This is my favourite chapter. (Have I said that before? It’s possible I might have more than one.) It begins with a casual reference to mature, dignified Captain John turning upside down to look between his knees and the reflection in the lake.
The world of the Swallows and Amazons, so permanently close to the hearts and the cartography of those in the Lake District, is likely to come under further scrutiny this year, the 50th anniversary of the death of Arthur Ransome, master storyteller.
This is my favourite chapter. (Have I said that before? It’s possible I might have more than one.) It begins with a casual reference to mature, dignified Captain John turning upside down to look between his knees and the reflection in the lake.
The lengthy conversation about the relative heights of the younger crew members turns out to be more important than it first appears. Yes, it reinforces messages we have already had about Roger’s status in the family, Susan’s sense of responsibility, John’s need to plan for all of them. But it also sets the context for the declaration that Roger won’t need to reach the lantern…
In which we learn about centre boards, pilot books (I had to look them up), and the proper way to carry a heavy barrel.
This chapter is about making friends, and specifically, how to make friends when what you really want to do with your new friends is pretend to be enemies. It manages to illustrate this on several levels within not many pages, and it’s really quite clever.
No cryptically whimisical title for this chapter. This is Serious Bizniss.
Poor John wakes up all of a muddle. I can’t quite tell whether he’s wishing that his story had stayed pottersome or hoping that it will turn into a thriller, and I’m not sure that he knows, either.
The plot thickens. Thickens like a sauce that you’ve been stirring patiently for half an hour, and you turn away from it for less than a minute. So far they’ve basically been pottering about, wittily sewing on buttons. Now there’s smoke, shaking of fists, and a mysterious disappearing pirate ship. You can hardly see for the foreshadowing.
I’m interested in the boundaries these siblings set for each other. Titty doesn’t want John and Susan to know that she’s practicing being a cormorant, but she’s absolutely fine with telling them that she’s diving for pearls.