200,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿 

Overnight NZ-wide delivery | 📍 Visit our Auckland bookstore • Open 7 days, 8:30am–5pm

Swallows and Amazons

By Arthur Ransome
0.0 (0 reviews)
4.01 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating. ( 32,583 ratings, 1,521 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome is a classic children's adventure story set in the English Lake District. It follows the Walker siblings—John, Susan, Titty, and Roger—who embark on a summer holiday filled with exploration and sailing on their boat, the Swallow. They encounter the Blackett sisters, rivals and eventual friends, who sail the Amazon, and together they face challenges and embark on adventures, fostering imagination and camaraderie.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$1900
Elsewhere:
$2100
Backorder
STOCK ARRIVING EARLY DECEMBER Order now to secure your copy from our next shipment

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This charming adventure story may appeal to you if you enjoy tales of childhood imagination and outdoor exploration. Set in the idyllic English Lake District, it follows a group of children who spend their summer holidays engaging in sailing, camping, and friendly rivalries. It's perfect for readers who love classic stories of friendship, teamwork, and the joy of discovery.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

'Swallows and Amazons for ever!'

Rediscover this classic tale of adventure.

The Walker children - also known as Captain John, Mate Susan, Able-Seaman Titty, and Ship's Boy Roger - set sail on the Swallow and head for Wild Cat Island.

The first in Arthur Ransome's charming, thrilling and inspirational series. The book that has set generations of children and their parents afloat, on the high seas of the Lake District.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

The first in Arthur Ransome's charming, thrilling, and inspirational series. The book that has set generations of children and their parents afloat, on the high seas of the Lake District.

Swallows and Amazons for ever!

Rediscover this classic tale of adventure.

The Walker children—also known as Captain John, Mate Susan, Able-Seaman Titty, and Ship's Boy Roger—set sail on the Swallow and head for Wild Cat Island. There they camp under open skies, swim in clear water, and go fishing for their dinner. But their days are disturbed by the Blackett sisters, the fierce Amazon pirates. The Swallows and Amazons decide to battle it out, and so begins a summer of unforgettable discoveries and incredible adventures.

EXTRA ACTIVITIES INCLUDED - Crack the Swallow's code and learn all about the adventurous author in the brilliant extra educational resources included in this edition.

Lists

Richard Branson's must-read books

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome is often remembered fondly as a childhood favourite, praised for its enchanting and adventurous spirit. Reviewers highlight its ability to inspire imagination through its depiction of escapist adventures with boating and summer picnics. The story captivates with its timeless charm and remains a window into a world where adventure is found in simple pleasures rather than technology.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780099572794

Publisher: Vintage Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 02 August 2012

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Vintage Children's Classics

Illustration: B/W original by author

Audience: Children

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 32.0mm

Width: 128.0mm

Height: 188.0mm

Weight: 349g

Pages: 528

Collections

Arthur Ransome Children's Books Children's Fiction Children’s, Teenage and Educational Classic Fiction Penguin Books Young Adult

About the Author

Arthur Ransome was born in Leeds in 1884. He had an adventurous life - as a baby in he was carried by his father to the top of the Old Man of Coniston, a peak that is 2,276ft high! He went to Russia in 1913 to study folklore and in 1914, at the start of World War I he became a foreign correspondent for the Daily News. In 1917 when the Russian Revolution began he became a journalist and was a special correspondent of the Guardian. He played chess with Lenin and married Trotsky's personal secretary, Evgenia Petrovna Shelepina. On their return to England, he bought a cottage near Windermere in the Lake District and began writing children's stories. In a 1958 author's note, Ransome wrote: "I have been often asked how I came to write Swallows and Amazons. The answer is that it had its beginning long, long ago when, as children, my brother, my sisters and I spent most of our holidays on a farm at the south end of Coniston. We played in or on the lake or on the hills above ... Going away from it we were half drowned in tears. While away from it, as children and as grown-ups, we dreamt about it. No matter where I was, wandering about the world, I used at night to look for the North Star and, in my mind's eye, could see the beloved sky-line of great hills beneath it. Swallows grew out of those old memories. I could not help writing it. It almost wrote itself." He published the first of his children's classics, the twelve Swallows And Amazons books, in 1930. In 1936 he won the first ever Carnegie Medal for his book, Pigeon Post. He died in 1967.

Also by Arthur Ransome

View all
  • Great Northern?
    Flat on his front, binoculars to his eyes, alone at dusk, Dick makes a remarkable discovery—two rare birds, never before seen in the British Isles. Captain Flint and his crew decide to consult an expert to confirm the discovery. But when the man they ask turns out to have his collector's eye on the birds' eggs, not to mention skins,...
    By Arthur Ransome
    Hardback
    Sold Out
  • Swallows And Amazons
    Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome is the quintessential children's classic, evoking long summer days brimming with adventure and the boundless imagination of youth. Set against the idyllic backdrop of the Lake District, the story invites readers into a world where sailing, exploration, and camaraderie are the order of the day. The narrative centres on four siblings - John, Susan,...
    By Arthur Ransome
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • Swallowdale
    Swallowdale is the second book in Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series. A perfect tale for every child who understands the thrill of fishing, campfires, and the freedom to explore. 'Ahoy! Ahoy! Swallows! Ahoy!' Have you ever sailed in a boat or built a camp? Have you caught trout and cooked it yourself? The four Swallows—John, Susan, Titty, and Roger—return...
    By Arthur Ransome
    Paperback
    Sold Out

