A Thoroughly Mischievous Person

First published in 1930, Swallows and Amazons secured Arthur Ransome's reputation as one of the most influential children's authors of all time, yet prior to writing fiction he had had a turbulent career as a journalist and war correspondent in revolutionary Russia. In this refreshing account of Ransome's work, Alan Kennedy sets out to explain his enduring appeal, combining literary criticism with psychological expertise. Not only did Ransome apply a careful narrative theory to his works, his use of symbolism aligning them more with the modernist tradition than with the event-driven children's literature of... Dalej