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Erebus: The Story of a Ship Hardcover – 20 Sept. 2018
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BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
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HMS Erebus was one of the great exploring ships, a veteran of groundbreaking expeditions to the ends of the Earth.
In 1848, it disappeared in the Arctic, its fate a mystery. In 2014, it was found.
This is its story.
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‘Beyond terrific. I didn’t want it to end.’ – Bill Bryson
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Michael Palin – Monty Python star and television globetrotter – brings the remarkable Erebus back to life, following it from its launch in 1826 to the epic voyages of discovery that led to glory in the Antarctic and to ultimate catastrophe in the Arctic.
The ship was filled with fascinating people: the dashing and popular James Clark Ross, who charted much of the ‘Great Southern Barrier’; the troubled John Franklin, whose chequered career culminated in the Erebus's final, disastrous expedition; and the eager Joseph Dalton Hooker, a brilliant naturalist – when he wasn't shooting the local wildlife dead.
Vividly recounting the experiences of the men who first set foot on Antarctica’s Victoria Land, and those who, just a few years later, froze to death one by one in the Arctic ice, beyond the reach of desperate rescue missions, Erebus is a wonderfully evocative account of a truly extraordinary adventure, brought to life by a master explorer and storyteller.
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‘Thoroughly absorbs the reader. . . Carefully researched and well-crafted, it brings the story of a ship vividly to life.’ – Sunday Times
‘This is an incredible book. I couldn’t put it down. The Erebus story is the Arctic epic we’ve all been waiting for.’ – Nicholas Crane
‘Palin is a superb stylist, low-key and conversational, who skillfully incorporates personal experience. He turns up obscure facts, reanimates essential moments, and never shies away from taking controversial positions. This beautifully produced volume – colour plates, outstanding maps – is a landmark achievement.’ – Ken McGoogan, author of Fatal Passage
‘I absolutely loved it: I had to read it at one sitting . . . Fascinating.’ – Lorraine Kelly, ITV Lorraine
‘Magisterial . . . Brings energy, wit and humanity to a story that has never ceased to tantalise people since the 1840s.’ – The Times
- Print length352 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherRandom House Books
- Publication date20 Sept. 2018
- Dimensions16.2 x 3.4 x 24 cm
- ISBN-10184794812X
- ISBN-13978-1847948120
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From the Publisher
HMS Erebus
- Laid down in 1826 in Wales, where it was designed as a bomb ship (and named after an aspect of the Greek underworld).
- Later converted to a scientific ship, launching a legendary exploration career which took it to the literal ends of the Earth.
- Refitted with a steam engine from a locomotive, among other cutting-edge technological advancements. It was the scientific pride of the Royal Navy.
- It disappeared in 1845, but was finally rediscovered in 2014 after centuries of searches.
The voyagers: John Franklin, captain of Erebus’s Arctic voyage
Franklin was a questionable choice of captain for Erebus’s 1845 journey to the Arctic. One of Britain’s most-experienced explorers, his career had been marked by controversy and near catastrophe (an earlier expedition had gone so badly wrong that he had been forced to boil and eat his boots to avoid starvation).
Nobody will ever know whether it was the style of Franklin’s leadership that ultimately doomed his Arctic voyage. By 1847, with no signal from the crew of Erebus, his wife Jane was leading the call for rescue parties to be sent to the Arctic to save him, sparking one of most dramatic searches in history.
The voyagers: Joseph Dalton Hooker, second surgeon on Erebus's Antarctic voyage
When Hooker was appointed to the crew of Erebus, he was a 22-year-old botanist fresh out of the University of Glasgow. But his discoveries during the Antarctic voyage marked the beginning of one of the most illustrious careers in scientific history. Hooker obsessively recorded the plants and animals that he saw on the voyage, offering Britons their first glimpse of the diverse wildlife of the southern hemisphere.
Years later, Hooker would become a towering figure in the scientific community, being appointed director of the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew and building a close friendship with Charles Darwin.
