“Swallows and Amazons” is a gentle, absorbing children’s classic about a summer of sailing, camping and make-believe in the Lake District. Arthur Ransome lets the Walker children and the Blackett sisters run their own island adventure, with a freedom some readers find striking today. Readers tend to find the first half slow, mostly scene-setting; some say the book grows on them. It suits children and adults who like adventure powered by imagination, not magic.

The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.

About the book

Swallows and Amazons is a children's adventure novel by English author Arthur Ransome first published on 21 July 1930 by Jonathan Cape. Set in the summer of 1929 in the Lake District, the book introduces the main characters of John, Susan, Titty and Roger Walker (Swallows); as well as their mother, Mary; and their baby sister, Bridget. We also meet Nancy and Peggy Blackett (Amazons); their uncle Jim, commonly referred to as Captain Flint; and their widowed mother, Molly Blackett. It is the first book in the Swallows and Amazons series, followed by Swallowdale.

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Reading order · Swallows and Amazons series

Full order & progress →

Where the score comes from

The sources average 7.9 across 75 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 34% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Adventure average of 7.8. That is how 7.8 comes out.

Source	Average	Ratings	Weight
Open Library	8.1	16	21%
Hardcover	7.8	59	79%

Frequently asked

What age is Swallows and Amazons for?

Swallows and Amazons sits on the Children shelf in the sources we use, which by convention means roughly ages 5–10. This is a guide from the book’s category, not a publisher’s age rating. It has 362 pages — shorter than 54% of the ranked books in Adventure.