Peter Duck

I loved [Amazons and Swallows], the first book in the famous children's series by British author, Arthur Ransome. Chronologically this book is second, although it was published third. In hindsight I wish I had read it in publication order, because we learn in [Swallowdale] that [Peter Duck] is a fictional tale written by one of the characters. That goes a long way to explaining some of the things I did not like about it, thinking that it was meant to be realistic.

The children have gathered in Lowestoft to join Captain Flint (Nancy and Peggy's uncle) on the schooner Wild Cat. They meet a crusty old salt named Peter Duck who volunteers to fill in for the other adult who is delayed and can't join them. Peter tells them a yarn about being show more shipwrecked as a ship's boy and seeing pirates bury treasure at the foot of a palm tree. Excited by the prospect of real buried treasure, Captain Flint and the Swallows and Amazons crew are off for the Caribbees, trailed by the notorious pirate Black Jake and The Viper. Adventures abound and once more the children must rely on their wits and each other as they sail across the Atlantic.

Although the middle of the book dragged a bit, the action in the last third is nonstop excitement. I look forward to returning to England and the adventures of the Swallows and Amazon in a more realistic setting. show less

1932. This is my favorite one. It seems to be a fantasy, because it seems impossible that Uncle Jim would really be able to get (buy?) a schooner. And if he did it would still be massively imprudent to take seven children in search of treasure with dangerous blackguards chasing you and only two grown men. And that is what happens in Peter Duck. Will they find the treasure and get away with it? I won’t spoil it.

(Alistair) And now with severe mood-whiplash after Farthing - although, seeing as I anticipated the darkness of said book and deliberately placed this here, intentional whiplash - I return to another one of my treasured childhood books with the third in the Swallows and Amazons series.

This, if you recall my Swallowdale review, is the one that is suggested to be metafictional therein, insofar as references are made to a similar, but not identical, story the children make up, one of whose characters is identical to the guest star of this book, the eponymous Peter Duck. Well, that being said, in this book there's no mention of its metafictionality (well, okay, there wouldn't be in-text, but there's no framing story, etc.), so really, I show more suppose to a large extent it's up to the reader to decide exactly how metafictional it is, and how far one's willing to suspend disbelief - which really doesn't have to be too far in the setting, even if one accepts it as non-meta.

In this book, the traditional ripping yarn of camping and sailing is moved up a notch, for when the Blacketts and Walkers go off to sea for the holidays with the Blacketts' Uncle Jim, a chance meeting with an old sailor sends them off on a Caribbean adventure, complete with buried treasure and even with a shipful of pirates. As one has come to expect from these books, the characterization and setting are both very good, and the plot moves along briskly and keeps you reading. The author's own pen-and-ink illustrations - attributed within the book to the characters themselves, and in appropriate style - are also worthy of note. Once again, highly recommended.

(With one minor caveat. Note to the Racial Sensitivity Police: at one point, one of the pirate crew is referred to faintly archaically as "the big Negro", and [SPOILERS; BE YE WARNED] gur jbeq "avttre" vf hfrq; nygubhtu abg nf n enpvny fyhe - gur gernfher gheaf bhg gb or crneyf, naq va gur onq qbt-Yngva bs vgf ohevref, tbbq, onq, oynpx naq erq crneyf ner ynoryrq "obavrf", "znyyvrf", "avttref" naq "ebfrf". Remember, however, that these books were written in the 1930s, and I really do think we should be, and teach our children to be, mature enough to cope.)

( http://weblog.siliconcerebrate.com/cerebrate/2009/02/peter_duck_arthur_ransome.h... ) show less

I started rereading this series a little while ago and this one is probably the best so far, trumping even Swallows and Amazons for tightness and excitement. Cute and thrilling at the same time. Golly, I love Arthur Ransome!

The Swallows and Amazons, as well as Captain Flint and the ancient able seaman Peter Duck, set sail on the Wild Cat bound for the Channel. But they are shadowed by the Viper, manned by none other than Black Jake - a beastly pirate with a dark plan. Can the children race ahead and uncover the buried treasure before the pirate? Can they survive storms, earthquakes, crabs and even a waterspout and make it home?

Growing up the Swallows and Amazons series by Arthur Ransome was one of my favorite series. When I decided to re-read it as an adult I was worried that it would not stand the test of time. I was delighted to find that in general found it just as enjoyable now as I did as a child. The characters, writing style and adventures are great and I truly enjoyed the series.

This story and Missee Lee are an oddity -- this subseries of books, in itself, appears to be simply a continuation of the Swallows and Amazons books, with the children from the original northern series setting off in search of treasure on a real seagoing ship with the Amazons' uncle "Captain Flint" and an old seaman named Peter Duck. Aside from having more serious adventures it seems realistic. But within the other subseries, it turns out this book is fiction within the S&A world, actually written by one of the Swallows, Titty. I did not get hold of the Duck subseries until long after reading the others and being rather puzzled by references to it.