Peter Duck
 |
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| Author | Arthur Ransome |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Arthur Ransome |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Swallows and Amazons series |
| Genre | Children's books |
| Publisher | Jonathan Cape |
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Publication date
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1932 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover & Paperback) |
| ISBN |
978-1-56792-429-9 (David R. Godine, Publisher: paperback, 1987, 2010) |
| Preceded by | Swallowdale |
| Followed by | Winter Holiday |
Peter Duck is the third book in the Swallows and Amazons series by Arthur Ransome. The Swallows and Amazons sail to Crab Island with Captain Flint and Peter Duck, an old sailor, to recover buried treasure. During the voyage the Wildcat (Captain Flint's ship) is chased by another vessel, the Viper, whose piratical crew are also intending to recover the treasure.
The book, first published in 1932, is considered to be one of the metafictional books in the series, along with Missee Lee and perhaps Great Northern?. Most of the book was written in Aleppo where Ransome was staying with the Altounyans.
The appearance, sailing background and many of the characteristics of Peter Duck are based on Captain Sehmel, a Latvian sailor who accompanied Ransome on a cruise aboard his yacht Racundra in the Baltic Sea, as documented in Ransome's sailing book, Racundra's First Cruise.
Ransome used as a major resource for Peter Duck a book by one of his favourite sailing authors, E. F. Knight, The Cruise of the Alerte. This describes a treasure-seeking expedition on the volcanic island of Trindade, off Brazil (sometimes known as "Trinidad" but not to be confused with the larger Caribbean island of that name). Trindade has many features in common with Peter Duck's Crab Island, including mountains, landslides, jungles and loathsome land crabs.
By publication date, Peter Duck is the third book in the series, but the story is supposed to be one created by the Swallows and Amazons while staying on a Norfolk wherry with Captain Flint in the winter between the first two books. Two early chapters describing this creation process were written by Arthur Ransome before he started Swallowdale. This opening was discarded from the final version of the book when it was published after Swallowdale. However, Peter Duck is mentioned in Swallowdale as Titty's imaginary friend from a story made up by the Swallows and Amazons.
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Wikipedia