Winter Holiday (novel)
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2008-03-03T21:20:28Z
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disambig page now on its own
{{infobox Book | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Novels or Wikipedia:WikiProject_Books -->
| name = Winter Holiday
| title_orig =
| translator =
| image = [[Image:Winter Holiday cover.jpg|200px|photo of Jonathan Cape edition of Arthur Ransome's 1933 novel, Winter Holiday]]
| image_caption =
| author = [[Arthur Ransome]]
| cover_artist = [[Arthur Ransome]]
| country = [[United Kingdom]]
| language = [[English language|English]]
| series = [[Swallows and Amazons (series)|Swallows and Amazons]]
| genre = [[Children's fiction|Children's Novel]]
| publisher = [[Jonathan Cape]]
| release_date = 1933
| media_type = Print ([[Hardcover]] & [[Paperback]])
| pages =
| isbn = ISBN 0-613-77198-2
| preceded_by = [[Peter Duck]]
| followed_by = [[Coot Club]]
}}
'''''Winter Holiday''''' is the fourth novel of [[Arthur Ransome]]'s [[Swallows and Amazons (series)|Swallows and Amazons]] series of children's books. It was published in 1933. In this story, the third set of major characters in the series, the D's — Dick and Dorothea Callum—are introduced. The series' usual emphasis on boats and sailing is largely absent, as the story is set in the winter. Instead, the children's activities focus on [[ice skating]], signalling with [[semaphore]] and [[Morse code]] and sledging.
==Sources==
For his inspiration, Ransome draws on his schoolday memories of the Great Frost of 1895 when [[Windermere (lake)|Windermere]] froze completely. Another major influence is [[Fridtjof Nansen]]'s books about his [[Arctic]] expedition from 1893–1896 in the ''[[Fram]]'' and on [[sledge]].
==Plot summary==
Brother and sister Dick and Dorothea Callum meet the Swallows and Amazons during the winter beside the lake. Whilst observing the stars in a disused barn, Dick and Dorothea encounter the other children and shortly become firm friends. They become part of the group and join in their play of [[Arctic]] expeditions. The holiday is extended when leader Nancy Blackett catches [[mumps]] and the group is [[quarantine]]d and cannot return to their [[boarding school]]s. Initially, while waiting for snow to fall, the children embark on a series of adventures ranging from rebuilding an igloo to building an ice sled.
There is a heavy snowfall followed by a prolonged period of freezing weather and, unusually, the lake freezes over, providing an excellent opportunity for an expedition to the [[North Pole]]. However, plans go awry when the D's set out earlier than expected due to a misunderstanding over a signal flag. When a blizzard blows up and the D's are missing, a rescue party is organized.
{{SwallowsandAmazonsbooks}}
[[Category:1933 novels]]
[[Category:British novels]]
[[Category:Adventure novels]]
[[Category:Children's novels]]
[[Category:Swallows and Amazons series]]
[[cs:Zamrzlá loď kapitána Flinta]]