Swallowdale by Arthur Ransome and Clifford Webb, First Edition with Dust Jacket

Arthur [Mitchell] Ransome (1884 to 1967)—English author and journalist, born in Leeds and best known for writing the Swallows and Amazons series of children's books (Swallows and Amazons, Swallowdale, Peter Duck, Winter Holiday, Coot Club, Pigeon Post, We Didn't Mean To Go To Sea, Secret Water, The Big Six, Missee Lee, The Picts And The Martyrs: or Not Welcome At All and Great Northern?). He was also the author of forty or so other titles including other children's books, fishing books, sailing books and books on politics and Clifford [Cyril] Webb (1895 to 1972)—Wood engraver, etcher, painter. Born in London, Webb studied at Westminster School of Art. In the 1920s he established a reputation as one of Britain's most interesting engravers, specialising in landscapes and animal subjects

Jonathan Cape Limited—(Founded in 1919) British publisher founded in 1919 by Herbert Jonathan Cape (1879-1960), the son of a builder who started as an apprentice in the book trade. The company was initially named Jonathan Page and Company (Page was his mother's maiden name) and this changed to Jonathan Cape in 1921. Its most books and authors are probably: T. E. Lawrence, Arthur Ransome, the later Roald Dahl books, Malcolm Lowry's Under the Volcano, Fitzroy Maclean's Eastern Approaches, the James Bond series by Ian Fleming and more recently Anita Brookner, Margaret Atwood, Julian Barnes, Salman Rushdie. It is currently an imprint of Random House.

Swallows and Amazons—A series of 12 (Swallows and Amazons, Swallowdale, Peter Duck, Winter Holiday, Coot Club, Pigeon Post, We Didn't Mean To Go To Sea, Secret Water, The Big Six, Missee Lee, The Picts And The Martyrs: or Not Welcome At All and Great Northern?) children's books by English author Arthur Ransome, named after the title of the first book in the series. They involve the outdoor adventures of children, most notably John, Susan, Titty, and Roger Walker, Nancy and Peggy Blackett and Dick and Dorothea Callum. They portray an idyllic, yet also realistic, depiction of childhood adventure set in the 1930s. The series contains 12 books. The first book was originally published in 1930 and the last book was originally published in 1947. Titles in the series are: 1—'Swallows and Amazons', 2—'Swallowdale', 3—'Peter Duck', 4—'Winter Holiday', 5—'Coot Club', 6—'Pigeon Post', 7—'We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea', 8—'Secret Water', 9—'The Big Six', 10—'Missee Lee', 11—'The Picts and the Martyrs: Or Not Welcome at All', 12—'Great Northern?' and 13—'Coots in the North (Unfinished)'

The Swallows return to the Lake District for a holiday with Amazons, but the Amazons are in the grip of the Great Aunt, and John sinks Swallow. They camp in Swallowdale and plan the ascent of Kanchenjunga while Swallow is repaired ….

There are thirty six chapters: 1—'The Swallow and Her Crew', 2—'Wild Cat Island', 3—'Horseshoe Cove and the Amazon Pirates', 4—'The Able Seaman and the Boy Explore', 5—'Captain John Hangs On', 6—'Salvage', 7—'Captain Flint: Ship's Carpenter', 8—'Rio and Holly Howe', 9—'Swainson's Farm', 10—'Making the Best of It', 11—'The Able-Seaman in Command', 12—'Swallowdale', 13—'Shifting Camp', 14—'Settling In', 15—'Life in Swallowdale', 16—'Surprise Attack', 17—'Later and Later and Later', 18—'Candle-Grease', 19—'No News', 20—'Welcome Arrow', 21—'Showing the Parrot His Feathers', 22—'Before the March', 23—'Overland to the Amazon', 24—'The Noon-Tide Owl', 25—'Up River', 26—'The Half Way Camp', 27—'The Summit of Kanchenjunga', 28—'Fog on the Moor', 29—'Wounded Man', 30—'Medicine Man', 31—'Wigwam Night', 32—'Fog on the Lake', 33—'The Empty Camp', 34—'Stretcher-Party', 35—'The Race' and 36—'Wild Cat Island Once Again'.

There are thirty full page illustrations: 1—''Those Can't Be the Amazon Pirates'', 2—'The Original Ship's Papers', 3—'The Island Camp', 4—'Small Map of the Island (Insert in Text)', 5—'Dixon's Farm', 6—'The Explorers', 7—'Shipwreck', 8—'Raising the Swallow', 9—'Under Jury Rig', 10—'In Horseshoe Cove', 11—'Swallowdale', 12—''up the Raises!'', 13—'Building the Dam', 14—'Mary Swainson', 15—'Darning Roger', 16—'The Catching of the Great Trout', 17—'Watch Tower Rock', 18—'In Peter Duck's Cave', 19—'Working on the Mast', 20—'The Parrot and the Arrow', 21—'Gathering Pine –Cones', 22—'The Hidden Boat', 23—'Up the Amazon River', 24—'Night on the Mountain', 25—'The Mountaineers', 26—'In the Fog', 27—'The Return of the Able – Seaman', 28—'The Medicine Man and His Patient', 29—'The Stretcher – Party' and 30—'The Invader'.