Arthur Ransome (Arthur Michell Ransome) Biography

British writer, journalist, and illustrator, born in Leeds, educated at Rugby. He rose from office boy for the publisher Grant Richards to reporter for the Daily News and the Manchester Guardian. In 1913 he visited Russia and later returned to report the Revolution for the Daily News. His interest in Russia resulted in Old Peter's Russian Tales (1916), a collection of legends and fairy tales, and Racundra's First Cruise (1923), which describes his exploration of the Baltic by boat. Missie Lee (1941) draws on Ransome's knowledge of China gained during extensive travel in the 1920s. Swallows and Amazons (1930) was the first of his twelve children's stories which recount the adventures of the Walker family (the Swallows) and the Blackett family (the Amazons) and their friends. Set mainly in the Lake District and Norfolk, and vividly evoking Ransome's love of country pastimes and sailing, the novels include Pigeon Pie (1936), We Didn't Mean To Go to Sea (1938), The Big Six (1940), and Great Northern? (1947). His other books include Mainly about Fishing (1959) and The Autobiography of Arthur Ransome (edited by R. Hart-Davis, 1976).