- This article is about Arthur Ransome's uncompleted novel. For the book in which it appears, see Coots in the North and other stories
The incomplete novel 'Coots in the North' would have followed The Picts and the Martyrs. The story starts in the Norfolk Broads but continues in the Lake District after the Death and Glories hitch a ride aboard a boat being delivered to the Lake in the North.
Plot summary
The Death and Glories are bored because the salvage business is in decline on the Broads. They see a boat being loaded for delivery to the Lake in the North where the Ds have their adventures and they decide to go along for the ride. They get left behind at a stop near the destination but make their way to the lake and find that the lorry has already left for the return journey to Norfolk and they have no way to get home. They meet the owner of the new boat who takes them to find the Ds. They encounter the Swallows, Amazons and Ds sailing on the lake and make an attempt to rescue Nancy after her boat capsizes.
At this point the story as published ends, though notes indicate that Ransome was struggling to develop a suitable plot line and a way of arranging for the Death and Glories to get home without their impoverished parents having to pay the fare.
Various scenarios are mentioned, including the salvage of Captain Flint's houseboat when its anchor chain breaks in a squall. In gratitude Captain Flint pays for their return journey and gives them a reward.
Publication
Arthur Ransome's biographer, Hugh Brogan, edited the story and had it published in 1988 in the book Coots in the North and other stories.