These inscriptions challenge generational hierarchies in that they establish a means for different individuals to communicate the experience of being in the same place, albeit at different times. In particular, the Lakeland novels which are the focus here- Swallows and Amazons (1930/2012), Swallowdale (1931/1968), Winter Holiday (1933/2013), Pigeon Post (1936/2013) and The Picts and the Martyrs (1943/1993)-make frequent mention of literary works but also display an intense interest in messages which are written on paper but also cut into surfaces such as wood and stone. Although Ransome’s writings undoubtedly contain instances of such divisions and hierarchies, this article argues that they also explore various kinds of communication and connection. Jacqueline Rose’s influential notion of the “impossibility” of children’s literature rests on the claim that such works “frame” the child and place the adult “first”.
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