Swallows and Amazons (2016 film) of 6.7/10. On Metacritic, the film received a score of 65 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Writing in British daily newspaper "The Daily Telegraph", Lewis Jones noted that Arthur Ransome had written in his diary: "Saw the ghastly mess they have made of poor old "Swallows and Amazons"" after watching the BBC's 1962 series. Jones added, "I think he might have liked Philippa Lowthorpe's forthcoming film, though, which is true to the spirit of his book, and so attentive to period detail that at one point Mrs Walker smokes a cigarette". Jones outlined the
Swallows and Amazons than go abroad as a foreign correspondent. He did continue to write part-time for the press, however. The book was inspired by a summer spent by Ransome teaching the children of his friends, the Altounyans, to sail. Three of the Altounyan children's names are adopted directly for the Walker family. Ransome and Ernest Altounyan bought two small dinghies called "Swallow" and "Mavis". Ransome kept "Swallow" until he sold it a number of years later, while "Mavis" remained in the Altounyan family and is now on permanent display in the Ruskin Museum. However, later in life Ransome tried to downplay the