Peter Duck
Encyclopedia
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 boat) is chased by another vessel, the Viper, whose piratical crew are also intending to recover the treasure.
The book, first published in 1932
, is is considered to be one of the metafiction
al books in the series, along with Missee Lee
and perhaps Great Northern?
.
n 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.
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.
, preparing for a cruise aboard a schooner
, The Wild Cat
, with Captain Flint, the Blacketts' uncle Jim Turner. Unfortunately the other adult (Sam Bideford) cannot come and so the cruise is threatened until Peter Duck, an elderly seaman
, offers to come along to help.
In the harbour a larger black schooner, the Viper is fitting out for a voyage and Peter Duck's presence aboard the Wild Cat interests Black Jake the Viper’s captain. Peter Duck spins a yarn about a treasure that he saw being buried long ago, when maroon
ed on a desert island in the Caribbean Sea
, and which Black Jake wants to find. When the Wild Cat sails, the Viper is quick to follow and trails her down the English Channel
, at one point threatening to board her in the night.
In a fog off Land's End
, the crew of the Wild Cat give the Viper the slip but pick up the Viper’s cabin boy
, Bill, who has been set adrift to try and fool the Wild Cat’s crew with false signals. They continue across the Atlantic Ocean
to Crab Island where they spend several weeks searching in vain for Peter Duck's treasure.
When a hurricane blows up, Peter Duck and Captain Flint take the Wild Cat out to sea to ride out the storm, leaving the Swallows and Amazons ashore. There is an earthquake during the storm and when the schooner returns, all the paths to the treasure-hunting area are blocked by landslides and fallen trees. However, a fallen palm tree exposes a small box, Peter Duck's treasure, which the children recover. They decide to sail round to the anchorage as the land route is blocked.
While Captain Flint attempts to cross the island to rescue the Swallows and Amazons, the Viper arrives and Peter Duck and Bill are captured. The crew of the Viper also go ashore look for the treasure. The children rescue Peter Duck and Bill and then the Wild Cat sails back to the other side and pick up Captain Flint just before Black Jake arrives. They attempt to sail away from the island but the wind dies and the Viper looks like catching them when they are saved by a waterspout
which destroys the Viper. They return home safely without further incident. The treasure proves to be a collection of pearl
s.
Arthur Ransome
Arthur Michell Ransome was an English author and journalist, best known for writing the Swallows and Amazons series of children's books. These tell of school-holiday adventures of children, mostly in the Lake District and the Norfolk Broads. Many of the books involve sailing; other common subjects...
. 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 boat) is chased by another vessel, the Viper, whose piratical crew are also intending to recover the treasure.
The book, first published in 1932
1932 in literature
The year 1932 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*E. V. Knox replaces Sir Owen Seaman as editor of Punch magazine.*Samuel Beckett's first novel, Dream of Fair to Middling Women, is rejected by several publishers....
, is is considered to be one of the metafiction
Metafiction
Metafiction, also known as Romantic irony in the context of Romantic works of literature, is a type of fiction that self-consciously addresses the devices of fiction, exposing the fictional illusion...
al books in the series, along with Missee Lee
Missee Lee
Missee Lee is the tenth book of Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series of children's books, set in 1930s China. The Swallows and Amazons are on a round the world trip with Captain Flint aboard the schooner Wild Cat. After the Wild Cat sinks, they escape in the Swallow and Amazon but are...
and perhaps Great Northern?
Great Northern?
Great Northern? is the twelfth and final completed book of Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series of children's books. It was published in 1947. In this book, the three families of major characters in the series, the Swallows , the Amazons and the Ds , are all reunited in a book for the...
.
Sources
The appearance, sailing background and many of the characteristics of Peter Duck are based on Captain Sehmel, a LatviaLatvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
n sailor who accompanied Ransome on a cruise aboard his yacht Racundra in the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
, 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
Edward Frederick Knight
Edward Frederick Knight was an English barrister, soldier, journalist, and author of 20 books, many based on his dispatches as a war correspondent.-Biography:...
, The cruise of the "Alerte". This describes a treasure seeking expedition on the volcanic
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
island of Trindade
Trindade and Martim Vaz
Trindade and Martim Vaz is an archipelago located about 1,200 kilometers east of Vitória in the Southern Atlantic Ocean, belonging to the State of Espírito Santo, Brazil. The archipelago has a total area of 10.4 km² and a population of 32...