The voyagers: Francis Crozier, second-in-command of Antarctic and Arctic voyages
Crozier was great friends with James Clark Ross during Erebus’s Antarctic voyages (he was one of the few people allowed to call Crozier ‘Frank’). But his relationship with Sir John Franklin was less happy: indeed Crozier sometimes feigned illness to avoid having to dine with him. An anxious, pessimistic man by nature, he had dark forebodings about Erebus’s final, disastrous journey.
The voyagers: James Clark Ross, captain of Erebus's Antarctic voyage
Ross was born into one of Britain’s great naval families, embarking on his first Arctic voyage at the age of just eighteen. In 1831, he became a national hero when he reached the North Magnetic Pole by sled – and nearly died in the process.
Once described as the ‘handsomest man in the navy’, Ross was well-built and calmly authoritative: the obvious choice when the Admiralty decided to commission a voyage to the Antarctic. The journey he led would brave fierce storms and unimaginable cold to chart vast swathes of the most untamed continent in the world.
John Franklin
Joseph Dalton Hooker
Francis Crozier
James Clark Ross
Product description
Review
Thoroughly absorbs the reader. . . Carefully researched and well-crafted, it brings the story of a ship vividly to life. ― Sunday Times
[Palin’s] narrative is driven by a deep sympathy for explorers and adventurers, while also being illuminated by flashes of gentle wit . . . It’s a fascinating story that he brings full-bloodedly to life, stripping away the barnacles of the past to reveal the hidden history of a ship. -- Robert Douglas-Fairhurst ― Guardian
Everybody’s talking about it . . . A brilliant book. -- Chris Evans, BBC Radio 2
With this irresistible and often harrowing account, Michael Palin makes a convincing case that one heroic little ship embodied the golden ago of polar exploration better than any other: HMS Erebus. -- John Geiger, co-author of Frozen in Time
[Written] with a wry enthusiasm, bolstered by his own experiences as an eminent explorer and film-maker . . . His moving account of the discovery of abandoned items, taken on board as comforts of home by the officers – silver cutlery with their initials indented, scattered on a frozen shore – affected me the most. -- Colin Greenwood, Radiohead bassist ― Spectator
I absolutely loved it: I had to read it at one sitting . . . Fascinating. -- Lorraine Kelly ― ITV Lorraine
Magisterial . . . A natural storyteller, [Palin] captures beautifully the sense of awe experienced by Ross and his men as they encountered the wonders and terrors of Antarctica . . . He brings energy, wit and humanity to a story that has never ceased to tantalise people since the 1840s. ― The Times
At this late date, and against all odds, Michael Palin has found an original way to enter and explore the Royal Navy narrative of polar exploration. Palin is a superb stylist, low-key and conversational, who skillfully incorporates personal experience. He turns up obscure facts, reanimates essential moments, and never shies away from taking controversial positions. This beautifully produced volume – colour plates, outstanding maps – is a landmark achievement. -- Ken McGoogan, author of Fatal Passage
This is an incredible book. I couldn’t put it down. The Erebus story is the Arctic epic we’ve all been waiting for. -- Nicholas Crane
A timely account of Sir John Franklin’s 1845 expedition to find a way through the Northwest Passage . . . [Palin] does an admirable job of recounting the life of this doughty ship, from construction at Pembroke dockyard in 1826 to her last days stuck fast in the ice . . . vivid, evocative stuff . . . pulls together very effectively much of the work that’s been done to establish the truth about Franklin’s fate. -- Erica Wagner ― Financial Times
What a book this is! . . . [Palin] brings not just a historian’s and writer’s skills to it, but those of a traveller. -- Dan Snow ― Dan’s History Hit
Extraordinary . . . Thoroughly sifts through the many varied and often contradictory theories about what happened to the 129 men aboard Franklin’s two ships. ― Maclean’s
Compelling . . . HMS Erebus embarked on two of the most dramatic Polar expeditions in history . . . Michael’s historical non fiction debut charts both journeys and brings back to life all those who sailed on her. ― Saga
I’ve been mesmerised . . . Palin’s book charts the 1845 voyage of Sir John Franklin, who sought the Northwest Passage with HMS Terror and HMS Erebus. ― Scottish Daily Mail
Combines a fascinating episode of naval history with [Palin’s] flair for storytelling. ― Radio Times
