Wonderful notion this, from one of the best of Ransome’s enchanting children’s books. Of course if you land on an island, you should light a fire, or what good is the landing?

‘They had landed on the island near which they were anchored.  They had bathed from it, and made a fire on the shore, not for cooking, because they had brought no kettle, but because landing on an island without making a fire is waste of an island.’ 

For more of a taster of these timeless classics, see our review here, or simply enjoy some splendid cover illustrations for the books.

Or if islands are your thing, then we’ve laid out a quote-banquet review of Adam Nicolson’s love letter to islands, Sea Room.

Source:  Arthur Ransome, Swallows and Amazons (London: Vintage, 2015 (1930)), p. 271

Photo credit: chrisaram2 at pixabay