arrival of 'Wee Nook' - corporate HQGolden Duck (UK) Ltd belongs to Francis Wheen and Julia Jones. It was formed in 2005 and took its first step into publishing in March 2009.

Francis Wheen at the Golden Duck launch party, Foyles 2009An invitation from the Essex Book Festival and an unexpected legacy from Joyce Allingham prompted the decision to republish Julia's 1991 biography of the detective novelist Margery Allingham. With new material and new research this first paperback edition, The Adventures of Margery Allingham, was on sale in time for the Book Festival in March 2009. This was followed in March 2010 by a new edition of Cheapjack by Margery's brother Philip Allingham. A revised, annotated and illustrated edition of The Oaken Heart, Margery's WW2 'testament' was published in March 2011 and the Allingham quartet will finally be completed next year (2012) with  Fifty Years in the Fiction Factory, Julia's account of Margery's father, Herbert Allingham's, life as a fiction-worker.Julia Jones, Foyles, March 2009

The Salt-Stained Book, volume one of the Strong Winds Trilogy was published in June 2011 with volume two, A Ravelled Flag, scheduled for late November 2011. Volume three (title currently under discussion) should be ready for June 2012. As the series covers a single year in the life of its 14 year old hero, it seems appropriate that publication should try to do the same. Anyone who reads each book as it comes out will also have lived a year of their own lives. We hope that they will have had a rather more peaceful twelve months!

Peter Duck at KysonThe Golden Duck company name is formed from the names of two boats, both moored on the River Deben in Suffolk. Francis's Goldenray is a houseboat minutes away from the London train: Peter Duck, who was built for the writer Arthur Ransome and owned by Julia's parents for many years, is a few hundred metres further downstream. Greg and Ann Palmer took Peter Duck to Russia. Ann now lives in Portugal and we're delighted to include some of her writing on this site.

Goldenray, Bass Dock, Woodbridge

Goldenray is a former Scottish MFV (motor fishing vessel). She is believed to be at least sixty years old and have worked in the Isle of Mull but beyond that her history is unknown.

Peter Duck is a much more fully documented vessel. She attracts interest from classic boat enthusiasts as well as devotees of Arthur Ransome and thus has her own space on this site.