Swallows and Amazons Swallows and Amazons Swallows and Amazons is the first book in the "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 (Bridget), 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 "Manchester Guardian", but decided to become a full-time author rather
Arthur Ransome foreign affairs, and also writing the "Country Diary" column on fishing. On the Ransomes return to England, "Racundra" was sold to the yachting author Kaines Adlard Coles who sailed her back to England. By the late 1920s, Ransome had settled in the Lake District because he had decided not to accept a position as a full-time foreign correspondent with the "Guardian". Instead he wrote "Swallows and Amazons" in 1929—the first of the series that made his reputation as one of the best English writers of children's books. Ransome apparently based the Walker children (the "Swallows") in the book in part