Ransome note – ‘Swallows and Amazons’ – The Irish Times
From the Irish Times
Sir, – I write in response to Donald Clarke’s review of the new ‘Swallows and Amazons’ film (“Oh golly-gosh! We’re in the wrong century”, August 18th). Whether or not Donald Clarke enjoys Arthur Ransome’s children’s books is of no great concern, but it is sad that his piece provides such an imbalanced impression of the first of Ransome’s 12 novels. He states: “Nobody still capable of walking upright will be interested in these creaky adventures. Right?”
It may surprise Donald Clarke to know that none of Ransome’s children’s novels has gone out of print since they were published in the 1930s and 1940s, and that the scope of their sales overseas is expanding, with a particular interest in China and eastern Europe. This hardly suggests a dying interest…