This is an old classic of children's literature.

I grew up with Enid Blyton's books, where a group of young children went on holidays on their own, came across some strange going-ons and had adventures, outwitting some hapless criminal gang. I just loved the sense of freedom of those kids, allowed to organize a holiday on their own, their friendship, the thrill of an adventure without adults. Blyton was already writing in 1930, when this book was published, but she still had not started writing adventure books like the ones I have described. I have no doubt that this book influenced her.

However, despite the similarities the style here is different. Swallows and Amazons is written in more complex language, and it describes a more idyllic childhood holiday. It's really enchanting and timeless.

The story begins with a group of siblings vacationing with their mother, their baby sister and the baby's nurse in a house by a lake. Using a spyglass from a nearby hill, the Walker children watch wistfully a small desert island in the middle of the lake. They have asked their mother for permission to take their boat and camp there on their own, and she has agreed provided their father also gives permission. Shortly afterwards, the father's reply comes by telegram, giving permission in this way: "Better drowned than duffers, if not duffers won't drown."

So the children cheer and start preparing. Twelve-year-old John will be the captain; ten-year-old Susan will be ship's mate; eight-year-old Titty will be able-seaman; and seven-year-old Roger will also be allowed to go as ship's boy, provided he listens to his older siblings. Soon afterwards they are sailing in their small sailboat, the Swallow, towards the island. They establish their camp, and soon afterwards they meet a couple of girls who have their own sailboat, the Amazon. Rivals at first, they start a friendly war. The side that is able to capture the enemy's ship wins, and the winning captain will lead the joint navy in a war against the retired pirate who lives on a houseboat on the lake.

The story is filled with the magic, innocence and the joy of childhood. The children are responsible and self-sufficient in their outdoors adventures, but they live in a world of fantasy and games. They are pirates or explorers, as required, and their fantasy world is more real to them than the world of the adults (whom they call "the natives"). They explore their lake, play, learn and have a great time. Nothing much happens apart from their games, although there is a real burglary, but in their minds they have lived the greatest adventures.

The story is a bit slow to begin with, with some difficult sailing vocabulary, but it soon gets very interesting once the competition between the "swallows" and the "amazons" begins. We watch the children making their plans and being outwitted by the other side, only for the competition being decided by a daring and clever action.

Can be enjoyed by children, if it's not too old-fashioned for them, with the freedom given to children and the absence of smartphones, and by adults, who will remember their childhood with nostalgia. ( )

The Walker children (John, Susan, Titty and Roger) are on school holiday in the Lake District and are sailing a borrowed catboat named "Swallow," when they meet the Blackett children (Nancy and Peggy), who sail the boat, "Amazon." The children camp together on Wild Cat Island where a plot is hatched against the Blackett's Uncle Jim who is too busy writing his memoirs to be disturbed.

Fireworks--literally--ensue along with a dangerous contest, a run-in with houseboat burglars, and the theft of Uncle Jim's manuscript. How all this is resolved makes for an exciting and very satisfying story.

The Walker children (John, Susan, Titty and Roger) are on school holiday in the Lake District and are sailing a borrowed catboat named "Swallow," when they meet the Blackett children (Nancy and Peggy), who sail the boat, "Amazon." The children camp together on Wild Cat Island where a plot is hatched against the Blackett's Uncle Jim who is too busy writing his memoirs to be disturbed.

Fireworks--literally--ensue along with a dangerous contest, a run-in with houseboat burglars, and the theft of Uncle Jim's manuscript. How all this is resolved makes for an exciting and very satisfying story.

The four Walker children are staying on a farm in the Lake District of England with their mother and baby sister for the summer while their sailor father is away. After staring at an island in the lake for several days, they get permission from their parents to take the sailboat, The Swallow, out and camp on it. The kids, who range in age from 8 to probably 12 or 14, plan what they will need, load the boat, and sail off. Mom rows over the first night to check on them, but then the kids are on their own. Every morning they row to the nearest farm, where their mother has arranged for them to get milk and other staples (and also allows her to keep a secondhand eye on them), and spend the rest of the day exploring, charting the "high seas", and fishing for sharks (i.e. perch). One day two pirates (Nancy and Peggy) appear in another sailboat, the Amazon, and request a parlay. They agree to a war and whoever succeeds in capturing the other's sailboat will get to be the flagship, and the captain a commodore. The race is on!

I loved this book, with highly imaginative children allowed the responsibility and freedom of summer adventures free of adult hovering. They sail, swim, camp, fish, all the while problem-solving and working together. Although First Mate, Susan, does have to do all the cooking (apropos of the 30s), she is also a first-rate sailor, and Nancy and Peggy are incorrigible, getting into all sorts of scrapes (such as setting off a firecracker on the roof of their uncle's houseboat). If you like sailing or independent kids, I highly recommend this book. ( )

A nice little adventure, but as I know nothing about sailing a lot of the references were completely lost on me. I think I might have enjoyed it more if I had read this as a kid rather than coming to it for the first time as an adult. ( )