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'Had we lived, I would have had a tale to tell of the hardihood, endurance, and courage of my companions which would have stirred the heart of every Englishman.' For one of the survivors these words would have had particular poignancy. Apsley Cherry-Garrard did live on but he had to take with him the fear that he could have saved Scott and his two closest friends. The novel fast forwards to the late 1950s and to Cherry's friendship with a boy who shares his love of the English countryside and a thirst for adventure. This is a wide-sweeping novel that takes the reader on a journey from an imperial battlefield to the challenges of Antarctica and forward to a new era. |
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Richard Jopling’s enthusiasm for Captain Scott’s expedition was fired by reading Apsley Cherry-Garrard’s Worst Journey in The World. This led him to undertake over ten year’s research into the heroic age of Antarctic exploration and made him determined to capture the extraordinary spirit and times of those explorers in a novel. |
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More reviews from Amazon readers
Had we Lived
I really enjoyed this book, I was totally immersed in the story, when it was cold I felt cold,when it was bleak I felt bleak. In contrast, I enjoyed the warmth of the relationships Cherry had with the other characters in the story especially his sister Ida and the young boy Pip. It was well researched and I felt a sense of time and place. At one point in the story Richard is describing "Sterling Currency" and it made me go and look at my own collection of "Old Money". The unexpected bonus was learning about the Emperor Penguin, I am planning a trip to the Natural History Museum in London to see the egg for myself.
Cherry Picking
This is a must read, a wonderful insight into times past. To comprehend the courage and determination required by such people, to imagine what they experienced at such a young age and the contrast to what they had left behind is brought to life in this exceptional book. I highly recommend it.
A rattling good read
I thought I knew about Scott and Oates but I had not heard of Cherry-Garrard other than as a name. This book changed all that in a delightfully racy and erudite style that combined historical commentary with some "Boy's Own" storytelling. The contrast in this remarkable book between the life in England and the extraordinary harshness of the Antarctic winter, added to the feeling of scale. The reader spans the British Empire from its greatest days to its decline, spans the globe from Surrey to the South Pole and spans the life of an man totally dominated by two years of his youth. A feat of writing about a physical feat of unimaginable severity and a rattling good read!
An addictive read
This is a must read, a wonderful insight into times past. To comprehend the courage and determination required by such people, to imagine what they experienced at such a young age and the contrast to what they had left behind is brought to life in this exceptional book. I highly recommend it.