Browse lists from our team

The Latest at Book Hero

View all

More from Children's Books

View all
  • New Release
    Gruffalo Granny
    The brand new Gruffalo picture book from Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. The Gruffalo said to his daughter one day, "Your Gruffalo Granny is coming to stay." Return to the deep dark wood with the first new Gruffalo story in over 20 years, and meet Gruffalo Granny as she visits the Gruffalo family. This fresh and exciting new Gruffalo adventure...
    By Julia Donaldson
    Hardback
    $2499
    Elsewhere:
    $3000
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Sprinkle in Time: A Graphic Novel (Dog Man #15)
    New Release
    A Sprinkle in Time: A Graphic Novel (Dog Man #15)
    In the newest saga, our anti-hero, Grandpa, alters the fabric of time and space. Is his evil the necessary soil for Dog Man and friends to grow and bloom? Can we all step up to be the change? It's the saga of the century—Dog Man: A Sprinkle in Time!
    By Dav Pilkey
    Hardback
    $2399
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Fight or Flight: Diary of a Wimpy Kid (21)
    When the going gets tough, what’s a wimpy kid to do? In Fight or Flight, Greg Heffley faces his biggest challenge yet as he becomes a target for the school bully. Luckily for Greg, his best friend, Rowley Jefferson, takes karate, so at least Greg’s got someone in his corner. But an unexpected twist makes Greg realize he’s facing an uphill...
    By Jeff Kinney
    Paperback
    $1699
    Elsewhere:
    $2100
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Detective Beans Colouring Club
    New Release
    Detective Beans Colouring Club
    Help Detective Beans solve the case of the missing colours! Join the Colouring Club now! Join the Detective Beans Colouring Club! Inside you'll find 40 removable colouring pages featuring scenes from all over Cat Town. Filled with all the characters you know and love from the Detective Beans graphic novels like Biscuits, Beans' mum, Mr Brickle, Bear, Detective Baby Bird...
    By Li Chen
    Paperback
    $1799
    Elsewhere:
    $2100
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    The Sixth Faction
    Beatrice Prior stands on the brink of a decision every person in her world must make: five factions, five futures, five lives. She has a plan: she's going to make the bravest choice, and leave Abnegation behind to join Dauntless, even though it means leaving her family behind. But when tragedy strikes at her Choosing Ceremony, everything changes—her world, her...
    By Veronica Roth
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3499
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    The Naturals: Dangerous Impulses Book 5
    The Naturals are BACK! No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Lynn Barnes delivers the highly anticipated new installment in her beloved Naturals Series. Cassie Hobbes joined the FBI's Naturals program at seventeen because she had an incredible ability to read people. Since then, Cassie, fellow profiler Dean, emotion‐reader Michael, lie‐detector Lia, and statistical genius Sloane have caught serial...
    By Jennifer Lynn Barnes
    Paperback
    $2199
    Elsewhere:
    $2499
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    All of Us
    A new heart-wrenching, well-researched historical novel for middle-grade readers. 'The weirdest thing,' continues Tove, 'is that I don't feel any different to the rest of you.' 'That's because you're not!' snaps Birgitte. 'You're Danish.' 'So why do the Nazis hate me and not you?' When twelve-year-old Viggo and his friends Finn, Tove, Birgitte and Konrad start writing rude letters to...
    By Katrina Nannestad
    Hardback
    $2599
    Elsewhere:
    $2999
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Star Path
    New Release
    The Star Path
    A young whale searches for the whale rider's heir and a teenager takes an epic voyage to Antarctica with a fleet of waka hourua to claim his lost inheritance, in this breathtaking return to the world of global hit The Whale Rider, over thirty years on. From the internationally acclaimed author of The Whale Rider comes a novel about the...
    By Witi Ihimaera Smiler
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3500
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Wahine
    New Release
    Wahine
    From a majestic mermaid to a clay woman, the creator of glaciers to the mother of gardening, discover powerful wahine and how their stories shaped the world around us. Wahine introduces readers to twelve purakau of brave, bold, and inspiring women of Aotearoa. A beautifully illustrated collection that will delight the whole whanau, from award-winning illustrator Isobel Joy Te Aho-White....
    By Isobel Joy Te Aho-White
    Hardback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    Lottie Brooks’s Twelve Disasters of Christmas
    From hilarious MEGA bestselling author, Katie Kirby, comes a new story collection from the world of Lottie Brooks! But this time... it's not about Lottie! From hilarious MEGA bestselling author, Katie Kirby, comes a new story collection from the world of Lottie Brooks! And it's CHRISTMAS! In The Completely Chaotic Christmas of Lottie Brooks we spent the holiday season with...
    By Katie Kirby
    Paperback
    $1799
    Elsewhere:
    $2100
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Matihe! Achoo! Matihe! Achoo!
    New Release
    Matihe! Achoo!
    What happens when a grumpy tupua has to sneeze? Matihe! Achoo! is a bilingual story about the tupua Mataoho and his connection to the volcanoes of Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland. It comes with an action song to engage young readers! He pūrākau e pā ana ki a Mataoho me ngā puia o Takamaki Makaurau. He tupua pukukino a Mataoho e noho...
    By Qiane Matata-Sipu
    Paperback
    $1899
    Elsewhere:
    $2100
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Sweet As Looky Book
    New Release
    The Sweet As Looky Book
    Can you find all the chocolate fish? Is it possible for kiwi to fly? Can you spot the difference? See Aotearoa New Zealand through the eyes of award-winning artist Donovan Bixley in The Sweet As Looky Book. Use your finest skills to seek out pirates in the Bay of Islands and birds in Rakiura Stewart Island. Get in a car...
    By Donovan Bixley
    Hardback
    $2299
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 190,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.