Arthur Ransome - Coot Club, The Big Six, etc.

Which other authors do you enjoy? Discuss them here.
Bannerman65

Re: Coot Club and The Big Six!

Post by Bannerman65 »

Thank you, Kate. :)
dsr
Posts: 1224
Joined: 10 Dec 2006, 00:25
Location: Colne, Lancashire

Re: Coot Club and The Big Six!

Post by dsr »

Bridget does have a bit of "Elinor Brent-Dyer" chronology, when she ages 4+ years between "Swallows & Amazons" and "Secret Water" while the others are only a couple of years older. Presumably she has to be made old enough to fit the plot.

Quiz question for Swallows & Amazons geeks (like me) - what was Titty's real name?
DSR
User avatar
Kate Mary
Posts: 1917
Joined: 20 Apr 2007, 06:25
Favourite book/series: The Treasure Hunters/ Five Find Outers
Favourite character: Barney
Location: Kent

Re: Coot Club and The Big Six!

Post by Kate Mary »

Titty's real name is Mavis!
User avatar
Anita Bensoussane
Forum Administrator
Posts: 26768
Joined: 30 Jan 2005, 23:25
Favourite book/series: Adventure series, Six Cousins books, Six Bad Boys
Favourite character: Jack Trent, Fatty and Elizabeth Allen
Location: UK

Re: Coot Club and The Big Six!

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Kate Mary wrote:Titty's real name is Mavis!
I hardly dare ask how she acquired her nickname, then! :lol:

In Swallows and Amazons, Bridget (nicknamed Vicky because she looks like the elderly Queen Victoria!) has just celebrated her 2nd birthday. The poor thing had "Victoria" written on the top of her birthday cake!

Anita
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.


Society Member
User avatar
Kate Mary
Posts: 1917
Joined: 20 Apr 2007, 06:25
Favourite book/series: The Treasure Hunters/ Five Find Outers
Favourite character: Barney
Location: Kent

Re: Coot Club and The Big Six!

Post by Kate Mary »

No, it's nothing like you think, Anita. In real life Titty was Mavis Altounyan, her nickname comes from the English folk tale 'Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse'. I guess they were more innocent times back then!
Her youngest sister (Bridget in the books) was Brigit Sanders nee Altounyan and she was the first president of The Arthur Ransome Society. I haven't joined, it sounds a bit too open air and hearty for me.

Kate.
User avatar
Anita Bensoussane
Forum Administrator
Posts: 26768
Joined: 30 Jan 2005, 23:25
Favourite book/series: Adventure series, Six Cousins books, Six Bad Boys
Favourite character: Jack Trent, Fatty and Elizabeth Allen
Location: UK

Re: Coot Club and The Big Six!

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Kate Mary wrote:No, it's nothing like you think, Anita. In real life Titty was Mavis Altounyan, her nickname comes from the English folk tale 'Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse'.
Thank goodness for that!
Kate Mary wrote:Her youngest sister (Bridget in the books) was Brigit Sanders nee Altounyan and she was the first president of The Arthur Ransome Society. I haven't joined, it sounds a bit too open air and hearty for me.
I had heard of Ransome's friendship with the Altounyan family. Interesting that Bridget was the first president of the Arthur Ransome Society.

I'm now about three-quarters of the way through Swallows and Amazons and although the plot, such as it is, is quite slight, I'm finding the story charming. Like the children in Blyton's The Secret Island, John, Susan and co. live by themselves on an island. Ransome's book doesn't have the same urgency and tension as Blyton's since the children are only camping on the island for a week or two and their mother and little sister are staying at a farm on the shores of the lake. However, Arthur Ransome puts in a lot of interesting details about how the children do things, eg. filling the kettle from the lake by dipping the spout beneath the water rather than removing the lid (you get less "scum" from the surface of the lake in it that way!) and covering the camp-fire with dampened clods of earth in order to keep it burning slowly through the night. The ages of most of the children aren't given but the youngest, Roger, is only seven. And in this book they do, on the whole, seem rather younger than most Blyton characters, enjoying play-acting - they often pretend to be pirates or pearl-divers, whileTitty at various times pretends she's a cormorant, or Robinson Crusoe. By the time of We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea, which is the 7th book in the series, they are obviously considerably more mature.

Although childish in some respects, the children are pretty responsible. Roger learns to swim a few strokes and, when Mother comes to visit them at their camp, she presents him with "a knife with a good big blade," saying, "...daddy said that Roger was to have a knife of his own as soon as he could swim." All the children appear to have had rules about safety drummed into them and she obviously trusts him to use it sensibly.

Anita
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.


Society Member
Alicia
Posts: 66
Joined: 06 Oct 2007, 11:32
Favourite book/series: malory towers
Favourite character: why,alicia of course!

Re: Coot Club and The Big Six!

Post by Alicia »

I've never heard of these- they sound good though!
User avatar
Mollybob
Posts: 444
Joined: 16 May 2006, 13:35
Favourite book/series: The Valley of Adventure, Five On a Treasure Island
Favourite character: Philip, George
Location: Calne, Wiltshire

Re: Coot Club and The Big Six!

Post by Mollybob »

Anita Bensoussane wrote:I'm now about three-quarters of the way through Swallows and Amazons and although the plot, such as it is, is quite slight, I'm finding the story charming.
Anita
I think this is where the appeal of these stories lies. Apart from a couple of rather far-fetched exceptions (Missee Lee springs to mind), these adventures could happen to real children and this makes them highly believable. I often used to camp outside (in the back garden) and cook over a camp fire, inspired by many of the things I learned from these books. We tried dowsing for water, looking for minerals, etc. We used to pretend to have boats :D

Sonia
User avatar
Anita Bensoussane
Forum Administrator
Posts: 26768
Joined: 30 Jan 2005, 23:25
Favourite book/series: Adventure series, Six Cousins books, Six Bad Boys
Favourite character: Jack Trent, Fatty and Elizabeth Allen
Location: UK

Re: Coot Club and The Big Six!

