Arthur Ransome (1884-1967), one of the 20th century’s most popular and influential children’s authors, has today been honoured with an English Heritage London Blue Plaque. The plaque will mark 1 Gunter Grove, Chelsea, the London address that saw Ransome establish himself as an author in the early 1900s.
Ransome’s short but intense residence at 1 Gunter Grove saw him publish his first serious book, The Souls of the Streets, in August 1904 and also forge a close friendship with W.G. Collingwood and family. Ransome also briefly shared his lodgings with poet Edward Thomas, who would wake the landlord in the rooms below with his loud renditions of Welsh songs.
Most famous for Swallows and Amazons and the series of novels that followed, which remain a permanent fixture on bookshop shelves across the globe almost 100 years after they were first published, Ransome was also the first winner of the Carnegie Prize for children’s literature and his work set the tone for subsequent children’s authors including Enid Blyton, C.S Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.
Sailing is a constant thread in Ransome’s fiction: world-record breaking yachtswoman and charity founder Dame Ellen MacArthur has often cited his stories as one of her own inspirations. Dame Ellen explains: “What I loved about Arthur Ransome’s books was not just the spirit of adventure, but the way he conveyed it. He was able, somehow, to step into the minds of each of the characters quite individually, and not only bring them to life, but give them real personalities. His books are a real joy to read as a child or an adult, and encapsulate a time of freedom, simplicity and adventure which I believe should not be forgotten.”
Howard Spencer, Senior Historian, Blue Plaques at English Heritage, commented, “Arthur Ransome was one of the most successful and influential children’s authors of the twentieth century, and remains a staple of classic children’s literature. Whilst his links with the Lake District – and even with Russia – have been well-documented, the years in London during which he established himself as a writer and cultivated a fascinatingly bohemian circle of literary friends are often overlooked, despite being an integral part of his story. It seems fitting that his formative residence in Chelsea should be celebrated with a blue plaque.”
Arthur Ransome’s fascinating career and life went far beyond the children’s books for which he is most famous. Having started his career as an errand boy at a publishing firm, he built up commissions, gradually transforming himself from struggling hack to a successful literary figure. In 1912 he published a biography of Oscar Wilde with the help of Wilde’s literary executor, Robbie Ross, which led to an unsuccessful libel suit from Lord Alfred Douglas. To escape the unwanted attention and his unhappy marriage, he headed to Russia where he eventually settled. He spent six years working as a newspaper foreign correspondent during the Russian Revolution, offering Britons a unique insight into the political turmoil that transformed international affairs. During this time, Ransome enjoyed unrivalled access to the Bolshevik leaders and eventually married Trotsky’s personal secretary, Evgenia Petrovna Shelepina. Indeed, his value as an informant was seized upon by the Foreign Office and he was recruited by MI6 as agent S76.
In 1925, Ransome and Evgenia finally settled back in the UK, buying a cottage in the Lake District. It was here that he resumed his friendship with Dorothy Collingwood and her husband, Dr Ernest Altounyan, and their four children, Taqui, Susan, Titty and Roger. The summer of 1928 was spent hiking, exploring and sailing in the Altounyan’s two boats, Swallow and Mavis. When the family returned to Syria in January 1929, they left Swallow in Ransome’s care and suggested he might write a book about their adventures. Eighteen months later, Swallows and Amazons was published.
Ransome spent most of his remaining career working on children’s novels, which included Swallowdale, Peter Duck and Great Northern?, although he continued to write a column for the Manchester Guardian, and he was appointed CBE in 1953. When not writing, he spent his time sailing and fly-fishing, until his failing health made those pastimes more difficult. Arthur Ransome died on 3 June 1967 at the age of 83, and is buried in the graveyard at Rusland in his beloved Lake District.
The English Heritage London Blue Plaques scheme is generously supported by David Pearl and members of the public.
