Peter Duck by Arthur Ransome

The children’s book, Peter Duck, is the third book in the Swallows and Amazons series of books by Arthur Ransome. There are twelve books in the series, although none lived up to the fame achieved by the original title, a book which was turned into a cinema release. That though is not to say that Peter Duck is not as good as other Ransome novels, though it is certainly different from the first two books in the series; Swallows and Amazons and Swallowdale.

Peter Duck was originally written in 1932, and there is a subtle change in style with the writing of this third novel, the two previous books had been stories of supposed real life adventure. Peter Duck though is the telling of an adventure made up by the Walker and Blackett children (the Swallows and the Amazons); although as a story it reads well as a stand alone adventure.

Peter Duck Cover - Fair Use

The basic plot of Peter Duck sees the Swallows and Amazons, Captain Flint and an elderly seadog, Peter Duck, setting off in search of buried treasure. This search takes the group from Lowestoft to Crab Island in the Caribbean aboard the schooner, Wild Cat. The Swallows and Amazons though are not the only people looking for the treasure, and the children face dangerous competition in the form of Black Jake and the crew of the Viper.

In the previous adventures, the Swallows and Amazons had been faced by the dangers of the natural world; the Lake and the Moors. In Peter Duck, Ransome introduced a different type of danger in the form of Black Jake and the physical danger he posed. The natural danger had also been made slightly more fantastic with a hurricane and earthquake added to the storyline.

"Peter Duck" at Woodbridge - Chris Holifield - CC-BY-SA-2.0

The added fantasy of Peter Duck detracts little from the storyline, and Ransome continued with his writing style that gave added detail to actions undertaken by the children. These details do make the book quite long, at about 400 pages, but Ransome was probably aiming his books at early teens, so the book length is probably suitable. It is easy enough to compare Peter Duck with the adventures of Enid Blyton’s Famous Five, but Ransome’s style and storyline are more sophisticated.

Peter Duck is still in print today, eighty years after its original publication, and remains a good read for both children and adults.

Copyright - First Published 14th February 2012