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Arthur Ransome
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Peter Duck: A Treasure Hunt in the Caribbees (Swallows and Amazons) Paperback – September 1, 1994

by Arthur Ransome (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 537 ratings
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The intrepid Swallows (explorers John, Susan, Titty, and Roger Walker) and fearsome Amazon pirates (Nancy and Peggy Blackett) sail the high seas, outwitting a pirate and his cutthroat crew, sharks, and the ravenous creatures of Crab Island in search of buried treasure.

It all begins when Peter Duck, an elderly sailor once marooned on an island in the Caribbean, tells a tale to the Swallows and Amazons. It’s a tale of buried treasure and, unfortunately, when the kids set sail to find it, the pirate Jake, captain of the Viper, follows.

Across the Atlantic Ocean, through fog, threats from pirate Jake, a hurricane, and an earthquake once they land, the Swallows and Amazons have to find the treasure, evade the pirates, and return safely home to England.

Friendship, resourcefulness, and sailing, too: Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons series has stood the test of time. More than just great stories, each one celebrates independence and initiative with a colorful, large cast of characters. Peter Duck (originally published in 1932) is the third title in the Swallows and Amazons series, books for children or grownups, anyone captivated by a world of adventure and imagination.

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Previous page
  1. Reading age
    9 - 14 years
  2. Book 3 of 12
    Swallows and Amazons
  3. Print length
    414 pages
  4. Language
    English
  5. Grade level
    2 - 6
  6. Dimensions
    5.72 x 1.09 x 8.12 inches
  7. Publisher
    David R. Godine, Publisher
  8. Publication date
    September 1, 1994
  9. ISBN-10
    0879236604
  10. ISBN-13
    978-0879236601
  11. See all details
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The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“In many ways Peter Duck is the best of the series.”―Guardian

“This is the stuff of real imagination which might so easily happen . . . all the details are true to life, the ship is a real ship, with all its sails and rigging made familiar, and the voyage which those happy children make to southern seas and coral islands is the beautiful possibility of daring and freedom become living and credible.”―Listener

About the Author

Arthur Ransome spent his childhood in England’s Lake District, and after a career in journalism that took him to Russia (where he married Trostsky’s secretary), China, and Egypt (interspersed with summers of cruising through the Baltic Sea and the canals of Europe), he retired to Coniston where he could practice his favorite pastimes of sailing and fishing and where he wrote the Swallows and Amazons series.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ David R. Godine, Publisher; 0 edition (September 1, 1994)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 414 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0879236604
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0879236601
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 9 - 14 years
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 2 - 6
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.72 x 1.09 x 8.12 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 537 ratings

About the author

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Arthur Ransome

Arthur Ransome

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Arthur Ransome was born in Leeds in 1884 and went to school at Rugby. He was in Russia in 1917, and witnessed the Revolution, which he reported for the Manchester Guardian.

After escaping to Scandinavia, he settled in the Lake District with his Russian wife where, in 1929, he wrote Swallows and Amazons. And so began a writing career which has produced some of the real children's treasures of all time. In 1936 he won the first ever Carnegie Medal for his book, Pigeon Post.

Ransome died in 1967. He and his wife Evgenia lie buried in the churchyard of St Paul's Church, Rusland, in the southern Lake District.

Photography (c) Arthur Ransome's Literary Executors & courtesy of the Brotherton Collection, Leeds University Library

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
537 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Torie
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book; great series!
Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2021
Verified Purchase
A book of good, clean adventure in which a group of children sail across the world in search of treasure. Fun, adventure, and danger were had by all. Enjoyable read. 👍
One person found this helpful
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Sandy
5.0 out of 5 stars 2nd time around
Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2023
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Really enjoyed this series with our kids while camping on a lake. Now we’re enjoying it again as “Empty Nesters” ! Plan to enjoy it with grandkids soon!
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BillH
5.0 out of 5 stars A grand sailing adventure!
Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2014
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Much of my lifelong love of sailing has been inspired by the wonderful Swallows and Amazons series by Arthur Ransome. As an ocean sailor, Peter Duck is in many ways my favorite. It is a wonderful story of adventure with pirates and lost treasure, storms and fog, intrigue and challenge. My children have read the series and I expect someday my grandchildren will as well. It is so wonderful to remind children that there was great life before iPads, satellite TV and streaming videos. Sailing is still an adventure open to all, at any age. Swallows and Amazons help remind us of the important traits of life: integrity, curiosity, adventure, love and responsibility. You can't ask for a better life introduction than Swallows and Amazons, Swallowdale, Peter Duck, and We Didn't Mean to GoTo Sea!
8 people found this helpful
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LibKat
4.0 out of 5 stars they go to sea
Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2010
The Swallows and Amazons series is great and I think that each book is great on its own but that hey are even better as a series. Who hasn't dreamed of owning an island and these kids basically get to do just that living on their own for the whole summer. Lots of adventures and intrigue, so fun.
One person found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Fun, wholesome adventure series
Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2018
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Book received in excellent condition, exactly as expected
Although I haven't read this book yet, Swallows and Amazons is an adventure series for boys and girls, slightly reminiscent of The Boxcar Children, but set on water. Good, wholesome fun. We were hooked after the first book and are working to build our collection. Somewhat more advanced reading level.
3 people found this helpful
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glenstarrover
5.0 out of 5 stars swallow and amazons forever
Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2013
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This is another of the series of books of the s & a gang, this time its real ships, real oceans and real bloodthirsty pirates. These books were written in the 1930's and are the more enjoyable for it. I read these books when I was yound, I read them to my kids and have recently re read the series and enjoyed them greatly, read and enjoy the series. swallows and amazons forever.
ps. at the end of the book there is a link to the Arthur Ransome Trust web site, well worth doing.
2 people found this helpful
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David W.
5.0 out of 5 stars ... (12-13) and always remembered it as one of my favorite stories. I am now 75 and wondered if ...
Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2016
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I read this book when I was young (12-13) and always remembered it as one of my favorite stories. I am now 75 and wondered if my 11 year old granddaughter would like it, so I reread it to be sure it was as I remembered. I was not disappointed. It is an exciting and intriguing adventure tale. There are many nautical words and terms that I had to look up. Note: Wikipedia has an excellent nautical dictionary. My granddaughter has been sailing for a couple of years so she probably will have no trouble with the words. "Peter Duck" will be under the Christmas tree this year.
6 people found this helpful
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A. Reynolds
5.0 out of 5 stars A Fine Tale of Adventure for All Ages
Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2014
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This is a great story for all ages, quite gripping and filled with sailing lore and the kind of detail about seafaring and sailing ships from tiny to huge, in the end of the "Age of Sail" that make all Ransome's books both educational and enjoyable.