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

I read the last few chapters of Swallows and Amazons last night while a terrific thunderstorm was raging. Perfect conditions for reading the chapter titled "The Storm"! I like the way Ransome gives us each of the children's thoughts on leaving the island, eg. "Titty thought of it as Robinson Crusoe's island. It was her island more than anyone's because she had been alone on it..."

Anita
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.


Society Member
User avatar
Anita Bensoussane
Forum Administrator
Posts: 26768
Joined: 30 Jan 2005, 23:25
Favourite book/series: Adventure series, Six Cousins books, Six Bad Boys
Favourite character: Jack Trent, Fatty and Elizabeth Allen
Location: UK

Re: Coot Club and The Big Six!

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Kate Mary wrote:My own favourite is Winter Holiday, a Lake District story with a snowy setting, it is tightly plotted and a near perfect children's adventure story.
I've now read all five Arthur Ransome books in my possession and have to say that Winter Holiday had me captivated. It's sublime - the story flows beautifully, the plot is exciting yet believable and the snowy landscape adds a touch of magic. Have to confess I found Dick and Dorothea more interesting than the Swallows and Amazons - I warmed to them from the word go. We get to know them better, I think, perhaps because we see them alone at the beginning of the story, looking on and feeling out of things, before gradually being accepted. But then all the characters are well-drawn in Winter Holiday and even Nancy and Peggy finally come to life. Nancy is out of action for a while yet still makes her presence felt. About time too, as Nancy and Peggy seemed rather "shadowy" figures to me in Swallows and Amazons, Swallowdale and Peter Duck , although they did have interesting relatives like Captain Flint.

Of the five books I've read, Winter Holiday is my favourite because Dick and Dorothea fit in so well and all the details of the plot just seem so "right," resulting in a stirring narrative. After that comes We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea, because of the great sense of danger, and then Swallowdale since it's nice to see the children exploring the countryside without boats for once! The other two titles don't appeal to me as much. Swallows and Amazons has a certain charm but nothing much happens really, while Peter Duck is a story within a story, making me feel distanced from the events.

I intend to read the rest of the series when I get the chance.

Anita
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.


Society Member
User avatar
Kate Mary
Posts: 1917
Joined: 20 Apr 2007, 06:25
Favourite book/series: The Treasure Hunters/ Five Find Outers
Favourite character: Barney
Location: Kent

Re: Coot Club and The Big Six!

Post by Kate Mary »

I knew you would enjoy 'Winter Holiday', Anita. Dick and Dorothea are my favouite characters too. In the next book 'Coot Club' they really come into their own, the Swallows and Amazons don't appear, but there is a whole new cast of characters including The Death and Glories, it is an absolute corker of a book. I think you will love it.

Kate.
"I love everything that's old: old friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wines." Oliver Goldsmith

Society Member
User avatar
Anita Bensoussane
Forum Administrator
Posts: 26768
Joined: 30 Jan 2005, 23:25
Favourite book/series: Adventure series, Six Cousins books, Six Bad Boys
Favourite character: Jack Trent, Fatty and Elizabeth Allen
Location: UK

Re: Coot Club and The Big Six!

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Thanks, Kate. I'll have to look out for Coot Club and the rest.

Anita
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.


Society Member
User avatar
Kate Mary
Posts: 1917
Joined: 20 Apr 2007, 06:25
Favourite book/series: The Treasure Hunters/ Five Find Outers
Favourite character: Barney
Location: Kent

Re: Coot Club and The Big Six!

Post by Kate Mary »

News for Swallows and Amazons fans. There is a TV programme about Arthur Ransome on BBC4 on Wednesday 19th November 8:10 p.m. it is part of "An awfully big adventure" series. I'll be watching!

Kate.
"I love everything that's old: old friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wines." Oliver Goldsmith

Society Member
User avatar
Anita Bensoussane
Forum Administrator
Posts: 26768
Joined: 30 Jan 2005, 23:25
Favourite book/series: Adventure series, Six Cousins books, Six Bad Boys
Favourite character: Jack Trent, Fatty and Elizabeth Allen
Location: UK

Re: Coot Club and The Big Six!

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Sounds interesting. I'll try to watch that if I can, Kate.

Anita
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.


Society Member
User avatar
Anita Bensoussane
Forum Administrator
Posts: 26768
Joined: 30 Jan 2005, 23:25
Favourite book/series: Adventure series, Six Cousins books, Six Bad Boys
Favourite character: Jack Trent, Fatty and Elizabeth Allen
Location: UK

Re: Coot Club and The Big Six!

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

I watched the programme last night. It was lovely to see the Lake District locations and fascinating to see the lady (Mavis Altounyan) who was the inspiration for the character Titty. The old photos were interesting, especially the ones showing the Altounyan children posing for sketches which Ransome did for the Swallows and Amazons books. I hadn't known before that the Altounyans were the children of a lady (Dora?) to whom Arthur Ransome had once proposed marriage only to be rejected (before she married Mr. Altounyan.) Funny that Ransome spent so much time with those children as they grew up (even offering to adopt Mavis!) while being estranged from his own daughter Tabitha by his first wife.

Anita
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.


Society Member
Post Reply