Arthur Ransome books

Arthur Ransome was a British author and journalist best known for the Swallows and Amazons series of children's adventure novels.

Anthologies

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Small Boats on Green Waters 2007 Buy
Old Peter’s Russian Tales 2012 Buy

Children’s Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship 1968 Buy
Little Daughter of the Snow 2005 Buy
Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp, in Rhyme 2008 Buy

Collections

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Racundra’s First Cruise 1923 Buy
Favorite Russian Fairy Tales 1946 Buy
The War of the Birds and the Beasts and Other Russian Tales 1984 Buy
Coots In The North And Other Stories 1988 Buy
Racundra’s Third Cruise 2002 Buy
The Firebird and Other Russian Fairy Tales 2004 Buy

Non-Fiction

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The Souls of the Streets and Other Little Papers 1904 Buy
The Child’s Book of the Seasons 1906 Buy
The Things in our Garden 1906 Buy
Pond and Stream 1906 Buy
Bohemia In London 1907 Buy
The Book of Friendship 1909 Buy
The Hoofmarks of the Faun 1911 Buy
The Book of Love 1911 Buy
Oscar Wilde - A Critical Study 1912 Buy
Portraits and Speculations 1913 Buy
Open Letter to America 1918 Buy
Six Weeks in Russia in 1919 1919 Buy
The Crisis In Russia 1920 Buy
The Soldier and Death 1922 Buy
The Chinese Puzzle 1927 Buy
Mainly about Fishing 1959 Buy
Edgar Allan Poe 1972 Buy
A History of Story-Telling 1973 Buy
The Autobiography of Arthur Ransome 1976 Buy
Rod And Line 1980 Buy
Signalling From Mars: The Letters of Arthur Ransome 1997 Buy
Arthur Ransome’s Long-Lost Study of Robert Louis Stevenson 2011 Buy

Standalone Novels

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The Elixir of Life 2021 Buy

Swallows and Amazons Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Fecskék és fruskák 1930 N/A
Swallows and Amazons 1930 Buy
Swallowdale 1931 Buy
Peter Duck 1932 Buy
Téli ​szünidő 1933 N/A
Winter Holiday 1933 Buy
Coot Club 1934 Buy
Pigeon Post 1936 Buy
We Didn’t Mean to Go to Sea 1937 Buy
Secret Water 1939 Buy
The Big Six 1940 Buy
Missee Lee 1941 Buy
The Picts & the Martyrs or Not Welcome at All 1943 Buy
Great Northern? A Scottish Adventure of Swallows & Amazons 1947 Buy

Arthur Ransome (1884-1967) was a British author whose career spanned journalism, literary criticism, and children’s fiction. He is best remembered for the Swallows and Amazons series, twelve novels published between 1930 and 1947 that follow groups of children on sailing and camping adventures in the English Lake District and Norfolk Broads.

Before his children’s books made him famous, Ransome spent years as a journalist in Russia, covering the Revolution firsthand and publishing political works like Six Weeks in Russia in 1919 and The Crisis In Russia. He also translated Russian fairy tales and wrote literary criticism, including studies of Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Oscar Wilde. His non-fiction catalog of over twenty titles shows a writer with wide-ranging interests well beyond the sailing adventures he is best known for.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books has Arthur Ransome written?

Arthur Ransome has written 48 books across six series.

What was Arthur Ransome's first book?

Arthur Ransome’s first book is The Souls of the Streets and Other Little Papers, published in 1904.

What is Arthur Ransome known for besides children's books?

Before becoming a children’s author, Ransome worked as a journalist and foreign correspondent in Russia during the Revolution. He wrote extensively about Russian politics, translated Russian fairy tales, and published literary criticism. His non-fiction output actually exceeds his fiction in volume.

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