Inscription and Intergenerational Connection in Arthur Ransome's Lakeland Novels

Abstract

Jacqueline Rose’s influential notion of the “impossibility” of children’s literature rests on the claim that such works “frame” the child and place the adult “first”. Although Ransome’s writings undoubtedly contain instances of such divisions and hierarchies, this article argues that they also explore various kinds of communication and connection. In particular, the Lakeland novels which are the focus here—Swallows and Amazons (1930/2012), Swallowdale (1931/1968), Winter Holiday (1933/2013), Pigeon Post (1936/2013) and The Picts and the Martyrs (1943/1993)—make frequent mention of literary works but also display an intense interest in messages which are written on paper but also cut into surfaces such as wood and stone. These inscriptions challenge generational hierarchies in that they establish a means for different individuals to communicate the experience of being in the same place, albeit at different times. Yet as well as conveying the excitements of discovery and exploring the consolations which can follow recognitions of belatedness, this article also argues that Ransome’s Lakeland novels acknowledge and seek to manage the losses experienced by each generation.