Swallows and Amazons Books in Order
Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome contains 13 books, published between 1930 and 2008. The first book is Swallows and Amazons (1930) and the newest is The Picts & the Martyrs (2008). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 13
- Published
- 1930–2008
- Pages on record
- 4,083 in 11 of 13 books
- Reading time
- 68–102 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 4,083 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 11 of 13 titles with a page count on record.
Sailing, camping and long school holidays make up Swallows and Amazons, the children's adventure series Arthur Ransome set in the years between the wars. Thirteen titles are catalogued, running from Swallows and Amazons (1930) through Swallowdale, Peter Duck, Winter Holiday, Coot Club and Pigeon Post. England supplies the settings, chiefly the Lake District and the Norfolk Broads, and readers still travel to both. The critic Peter Hunt credits the series with altering British literature and with shaping how the English Lake District is pictured. Ransome's name sits on the short list of classic British children's authors as a result.
How many Swallows and Amazons books are there?
Swallows and Amazons has 13 books, released between 1930 and 2008.
Swallows and Amazons Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 13 Swallows and Amazons books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 1Swallows and Amazons1930 · 351 pages · confirmed 1/419303511/4
- 2Swallowdale1931 · 448 pages · confirmed 1/419314481/4
- 3Peter Duck1932 · 414 pages · confirmed 1/419324141/4
- 4Winter Holiday1933 · 350 pages · confirmed 1/419333501/4
- 5Coot Club1934 · 350 pages · confirmed 1/419343501/4
- 6Pigeon Post1936 · 382 pages · confirmed 1/419363821/4
- 7We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea1937 · 344 pages · confirmed 1/419373441/4
- 8Secret Water1939 · 376 pages · confirmed 1/419393761/4
- 9The Big Six1940 · 367 pages · confirmed 1/419403671/4
- 10Missee Lee1941 · 349 pages · confirmed 1/419413491/4
- 11The Picts & the Martyrs or Not Welcome at All1943 · confirmed 1/41943–1/4
- 12Great Northern? A Scottish Adventure of Swallows & Amazons1947 · 352 pages · confirmed 1/419473521/4
- 13The Picts & the Martyrs2008 · confirmed 1/42008–1/4
Is there a chronological order for Swallows and Amazons?
No separate chronological order is on record for Swallows and Amazons, because none of the book listings this catalogue draws on publishes one; the publication order above is the only order given.
Do you have to read Swallows and Amazons books in order?
You should read the Swallows and Amazons books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each Swallows and Amazons book also stands alone.
Where to start with Swallows and Amazons
Start with Swallows and Amazons (1930), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Swallows and Amazons book?
The Picts & the Martyrs (2008) is the newest Swallows and Amazons book released so far.
Is there a new Swallows and Amazons book coming?
No next Swallows and Amazons book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Awards Swallows and Amazons has won
Wikidata records 1 award for Swallows and Amazons. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Carnegie Medal1936Wonfor Pigeon Post
Swallows and Amazons at a glance
- No recent titles
- The newest Swallows and Amazons title on record dates from 2008, 18 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
- Release pace
- Swallows and Amazons books have appeared about one every 7 years on average.
- Length
- 4,083 pages across the 11 of 13 books with a recorded length, a median of 352 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Swallows and Amazons books, 8 of 13, were published in the 1930s.
What the Swallows and Amazons books are about
11 of the 13 Swallows and Amazons books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: children's fiction is tagged on 9 of 11. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Children's fiction 9 of 11 books
- Sailing 7 of 11 books
- Adventure stories 6 of 11 books
- Boats and boating 4 of 11 books
- Swallows (Fictitious characters) 4 of 11 books
- Amazons (Fictitious characters : Ransome) 3 of 11 books
- Vacations 2 of 11 books
More books by Arthur Ransome
The author page linked below lists every book in publication order.
- Arthur Ransome books in order 45 books