Edith persuaded him to publish it. Genia was often discouraging about his books while he was writing them. The Picts and the Martyrs The Picts and the Martyrs is the eleventh book in Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series of children's books. It was published in 1943. This is the last completed book set in the Lake District and features the
Swallows and Amazons series adventures in the series, the children change roles and become explorers or miners. In the novel "Winter Holiday", the children meet Dick and Dorothea Callum, siblings visiting the area. Dick and Dorothea are often referred to as "The Ds" and appear in subsequent novels. Dick considers himself a scientist, while Dorothea sees herself as a writer. Two of the books feature the Callums without the Swallows or Amazons: "Coot Club" and "The Big Six". They are set in an accurate representation of the Norfolk Broads, particularly the small village of Horning and its surrounding rivers and broads. Two other books