Winter Holiday (book)
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- winter holiday redirects here. For holidays taken during winter, see vacation. For the season of festival days in winter (in the Northern Hemisphere), see winter holiday season.
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| Author | Arthur Ransome |
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| Cover artist | Arthur Ransome |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Swallows and Amazons |
| Genre(s) | Children's Novel |
| Publisher | Jonathan Cape |
| Released | 1933 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover & Paperback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-613-77198-2 |
| Preceded by | Peter Duck |
| Followed by | Coot Club |
Winter Holiday is the fourth novel of Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series of children's books. It was published in 1933. In this story, the third set of major characters in the series, the D's — Dick and Dorothea Callum—are introduced. The series' usual emphasis on boats and sailing is largely absent, as the story is set in the winter. Instead, the children's activities focus on ice skating, signalling with semaphore and Morse code and sledging.
[edit] Sources
For his inspiration, Ransome draws on his schoolday memories of the Great Frost of 1895 when Windermere froze completely. Another major influence is Fridtjof Nansen's books about his Arctic expedition from 1893–1896 in the Fram and on sledge.
[edit] Plot summary
Brother and sister, Dick and Dorothea Callum, meet the Swallows and Amazons during the winter beside the lake. They become part of the group and join in their play of Arctic expeditions. The holiday is extended when leader Nancy Blackett catches mumps and the group is quarantined and cannot return to their boarding schools.
There is a heavy snowfall followed by a prolonged period of freezing weather and unusually, the lake freezes over, providing an excellent opportunity for an expedition to the North Pole. However, plans go awry when the D's set out earlier than expected due to a misunderstanding over a signal flag. When a blizzard blows up and the D's are missing, a rescue party is organized.
| Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome | |
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Swallows and Amazons | Swallowdale | Peter Duck | Winter Holiday | Coot Club | Pigeon Post | We Didn't Mean To Go To Sea | Secret Water | The Big Six | Missee Lee | The Picts And The Martyrs | Great Northern? | Coots in the North |
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| Characters | Places |
