Arthur Ransome papers

This week, Arthur Ransome's papers are on sale in the U.K. And, it turns out, Ransome's life was even more an adventure than those of his heroes in the Swallows and Amazons series.

Christina Hardyment previews Ransome's papers and reports for the Times. Amongst the treasures in the archive are:

• A memoir by his daughter, Tabitha
• A "book-length fantasy" called Le Livre de Tabithe