[Palin] successfully reanimates the corpse, bringing Erebus back from the depths of time so her funnels once more blast smoke as she forges through new and wondrous seas. ― Sunday Express
Palin’s experiences, including a voyage on a Russian ship to the channel where the wreck of Erebus was discovered, give a sense of immediacy and proportion to his narrative. . . Michael Palin has done full justice to [John Franklin] and all these remarkable men. This truly is a marvellous book. -- Allan Massie ― Scotsman
This lively account reveals much about both exploration and the Royal Navy in the 19th century . . . Palin is a diligent researcher who has trawled the primary sources and, largely in the course of filming his television series Pole to Pole, has visited many of the key sites here. -- Sara Wheeler ― Observer
Nicholas Crane, current president of the Royal Geographical Society, has described Palin, one of his predecessors, as “the world’s most appealing practitioner of geographical curiosity”, and it’s that curiosity which drives his stirring new book . . . His account is written in crisp, unshowy prose. -- Four star review ― Daily Telegraph
A great story . . . Told in a very relaxed and sometimes – as you might expect – very funny Palin style. -- David Baddiel ― Daily Mail
Palin has seized [the story] with relish: the distinctive dry humour familiar to his television audiences finds plenty of opportunities to emerge, and his easy assurance as a writer . . . keeps the pace sprightly. ― Times Literary Supplement
Fascinating. Exciting. Authoritative. ― All About History
A delightfully granular description of ship-board life, all told in a brisk, breezy style . . . A very readable and fascinating tale from the early years of polar exploration. -- Book of the Month ― Geographical
A great read . . . You feel you’re sitting in the pub with Michael Palin himself as he regales you with tales of the mighty seas. ― The People’s Friend
From the Back Cover
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Random House Books; 1st edition (20 Sept. 2018)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 352 pages
- ISBN-10 : 184794812X
- ISBN-13 : 978-1847948120
- Dimensions : 16.2 x 3.4 x 24 cm
- Best Sellers Rank: 37,560 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- Customer reviews:
About the author
Michael Palin has written and starred in numerous TV programmes and films, from Monty Python and Ripping Yarns to The Missionary and The Death of Stalin. He has also made several much-acclaimed travel documentaries, his journeys taking him to the North and South Poles, the Sahara Desert, the Himalayas, Eastern Europe and Brazil. His books include accounts of his journeys, novels (Hemingway’s Chair and The Truth) and several volumes of diaries. From 2009 to 2012 he was president of the Royal Geographical Society. He received a BAFTA fellowship in 2013, and a knighthood in the 2019 New Year Honours list. He lives in London.
Customer reviews
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book engaging and well-written. They appreciate the thorough research and first-hand source material. The storyline is described as gripping and inspiring, with a tragic ending. Readers praise the superb storytelling and research that brings the lives of these men to life truthfully and convincingly. They also mention the amazing set of voyages and endurance.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book engaging and well-written. They describe it as an entertaining account of a true story that spans many years, crews, voyages, and countries. Readers appreciate the human interest aspect and the details about the exploration vessel's history.
"...amounts, in my eyes, to a deeply-researched, well-written, entertaining account - it's not without the occasional touch of Palinesque humour - of..." Read more
"...It's been quite an enjoyable (if that's the right word!) series, but I wanted to know the truth of what happened...." Read more
"...This book makes for fascinating reading and a gentle smile or too with Michael Palin's ironic humour, particularly in this case when relating the..." Read more
"...result in a boring dry recounting of the facts but rather a real human interest story that kept me interested from the first to the very last..." Read more
Customers enjoy the book's writing quality. They find it well-researched and engaging. The author's style is compelling, inimitable, and enlightening. Readers appreciate the attention to detail and beautiful illustrations. Overall, they describe the book as a quick and easy read.
