Margot Pardoe supervision; as in Arthur Ransome's "Swallows and Amazons series", these often take place in a rural setting. However, there are some differences which set Pardoe's books, and the "Bunkle" series in particular, apart. The children do not live in a vacuum; unlike Blyton's St Clare's series, World War II is mentioned (with the associated inconveniences of rationing and black-out), and the children also age. Bunkle is ten when the first book starts and ages gradually until the last but one volume, before returning to his original age in the last adventure which is hard to find owing to a short
Swallows and Amazons (2016 film) film's changes to the book's character Jim Turner, writing, "In the film he is engaged in espionage and pursued by Russian agents, which gives the story some grown-up oomph, and pays fitting tribute to the author's wildly adventurous early life. For Ransome was not merely a boaty old buffer with a walrus moustache who wrote children's books. As a young journalist he reported on the Russian Revolution, was on intimate terms with its leaders and was himself an active player, which led to his recruitment by MI6." For Alistair Harkness, writing in "The Scotsman", the film "serves as a gentle