Winter Holiday (novel)

infobox Book |
name = Winter Holiday
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption =
author = Arthur Ransome
cover_artist = Arthur Ransome
country = United Kingdom
language = English
series = Swallows and Amazons
genre = Children's Novel
publisher = Jonathan Cape
release_date = 1933
media_type = Print (Hardcover & Paperback)
pages =
isbn = ISBN 0-613-77198-2
preceded_by = Peter Duck
followed_by = Coot Club

"Winter Holiday" is the fourth novel of Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series of children's books. It was published in 1933. In this story, the third set of major characters in the series, the D's — Dick and Dorothea Callum—are introduced. The series' usual emphasis on boats and sailing is largely absent, as the story is set in the winter. Instead, the children's activities focus on ice skating, signalling with semaphore and Morse code and sledging.

ources

For his inspiration, Ransome draws on his schoolday memories of the Great Frost of 1895 when Windermere froze completely. Another major influence is Fridtjof Nansen's books about his Arctic expedition from 1893–1896 in the "Fram" and on sledge.

Plot summary

Brother and sister Dick and Dorothea Callum meet the Swallows and Amazons during the winter beside the lake. Whilst observing the stars in a disused barn, Dick and Dorothea encounter the other children and shortly become firm friends. They become part of the group and join in their play of Arctic expeditions. The holiday is extended when leader Nancy Blackett catches mumps and the group is quarantined and cannot return to their boarding schools. Initially, while waiting for snow to fall, the children embark on a series of adventures ranging from rebuilding an igloo to building an ice sled.

There is a heavy snowfall followed by a prolonged period of freezing weather and, unusually, the lake freezes over, providing an excellent opportunity for an expedition to the North Pole. However, plans go awry when the D's set out earlier than expected due to a misunderstanding over a signal flag. When a blizzard blows up and the D's are missing, a rescue party is organized.