The Arthur Ransome Society

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The Arthur Ransome Society, also known by its acronym TARS, and whose members refer to themselves as "tars", is a society whose goals are to "celebrate the life, promote the works, and diffuse the ideas of Arthur Ransome". It is based at the Abbot Hall Art Gallery in Kendal, England.

[edit] History

The Society was formed in 1990. A guide by Christina Hardyment to the locations and real-life characters of the Swallows and Amazons series, Arthur Ransome and Captain Flint's Trunk had recently been published. This contained the author's comment that the sailing dinghy Amazon/Mavis was in urgent need of repair.

Unsolicited donations began arriving at the author's address, including a large sum from the Arthur Ransome Club (ARC) of Japan. The problem of what to do with the money led directly to the founding of the Society at a ceremony on the Lake Windermere shore, featuring the firing of a rocket. The ceremony was attended by Christina Hardyment, Tamami Nakayama of ARC and Brigit Sanders (nee Altounyan), a prototype of the character Bridget Walker. Bridget Sanders subsequently became President of TARS.

[edit] TARS now

TARS produces several regular publications, holds many recreational and scholarly events and maintains a Rnsome-themed website [1]. TARS has a wide international membership base which includes branches in Australia, Canada, USA and New Zealand. There are strong links with the Arthur Ransome Club in Japan. TARS has a subsidiary, Amazon Publications, which publishes both original books and reprints of books associated with Ransome.