Swallows and Amazons Books in Order

On a cruise in the Outer Hebrides with Captain Flint, the Swallows, Amazons and Ds discover what may be the nest of a very rare diver, then clash with an unscrupulous egg collector as they race to protect the birds without wrecking local loyalties.

When the Amazons' formidable Great Aunt descends on Beckfoot, Dick and Dorothea hide in a stone hut in the woods as secret 'Picts' while Nancy and Peggy endure being turned into respectable 'Martyrs', all four juggling woodcraft, spying and narrow escapes from discovery.

On a round the world voyage in the Wild Cat, the Swallows, Amazons and Captain Flint are shipwrecked off the South China coast and captured by the Three Island pirates, where the scholarly Missee Lee, their unexpected leader, prefers Latin lessons and ceremony to simple ransom.

Back on the Norfolk Broads, Dick and Dorothea join Tom and the Death and Glories to investigate a string of boats mysteriously cast adrift, forming the 'Big Six' detective club and using notebooks, cameras and quiet observation to clear their friends of blame.

Marooned with a dinghy in the maze of tidal creeks known as Secret Water, the Swallows and Amazons turn their stay into a surveying expedition, mapping islands, keeping a log and negotiating truces and rivalries with local children who see themselves as native tribes.

While staying on the River Orwell, the four Swallows help moor the cutter Goblin and are invited for a short sail, but fog, a dragging anchor and rising wind carry them unexpectedly into the North Sea, where their seamanship and nerve are tested in heavy weather.

During a hot, dry summer in the Lake District, the Swallows, Amazons and Ds camp high on the fells to search for a lost mineral vein, relying on homing pigeons for messages while dealing with water shortages, rival prospectors and the constant risk of moorland fire.

On the Norfolk Broads at Easter, Dick and Dorothea learn to sail with Tom Dudgeon and his Coot Club friends, who patrol the rivers to protect nesting water birds and find themselves pursued by a noisy party of holidaymakers whose cruiser they have secretly set adrift.

Stranded at the lake over a frozen winter, the Swallows and Amazons befriend new arrivals Dick and Dorothea and turn the ice into an Arctic expedition, building igloos, sledges and signal posts until a blizzard and a missed message turn play into a dangerous rescue.

On board Captain Flint's schooner Wild Cat, the Swallows and Amazons join old sailor Peter Duck on a treasure hunt to distant Crab Island, racing a villainous rival crew through storms, sharks and earthquakes in a full blooded seafaring adventure imagined by the children.

Back at the lake for a second summer, the Swallows and Amazons lose their beloved dinghy in an accident and are forced to explore ashore, discovering a hidden valley they name Swallowdale while outwitting the fearsome Great Aunt who wants the pirates tamed.

During a summer at an English lake, the Walker children sail the dinghy Swallow, befriend local sisters Nancy and Peggy with their boat Amazon, and turn camping on Wild Cat Island into a full-scale pirate campaign against the mysterious Captain Flint.