Polar Wives: The Remarkable Women behind the World's Most Daring Explorers

by Kari Herbert, Jon Bowermaster

Overview

The lives and adventures of seven intrepid women are revealed in “this gem of a book . . . as captivating as the northern landscape itself” (Portland Book Review).

Polar explorers were the superstars of the "heroic age" of exploration, a period spanning the Victorian and Edwardian eras. In Polar Wives, Kari Herbert reveals the unpredictable, often heartbreaking lives of seven remarkable women whose husbands became world-famous for their Arctic and Antarctic expeditions. As the daughter of a polar explorer, Herbert brings a unique and intimate perspective to these stories.

In her portraits of the gifted sculptor Kathleen Scott; eccentric traveler Jane Franklin; spirited poet Eleanor Anne Franklin; Jo Peary, the first white woman to travel and give birth in the High Arctic; talented and determined Emily Shackleton; Norwegian singer Eva Nansen; and her own mother, writer and pioneer Marie Herbert, Kari Herbert blends deeply personal accounts of longing, betrayal, and hope with stories of peril and adventure.

Previously consigned to historical footnotes, these pioneering women played vital roles in their husbands' expeditions. Their stories—many drawn from previously unpublished journals and letters—take us not only to the polar wastelands but also through war-torn Macedonia, the lawless outback of Australia, and the plague-riddled ancient cities of the Holy Land.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781926812632
Publisher:	Greystone Books
Publication date:	03/09/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	NOOK Book
Pages:	362
Sales rank:	529,465
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

Kari Herbert first started travelling at the age of ten months when her father, pioneering explorer Sir Wally Herbert, took Kari and her mother, Marie, to live among the Polar Inuit on a remote island off the northwest coast of Greenland. Today, Kari is an acclaimed author, photographer, and speaker. Her work has been published in magazines and newspapers all over the world, including the Sunday Times, the Telegraph, Mail on Sunday, the Independent and the Guardian. Her first book, The Explorer's Daughter, received outstanding reviews and was chosen as Book of the Week by BBC Radio 4. It has since been translated into Danish, Dutch, Italian, and Polish. Kari Herbert is the founding director of Polarworld, an independent publishing company that produces inspirational books and projects to bring an awareness of wilderness places to a diverse audience. She lives in Cornwall, England.

Jon Bowermaster is the author of eleven books and producer of a dozen documentary films, when not on the sea Bowermaster lives in the Hudson Valley of New York.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

" Every story Herbert tells is fascinating for itself, and the book is compelling. ...With a nice selection of photos, an ample supply of larger-than-life characters, and settings like no other, this is a book that should easily stand the test of time and has earned its place on exploration history shelves everywhere."—Bookslut

"This gem of a book engages an audience as thoroughly as the expeditions did in their heyday, telling the stories of women like Emily Shackleton, Jane Franklin, Jo Perry, Eva Nansen, and Marie Herbert with a grace and style as captivating as the northern landscape itself."—Portland Book Review

"This highly enjoyable book is an important addition to polar and exploration history collections or for biography or women's studies shelves."—Library Journal

Editorial Reviews

" Every story Herbert tells is fascinating for itself, and the book is compelling. ...With a nice selection of photos, an ample supply of larger-than-life characters, and settings like no other, this is a book that should easily stand the test of time and has earned its place on exploration history shelves everywhere."—Bookslut

"This gem of a book engages an audience as thoroughly as the expeditions did in their heyday, telling the stories of women like Emily Shackleton, Jane Franklin, Jo Perry, Eva Nansen, and Marie Herbert with a grace and style as captivating as the northern landscape itself."—Portland Book Review

"This highly enjoyable book is an important addition to polar and exploration history collections or for biography or women's studies shelves."—Library Journal

From the Publisher

In polar history, much has been written about the explorers, men like Robert Falcon Scott, Ernest Shackleton, and John Franklin. In contrast, little is known about the women who married and supported them. In this work, Herbert (founding director, Polarworld; The Explorer's Daughter) delves into the lives of seven women to bring this often neglected aspect of history into focus. As the daughter of polar explorer Wally Herbert, the author is ideally situated to understand the hardships that explorers' families endure while waiting for information about an expedition's outcome. Chapters on Eva Nansen, Jo Peary, Eleanor and Jane Franklin, Emily Shackleton, Kathleen Scott, and Marie Herbert bring to life their relationships and personal lives through letters, diaries, and other sources, starting with coverage of their early years, followed by their lives with their husbands and their work in relation to crucial support of their husbands during and after their expeditions. Many of these strong women were accomplished in their own right: Eva was a celebrated singer, Kathleen a sculptor and artist, Eleanor a poet, and Marie an adventurer and author. VERDICT This highly enjoyable book is an important addition to polar and exploration history collections or for biography or women's studies shelves.—Margaret Atwater-Singer, Univ. of Evansville Libs., IN

Library Journal

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