"...All of which amounts, in my eyes, to a deeply-researched, well-written, entertaining account - it's not without the occasional touch of Palinesque..." Read more
"...fascinating reading and a gentle smile or too with Michael Palin's ironic humour, particularly in this case when relating the doings of the great '..." Read more
"...There is plenty of detail but it does not result in a boring dry recounting of the facts but rather a real human interest story that kept me..." Read more
"...The book also brought home the charming irony that while RN bomb vessels were usually given scary names, often of volcanoes, that two of the biggest..." Read more
Customers appreciate the book's research quality. They find it informative with a level of detail on sailor life and seamanship that is well-researched. The book is grounded in reality with plenty of first-hand source material. Readers enjoy the author's writing style and the accuracy of local Innuit stories passed down through generations.
"...All of which amounts, in my eyes, to a deeply-researched, well-written, entertaining account - it's not without the occasional touch of Palinesque..." Read more
"...To that end, this book is both interesting and informative...." Read more
"...the wreck of the Erebus are thrillingly written, and always based on excellent research ...." Read more
"...His research has clearly been painstakingly undertaken and the result is a gripping read, that delivers a story of incredible historical..." Read more
Customers enjoy the gripping storyline. They find it an epic true adventure tale with a tragic ending. Readers appreciate the sensitive account of the life of a ship and its crew. The book is described as a well-researched, well-told adventure story with larger-than-life characters.
"...We're regaled with lively vignettes of her crews and others on board (including Hooker the eminent botanist)...." Read more
"...has clearly been painstakingly undertaken and the result is a gripping read, that delivers a story of incredible historical significance in a very..." Read more
"Gripping book. Got to love Palin!!" Read more
"...In the end, it is just a sad tale of incompetence, naivete and errors of judgement...." Read more
Customers praise the gripping storytelling and research. They find the book poignant, bringing the lives of the adventurers to life truthfully. The book is described as inspiring and educational, with anecdotes that make you feel like you are listening to Michael Palin. Readers appreciate the bravery and determination of the explorers.
"...This was, ultimately, an engrossing, poignant read." Read more
"...Michael Palin's book does these men credit and often brings their lives truthfully and convincingly to life." Read more
"...However, Palin's superb storytelling weaves together so many threads and dimensions: British naval history, economics, imperial history and critique..." Read more
"Superb story telling and research" Read more
Customers find the book's adventure interesting. They mention it's a maritime story about various expeditions and voyages around the world. Readers appreciate the early and adventurous explorers mentioned. The book provides fascinating insights into survival on perilous journeys into the unknown.
"...not mundane at all, of the weather conditions, the geography and scenery, and such a keen sense of discovery and hazardous voyages...." Read more
"Michael Palin is, as we all know, an engaging and delightful travel presenter...." Read more
"...to discover the North West passage but it was also involved in exploration of the Antarctic, where for four years of sailings led by the explorer..." Read more
"...imperial history and critique, polar exploration - north and south, geography, botany, geology, evolution, anthropology, biographies and..." Read more
Customers find the book an engaging read about endurance and heroism in extreme conditions. They appreciate the determination, strength, and resilience of the people and boats involved. The story is described as a gripping yarn told with passion.
"...Though sticking to a core cast, there are many accounts of the brave, loyal and hardworking men keeping the ship's going...." Read more
"...but it really brought to life the journey and challenges, i'm going to read more like this, I like Michaels programmes, so the books a great option,..." Read more
"This is a veritable ripping yarn told with all the bubbling passion one associates with Michael Palin...." Read more
"...drama of the story and amazed by the determination and strength of the people involved...." Read more
Customers enjoy the book's pacing. They find the story engaging and worth reading to the end. The writing style is described as skillful and charming. Readers appreciate the determination and strength of the characters.
