In the darkness, plagued by a mysterious illness and besieged by monotony, they descended into madness. When the sun set on the magnificent polar landscape one last time, the ship’s occupants were condemned to months of endless night. De Gerlache sailed on, and soon the Belgica was stuck fast in the icy hold of the Bellingshausen Sea. After a series of costly setbacks, the commandant faced two bad options: turn back in defeat and spare his men the devastating Antarctic winter, or recklessly chase fame by sailing deeper into the freezing waters. His destination was the uncharted end of the earth: the icy continent of Antarctica.īut de Gerlache’s plans to be first to the magnetic South Pole would swiftly go awry. In August 1897, the young Belgian commandant Adrien de Gerlache set sail for a three-year expedition aboard the good ship Belgica with dreams of glory. Sancton has produced a thriller.”- The Wall Street Journal “The energy of the narrative never flags. The “exquisitely researched and deeply engrossing” ( The New York Times) true survival story of an early polar expedition that went terribly awry-with the ship frozen in ice and the crew trapped inside for the entire sunless, Antarctic winter.This is an unforgettable journey into the deep. Together, Cook and Amundsen would plan a last-ditch, desperate escape from the ice-one that would either etch their names into history or doom them to a terrible fate in the frozen ocean.ĭrawing on first-hand crew diaries and journals, and exclusive access to the ship's logbook, the result is equal parts maritime thriller and gothic horror. Frederick Cook, the wild American whose later infamy would overshadow his brilliance on the Belgica and the ship's first mate, soon-to-be legendary Roald Amundsen, who later raced Captain Scott to the South Pole. As the crew teetered on the brink, the Captain increasingly relied on two young officers whose friendship had blossomed in captivity - Dr. In this epic tale, Julian Sancton unfolds a story of adventure gone horribly awry. In the darkness, plagued by a mysterious illness, their minds ravaged by the sound of dozens of rats teeming in the hold, they descended into madness. But the ship soon became stuck fast in the ice of the Bellinghausen sea, condemning the ship's crew to overwintering in Antarctica and months of endless polar night. The harrowing, survival story of an early polar expedition that went terribly wrong, with the ship frozen in ice and the crew trapped inside for the entire sunless, Antarctic winter.Īugust 1897: The Belgica set sail, eager to become the first scientific expedition to reach the white wilderness of the South Pole. LISTED AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR IN THE TIMES, NEW STATESMAN, SUNDAY TIMES
'Utterly enthralling' - GEOFF DYER, GUARDIAN
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