All twelve books have gone through many editions. All are currently either in print or being reissued in England and the United States. They continue to attract enthusiastic readers, both children and adults. Ransome was one of the most notable children's authors of the 1930s and 1940s. In 1936, when the Carnegie Medal for the best children's book of the year was established by the British Library Association, the first book honored was Arthur Ransome's
Pigeon Post. In 1952 Arthur Ransome was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Leeds. In a recent biography,
Arthur Ransome, Peter Hunt observes, "By the time of his death, Ransome was a national figure and his books classics."
Arthur Ransome was born 18 January 1884 in Leeds, England, the eldest of four children of Cyril and Edith Ransome. His father was a history professor at the institution which later became the University of Leeds. He was also an avid fisherman. Ransome's mother was a talented watercolor painter. Spending the academic year in Leeds, the family went for its holidays to the Lake District. A note that Ransome wrote in 1958 for inclusion in new Puffin editions of Swallowdale (1931) and Winter Holiday (1933) sums up his memories of those days, "We adored the place.
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