Winter Holiday (novel) Winter Holiday (novel) Winter Holiday is the fourth novel of Arthur Ransome's "Swallows and Amazons" series of children's books. It was published in 1933. In this story, the third set of major characters in the series, the Ds — Dick and Dorothea Callum—are introduced. The series' usual emphasis on boats and sailing is largely absent, as the story is set in the winter. Instead, the children's activities focus on ice skating, signalling with semaphore and Morse code, and sledging. Ransome draws on his schoolday memories of the Great Frost of 1895 when Windermere froze completely. Another major influence is Fridtjof
Swallows and Amazons series the young protagonists, many — generally benevolent — adult characters also appear. The most prominently involved are the Blackett sisters' uncle Jim Turner, who is called Captain Flint by the children, after the character in "Treasure Island", and Mrs Barrable in "Coot Club". A painfully shy geologist, named Timothy, is also accepted by the children during "Pigeon Post" and included in their adventures. The "Swallows and Amazons" series has strong links with the real world. Extensive elements of both the characters and the settings can be traced back to incidents in Ransome's life and are the raw material for much