Swallows and Amazons

On Tuesday, I returned to Great Expectations, Books and Antiques, café and hand-made chocolates in Annapolis Royal. I had three goals:

To pick up some Arthur Ransome books.
To pick up some Alexander McCall Smith books.
To obtain a copy of One Art, Elizabeth Bishop letters.

On my previous visit, I had noticed a number of Arthur Ransome books in the Swallows and Amazons series. I remember reading them as a child in England. From Wikipedia, I learned that ‘the twelve books are set in the Interwar period and involve adventures by groups of children, mostly during the school holidays.’
The books are set in the Lake District and the Norfolk Broads. Indeed, in the Coot Club, there is an accurate map of the Norfolk Broads. The Swallows and Amazons series enhanced the tourism business in these regions. Imagine a similar situation in the Annapolis Valley. Or imagine visiting England with grandchildren, bringing along these books.

Arthur Ransome was a war correspondent in Russia who gave up journalism in 1929. Between 1930-1945 he wrote the Swallows and Amazons series for children. How does one make that transition?

Heather has been reading Alexander McCall Smith, The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series. Fortunately, at Great Expectations, I was able to obtain #4 and #5 in the series. Plus the purchase of a small gift of hand-made chocolates.

I had noticed the Elizabeth Bishop letters on the shelf during the previous visit. Fortunately, it was still there.

‘One Art stands for the art of poetry to which she devoted Her life. William Butler Yeats believed that “The intellect of man is forced to choose / Perfection of the life, or of the work “ And Elizabeth Bishop chose the latter.’ p viii

‘One Art also stands for the art of letter writing, which she practised more casually and with more prolific results than composing poems’. p.viii.

This relates to my next blog on ‘Two Arts’, the EBSNS Fundraiser 2020 and the work of Natalia Pavaliayeva.

Postscript

Watched Haida Modern on the BC Knowledge Network; a forceful reminder of our excellent time living on Haida Gwaii.

Acknowledgements

An appreciation of second-hand bookstores, open again at Great Expectations in Annapolis Royal and the Blue Griffin in Middleton. Edward Wedler, an ex-bookstore owner and graphics contributor. Sandra Barry for her enduring interest in Elizabeth Bishop and her work.

References

Arthur Ransome, 1934. Coot Club. Puffin Books
Arthur Ransome, 1940. The Big Six. Puffin Books.
Arthur Ransome, 1947. Great Northern? Puffin Books.
Alexander McCall Smith, 1998. The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. Penguin Random House
Robert Giroux (Ed) 1994. One Art. Elizabeth Bishop Letters. Farrah, Straus and Giroux.