Elizabeth Arthur, Bloomsbury,
2004, £12.99 (first published US 1994)
pb, 798pp, 0-7475-7167-8
In the late 20th
century, American Morgan Lamont grows up with an obsession for the Antartic,
and Robert Falcon Scott in particular. Scott, primarily known as the leader of
a doomed expedition to the South Pole in 1912, has a pervading influence on
Morgan even from her very earliest years.
Everything in her life, people, incidents, events and places, lead up to
the natural conclusion – Morgan must go to the South Pole herself.
Arthur has already written
two memoirs, and this seems very much to be a third, except it is fiction! It really doesn’t seem like it, with
Morgan’s feelings, thoughts and experiences being portrayed so vividly. Morgan’s fixation on Scott seems, at the
outset, to be unfathomable, when Shackleton is now the more admired of the
Antartic explorers due to his outstanding leadership qualities when in
crisis. But slowly the reasons for her
admiration for the introspective Scott are revealed. This is a remarkable book.
It’s large, it’s densely packed, but is ultimately a rewarding read.