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The Big Six: A Novel (Swallows and Amazons Series) (Swallows and Amazons Series) | 
| Author: Arthur Ransome
Publisher: David R Godine
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy Used: $6.91
You Save: $8.04 (54%)
New (15) Used (14) Collectible (1) from $6.91
Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 291831
Media: Paperback
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Pages: 367
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.4 x 1
ISBN: 1567921191
EAN: 9781567921199
ASIN: 1567921191
Publication Date: April 1, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: cover is slightly worn Cover wear and may contain some marks or writing. Keen Northwest ships in 2 business days or less. Refunds for any reason if item returned within 30 days of shipment.
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
In this (more or less) sequel to the adventures of Coot Club, Arthur Ransome returns once more to his beloved Norfolk Broads where trouble is again brewing for Joe, Bill, and Pete, the three boatbuilders' sons who (more or less) live full-time aboard the Death and Glory and the three Coots, Tom, Dorothea and Dick. The problem seems to be that boats are constantly being set adrift, and all the evidence points squarely at the three Death and Glories. In a clever bit of detective work, and with some help from a sophisticated photographic trap, the Big Six manage to exonerate themselves and catch the villains.
Of course, this book, like all Ransome titles, is about a lot more than clever detective work; it has the smell of water and tarred rope, the sound of birds, and the plight of children left to their own devices and coping with everything from catching monster pike to trapping midnight eels.
Ransome, who wrote these imperishable books, spent his childhood in England's Lake District, and after a career in journalism that took him to Russia (where he married Trostsky's secretary), China, and Egypt (interspersed with summers of cruising through the Baltic Sea and the canals of Europe), he retired to Coniston where he could practise his favorite pastimes of sailing and fishing and where he wrote Swallows and Amazons. What sets these books apart from other books of the period is both his attention to detail and his admirable ability to provide a wealth of practical information. If kids still exist who wish to know how to read a compass, handle a main sheet, reef a sail, bait a hook, or pitch a tent, these are the books they'll embrace.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 "I've never tried writing a detective story..." September 27, 2006
Chrijeff (Scranton, PA)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
That's what Dorothea Callum, aspiring novelist, says when she and brother Dick learn of the troubles of their old friends the Norfolk Coots. But a detective story is what the Callums end up living as they try to help mend the situation. This book probably takes place concurrently with "We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea" and "Secret Water;" it's September, near the end of the summer holidays, and Dick and Dorothea have come down to Horning to stay with Mrs. Barrable again (presumably their parents are off on another archaeological jaunt). The Six of the title are the D's, doctor's son Tom Dudgeon, and the young Death and Glories, Bill, Joe, and Pete (Port and Starboard, the twin sisters of "Coot Club," have been shipped off to boarding school in Paris). The D&G's, through circumstantial evidence, are suspected of setting adrift a number of boats and of stealing and selling a quantity of naval shackles, and Constable Tedder is determined to bring them to book. In sheer self-defense the Six resolve to prove their innocence--and thanks to Dorothea's creative mind and Dick's keen powers of observation, plus a clever photographic trap, they succeed. Though the very best volumes of this series take place in the Lake Country, and there's not as much sailing or even imaginative play in this one as in most, the detections of the Six are very well done, with some of the best scenes coming as Dorothea tries to put herself into the skin of "the villain," as they call whoever seems to be setting the D&G's up for a fall. A good change of pace for this beloved series.
A fun detective adventure May 2, 2006
Michael Cornett (Takoma Park, MD USA)
The D's return to the S&A series and to the Norfolk Broads in a late summer adventure.
This time, they come to the aid of their friends, the Coot Club, who find themselves suspects when boats are repeatedly set adrift along the broads, always when they're around. The police are questioning them and the townspeople are hostile. The kids, sadly realizing that they can't count on the law, start gathering evidence on their own.
What follows is a fun low-tech version of CSI as they inspect bicycle tire tracks, handprints in paint, and other clues. But when a theft heats things up, the kids have to set a cunning trap to reveal the real culprits.
This is a fun, stimulating novel for kids. Lots of independent adventure and some practical material for budding criminalists. And there's Ransome's affectionate portrait of the Norfolk Broads and its waterside lifestyle that (by all reports) is mostly gone now.
One debit: A character briefly cuts loose with some language that was innocent for the time period but is objectionable today. (The dreaded "N" word...) It's not done maliciously but parents might want to ready a discussion with their kids about it. But don't let that stop you from enjoying this fine book.
Next in the series: A problematic fantasy with MISSEE LEE.
This book is awesome! January 23, 2005
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I loved this book and all the other books by Arthur Ransome. My Mom read them when she was young and said I should read them too. She was right. The story is exciting, the characters are fun and I couldn't put this book down.
Detective work on the Norfolk Broads September 25, 2001
W. Weinstein (London, UK)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
The other group of children that Arthur Ransome created, the Death or Glories and Tom Dudgeon, Port and Starboard, collectively known as the Coot Club are here embroiled in another adventure. Accompanied by the Ds, whom avid readers will know from earlier AR books, they turn detective and track down the villians who are casting off boats on the Norfolk Broads. As usual Arthur Ransome was writing in a class of his own. A note of caution: don't imagine that Norfolk and the surrounding countryside, especially Lowestoft, bears any resemblance to the places described in these books. The last two thirds of the 20th century were not kind to our poor old country and nowhere is this more starkly illustrated than in our seaside towns. Read the book instead and dream of life before the car was king.
A cracking detective yarn for kids everywhere August 15, 2001
Steve Benner (Lancaster, UK)
16 out of 16 found this review helpful
"Big Six" is Arthur Ransome's ninth book in the Swallows and Amazons series. It features neither Swallows nor Amazons but rather follows once more the adventures of the two D's and their friends of the Coot Club on the Norfolk Broads. In this story, some members of the Coot Club happen to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time and suddenly find themselves accused of certain misdeeds. Unfortunately, the allegations hanging over them are serious enough to threaten the very future of the club unless the true miscreants can be discovered and exposed. So, rather than spending their time sailing or engaged in acts of bird preservation, the Coot Club has no choice but to turn into a detective agency instead, determined to clear the name and restore the reputations of their friends.The central plot aside, Ransome still finds ways within this story to involve the children in many typical pre-war Norfolk Broads' activities and introduce us to some wonderful Norfolk characters. Indeed, throughout this book, he manages to paint a vivid picture of life on the Broads in a by-gone era; all using language and a writing style that should appeal to both children and grown-ups alike. As usual, the story is presented with intelligence, charm and wit, as well as with an overriding humility and an obvious love for the places and people of whom he writes. Some episodes in this book (especially the smoking of the eels) will have most adults crying with laughter, while for the majority of younger readers the excitement of the detective story will undoubtedly be the overridingly memorable element. Ultimately, though, it is the author's heart-warming respect for children and the way they see the world around them that shines through and makes this book so enjoyable for readers of all ages.
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