The Secret Life of Books

Classic books are considered with a fresh eye. Returning to the authors' original manuscripts and letters, expert writers and performers bring their personal insights to these great works.

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Created By
Status	Ended
Original Name	The Secret Life of Books
First Air Date	September 2, 2014
Last Air Date	November 16, 2015
Seasons	2
Episodes	12
Episode Runtime	30min
Language	English
Original Language	English
Production Countries	United Kingdom
Production Companies
Networks	BBC Four

S02E06

Swallows and Amazons

Former journalist and keen amateur sailor John Sergeant takes to the water in the wake of the plucky young heroes of Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons, and learns how a globe-trotting foreign correspondent and acquaintance of Lenin and Trotsky came to perfect a new, more authentic kind of children's literature that featured real children doing real things in real places.

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