Arthur Ransome

Arthur Ransome (January 18, 1884–June 3, 1967) was a British children's author. He is best known for writing the Swallows and Amazons series of children's books, which tell of school-holiday adventures of children, mostly in the Lake District and Norfolk Broads areas of England, and mostly involving small sailing boats. They remain popular to the point that they are a basis of a tourist industry around Windermere and Coniston Water — the two lakes that Ransome used as the basis for his fictional lake.

Awards and Appreciation

Arthur Ransome was the first winner of the prestigious Carnegie Medal for children's literature. This was awarded for Pigeon Post in 1936. He was also awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters by Durham University. His books have been translated into a number of languages. As a result, Ransome has become very popular in surprising countries such as Japan and Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic) where thriving Arthur Ransome appreciation societies exist. Recently a Czech astronomer named an asteroid after Ransome (6440 Ransome). There is also a British based Arthur Ransome Society with a worldwide membership.

Related Topics:
Carnegie Medal - 1936 - Doctor of Letters - Durham University - Japan - Czechoslovakia - Czech Republic - Asteroid - Arthur Ransome Society

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Ransome and his wife are buried in the churchyard of St Paul's church, Rusland in the southern Lake District.

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