The namesake character is a particularly fine rendering of a lifelong seaman, more at home at sea than ashore. This book could entertain a parent reading to a child as well as an adult or a child with a taste for nautical adventure, including skullduggery, buried treasure, piracy, but without the kitschy and over the top treatment common to most modern treatments of the subject.

It helps to have read Swallows and Amazons by the same author but is by no means necessary to enjoy it by itself.
3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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otrops
5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic, swashbuckling tale of pirates, treasure and a deserted island
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 29, 2017
Verified Purchase
I read this over several months with my 7yo son. He loves all of the Swallows and Amazons books. Here's his review of this one:

“I'd give it googolplex stars. I loved it. My favourite part was that they went to look for the treasure. There were a few scary parts, but not too scary."

I agree. Peter Duck is a fantastic, swashbuckling tale of pirates, treasure and a deserted island. Old school and very enjoyable.

Unlike other Swallows and Amazons books, this isn't an adventure that happened to the Swallows and Amazons. Instead, it's a tale the Swallows and Amazons, along with Captain Flint, told one another over a winter break in the Lakes.

This gives Arthur Ransome a bit more freedom than he has in the other books. As a result, Peter Duck is much more of an old school adventure. As my son mentioned above, there is a bit more peril than in your typical Swallows and Amazons book, but since my son knows it's a story they made up it doesn't seem as scary. Much of what happens is pretty far-fetched, from the voyage itself to the final deus ex machina moment. In other books, this may have been distracting, but knowing this is a story concocted by a group of kids goes a long way towards aiding the suspension of disbelief. The end result is a rollicking good tale that had my son asking "Daddy, can you please keep reading?" every morning.
3 people found this helpful
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ぽっこ
5.0 out of 5 stars 派手さはないけど
Reviewed in Japan on July 3, 2005
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スワローズ・アンド・アマゾンズの続編。
同じ登場人物たちが、前回は湖だったけれど、今回は大西洋に出て冒険をする。
子供のころ本を読んでいて経験したあのドキドキワクワク感を再び味わえたような気がする。
ストーリーはこせこせしていなくて、ゆっくり流れていく。
初版が１９３０年に出版された本だそうだけれど、あの時代、時間というのはこんなふうに流れていたのかもしれないね。
5 people found this helpful
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Kish Logan
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent outlier of the Swallows & Amazons stories
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 17, 2019
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Ransome, who had smuggled Bolshevik diamonds out of revolutionary Russia, married Trotsky's secretary, and covered for the Guardian the brutal wars in China, was unusual among classic children's' writers.
Most have never experienced danger but write about it. He, on the other hand, had experienced momentous, terrifying events, but chose to write children's books about quiet, possible adventures. "Peter Duck" steps outside the mould, into what we know is a story that the children themselves wrote, imagining themselves into a sort of contemporary "Treasure Island". It is full of excellent details - the woolworth plate, the crabs, the careful daily analysis of how much water has been used - that lift it into one of the greats.
One person found this helpful
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mamo
4.0 out of 5 stars Old book/New generation
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 28, 2021
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I was not sure this book would go down well with my 9 year old granddaughter but she loved it. It is an adventure tale set on the high seas. We had read stories about the Swallow and Amazons in the Lakes as part of our holiday but this was a whole new venture. I was worried it was too violent but she loved all of it. Adventure at its best with an all right end.
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EagerReader
5.0 out of 5 stars Captain Flint's Adventure Feast
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 28, 2021
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I chose this five star rating because Ransome's classic engages the reader from start to finish.

There are some close scrapes with real life pirates and the elements that are sure to delight children.

A must read for adults and children who love adventure books.
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