"...4 stars rather than 5 stars but at the same time saying it is worth persisting with...." Read more
"Michael Palin is a smart and informed man - he can write well: articulate but reasonably economic with his words (I like that.)..." Read more
"...and before long I was gripped by the drama of the story and amazed by the determination and strength of the people involved...." Read more
"...Erebus is the story of the ship so starts much earlier and comes right up to date...." Read more
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Fascinating and brilliantly written
Top reviews from United Kingdom
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- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 January 2022Two hundred years or so ago the Duke of Clarence (fairly) famously said of the River Thames: 'There it goes, flow, flow, flow, always the same'. I'm a bit in sympathy with that. When I look at the Thames from the Embankment, no matter what the weather, it seems to me grey or brown and rather turgid.
Now the sea IMO is a totally different matter. Even on a dull day I can watch and listen to it for hours. Crests forming and dissolving unbroken offshore, the smash and grab of breakers on the beach, eddies swirling around shoals. In sunlight it's even better. And that's just the North Sea...
This, for me, is what makes Palin's book. Its scope has the expansive breadth of a seascape, and his writing, the sparkle of sun on bustling seas. Though the seas, however, that Erebus frequently encountered were anything but that poetic...
It's hard to appreciate now that mainland Antarctica had not long been discovered when Erebus was built; discovery of the Northwest Passage was yet an unattained goal; neither pole had been reached; and locating the magnetic north pole, let alone the south, was still some years off.
The expeditions, both to the remotest north and south of the globe, of the 'bomb vessel' Erebus (I'm not going to elucidate: Palin does...) are the focus of the book, but Palin places them in much wider contexts. We're regaled with lively vignettes of her crews and others on board (including Hooker the eminent botanist). We're told of the need for the Royal Navy to have something, anything!, to do after the end of the Napoleonic Wars, rather than for the ships to be 'stood down In Ordinary' - as indeed Erebus was soon after her launch in 1826; of the slashing one hundred years later of the workforce at the Pembroke shipyard where she was built from 13,000 to just four; of how Erebus was kitted out for her lengthy forays into the icy unknowns (her hull was strengthened with planking to make a '3-foot-wide girdle around the ship', plus extra-thick copper-bottoming); and that insulation was in the form of 'fearnought, dipped in tallow'. There are vivid descriptions, not mundane at all, of the weather conditions, the geography and scenery, and such a keen sense of discovery and hazardous voyages. Above all, hazardous voyages.
In describing all this, Palin draws extensively, though not in any way boringly, from contemporary records and first-hand accounts. At one point, he tells briefly, unassumingly, of his own experience, with a BBC film crew dancing attendance, of 'rounding the Horn' aboard a Chilean patrol boat, some 45 ft longer than had been the Erebus. The oceans converging there were, for once, 'millpond-calm', but even so, it made him think! A top-man on board the Erebus had not been so lucky...
All of which amounts, in my eyes, to a deeply-researched, well-written, entertaining account - it's not without the occasional touch of Palinesque humour - of Erebus and of those who sailed in her.
