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 middle of an English lake is thrilling just because it is not fabulous. […] It is make-believe such as all children have indulged in: even children who have not been so fortunate as to have a lake and a boat and an island but only a backyard amongst the semis of Suburbia." In 1963, the BBC produced an adaptation, "Swallows and Amazons," with John Paul as "Captain Flint" and Susan George as the renamed "Kitty". The series was directed by Peter Saunders. EMI released a version in 1974, directed by Claude Whatham and produced by Richard Pilbrow. The film starred