, off Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
(sometimes known as "Trinidad" but not to be confused with the larger Caribbean island
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
of that name). Trindade has many features in common with Peter Duck's Crab Island, including mountains, landslides, jungles and loathsome land crabs.
Chronology
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 wherryNorfolk wherry
The Norfolk wherry is a type of boat on The Broads in Norfolk, England. Three main types were developed over its life, all featuring the distinctive gaff rig with a single, high-peaked sail and the mast stepped well forward.-Development of the 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
Swallowdale
Swallowdale is the second book in the Swallows and Amazons series by Arthur Ransome. It was published in 1931. In this book, camping in the hills and moorland country around Ransome's Lake in the North features much more prominently and there is less sailing...
. 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.
Plot summary
The Swallows and Amazons are in LowestoftLowestoft
Lowestoft is a town in the English county of Suffolk. The town is on the North Sea coast and is the most easterly point of the United Kingdom. It is north-east of London, north-east of Ipswich and south-east of Norwich...
, preparing for a cruise aboard a schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
, The Wild Cat
The Wild Cat (boat)
The Wild Cat is a green two-masted schooner that Captain Flint, the Swallows and Amazons and Peter Duck sail in Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons book Peter Duck. She also appears in the opening chapters of Missee Lee....
, with Captain Flint, the Blacketts' uncle Jim Turner. Unfortunately the other adult (Sam Bideford) cannot come and so the cruise is threatened until Peter Duck, an elderly seaman
Seaman
Seaman is one of the lowest ranks in a Navy. In the Commonwealth it is the lowest rank in the Navy, followed by Able Seaman and Leading Seaman, and followed by the Petty Officer ranks....
, offers to come along to help.
In the harbour a larger black schooner, the Viper is fitting out for a voyage and Peter Duck's presence aboard the Wild Cat interests Black Jake the Viper’s captain. Peter Duck spins a yarn about a treasure that he saw being buried long ago, when maroon
Marooning
Marooning is the intentional leaving of someone in a remote area, such as an uninhabited island. The word appears in writing in approximately 1709, and is derived from the term maroon, a word for a fugitive slave, which could be a corruption of Spanish cimarrón, meaning a household animal who has...
ed on a desert island in the Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
, and which Black Jake wants to find. When the Wild Cat sails, the Viper is quick to follow and trails her down the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
, at one point threatening to board her in the night.
In a fog off Land's End
Land's End
Land's End is a headland and small settlement in west Cornwall, England, within the United Kingdom. It is located on the Penwith peninsula approximately eight miles west-southwest of Penzance....
, the crew of the Wild Cat give the Viper the slip but pick up the Viper’s cabin boy
Cabin boy
A Cabin boy or ship's boy is a boy who waits on the officers and passengers of a ship, especially running errands for the captain....
, Bill, who has been set adrift to try and fool the Wild Cat’s crew with false signals. They continue across the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
to Crab Island where they spend several weeks searching in vain for Peter Duck's treasure.
When a hurricane blows up, Peter Duck and Captain Flint take the Wild Cat out to sea to ride out the storm, leaving the Swallows and Amazons ashore. There is an earthquake during the storm and when the schooner returns, all the paths to the treasure-hunting area are blocked by landslides and fallen trees. However, a fallen palm tree exposes a small box, Peter Duck's treasure, which the children recover. They decide to sail round to the anchorage as the land route is blocked.
While Captain Flint attempts to cross the island to rescue the Swallows and Amazons, the Viper arrives and Peter Duck and Bill are captured. The crew of the Viper also go ashore look for the treasure. The children rescue Peter Duck and Bill and then the Wild Cat sails back to the other side and pick up Captain Flint just before Black Jake arrives. They attempt to sail away from the island but the wind dies and the Viper looks like catching them when they are saved by a waterspout
Waterspout
A waterspout is an intense columnar vortex that occurs over a body of water and is connected to a cumuliform cloud. In the common form, it is a non-supercell tornado over water. While it is often weaker than most of its land counterparts, stronger versions spawned by mesocyclones do occur...
which destroys the Viper. They return home safely without further incident. The treasure proves to be a collection of pearl
Pearl
A pearl is a hard object produced within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is made up of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other...
s.