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 April 2021Michael Palin is, as we all know, an engaging and delightful travel presenter. However, I've never read any of his books so was hoping the same would be true of his writing. I'm very happy to say that it is. I chose this book because it was born out of the discovery, after some 165 years, of the wreck of the Erebus, which was the lead ship on Franklin's ill-fated and disastrous search for the Northwest Passage. My interest had been piqued, of course, by the BBC serial "The Terror", which at the time of writing this review, is coming up to the final episode. I knew, going in, it would be rather silly - it's produced or exec produced by none other than Ridley Scott and was described by one TV writer as "Alien by the sea". It's been quite an enjoyable (if that's the right word!) series, but I wanted to know the truth of what happened. Of course, it's not possible to know the whole truth, as no one survived (I'm pretty sure that's not a spoiler!) but I was interested in finding out what is most likely to have happened, based on the accounts of those who went in search of the expedition party, the Innuit men and women who undoubtedly witnessed some of what happened and what the authorities in Britain actually did to try and help. To that end, this book is both interesting and informative. I must admit, I kind of skimmed some of the early chapters, which went into a lot of detail about the early history of the two ships, Erebus and Terror, and that of the men who were lost, as well as some of those who explored both poles with varying degrees of success and failure. It is somewhat ironic that the book really starts to engage one's imagination once we have left the two doomed crews to their fate, when little if anything can be known about what truly happened to them. It is when we are introduced to the various rescue missions and those who risked their own lives to try and find Franklin and his men, that the narrative seems to really come alive. We learn of the brave man who was so maligned when, having discovered, through the Innuit, the likely fate of the two ships and their crews, he was shunned for suggesting that any Englishman could be so depraved as to resort to cannibalism. In the end, it is just a sad tale of incompetence, naivete and errors of judgement. What we're left with are questions about why it went so badly wrong - was it scurvy or lead poisoning that doomed them; was Franklin the very worst choice of expedition leader; did they abandon the ships too soon or too late; how, why and when did Franklin die and what impact did that have on the crews? So many questions which can never be answered, but Michael Palin's book goes a long way to answering some of them, or at least speculating on the likely truths. This was, ultimately, an engrossing, poignant read.
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 July 2024I will always start anything by Michael Palin with enthusiasm and happy expectation. So I started this book hopeful of learning something and of being entertained - and I was not in any way disappointed. This book makes for fascinating reading and a gentle smile or too with Michael Palin's ironic humour, particularly in this case when relating the doings of the great 'bird lover' McCormick in the Antarctic
Erebus is best known as the flagship of the ill fated Franklin expedition to discover the North West passage but it was also involved in exploration of the Antarctic, where for four years of sailings led by the explorer James Ross, he of the ice shelf and much else, sought to reach the magnetic south pole. They did not succeed but they did go further south than anyone else ever had at the point, entirely powered by wind and sail.
The sense of the characters of the main characters both in the Antarctic and in the Arctic is drawn rather beautifully by Michael Palin. The stories of the attempted rescue missions and the eventual, in 2014, finding of the wreck of the Erebus are thrillingly written, and always based on excellent research . This really is a beautiful book, superbly written and illustrated, and a fine read
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 July 2024Michael Palin has really delivered with this magnificent piece of work. His research has clearly been painstakingly undertaken and the result is a gripping read, that delivers a story of incredible historical significance in a very accessible and engaging way.
There is plenty of detail but it does not result in a boring dry recounting of the facts but rather a real human interest story that kept me interested from the first to the very last page.
Can’t recommend this book highly enough.
Top reviews from other countries
- Seattle GirlReviewed in the United States on 14 November 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars A Must for Ross/Franklin Buffs
Palin (NOT Sarah!) writes an interesting narrative! Instead of simply following expeditions, he followed the ship. Much of the book is historical, but he adds his own recent journeys as well.
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RAMON P ARIAS FILHOReviewed in Brazil on 18 December 2022
5.0 out of 5 stars Impossível parar de ler
Para todos que gostam de um boa e instigante estória, contada de maneira simples e refinada. Inspirador e que nos faz refletir sobre heroísmo, obstinação, presunção e arrogância.
- GulpReviewed in Germany on 12 December 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read
A must-read for anyone interested in polar history. An entertaining to read, thoroughly researched, and an unputdownable book that had me up way past bedtime on a couple of nights.
- Stephen C M LaneReviewed in Canada on 29 June 2020
5.0 out of 5 stars Buy it!
Michael Palin did a great job on this one. A fantastic read. A little humour here and there but well written in a manner that you can feel what these voyages must have been like. Loved it!
- BARDOU ChristopheReviewed in France on 21 July 2020
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book
Well documented, well written