Widows of the Ice: The Women that Scott's Antarctic Expedition Left Behind

Captain Scott's final words were directed towards his three widows, Kathleen, Oriana, and Lois. They were thrust into the limelight and forced to grieve in public view, but their shared experience shaped the rest of their lives. Widows of the Ice is a story of forgotten wives who played a significant role in one of British history's most iconic moments. It explores imperialistic dreams, misogyny, and classism, but also courage, high ideals, duty, and love.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 320 pages
Publication date: 15 September 2023
Publisher: Amberley Publishing

Captain Scott's final words, written with a stub of pencil as he lay freezing and starving to death on his return journey from the South Pole, hold a profound significance. In the midst of his dire circumstances, his thoughts turned to the three women who would now be widows: Kathleen, his bohemian artist wife; Oriana, the devout wife of the expeditions chief scientist, Ted Wilson; and Lois, the Welsh working-class wife of Petty Officer Edgar Evans. These three women, who had little in common except for the tragic loss of their husbands, were thrust into the limelight when the news of the men's deaths reached them. Their story filled column inches in newspapers across the world, transforming them into heroes. However, their widows were not celebrated for their own merits; rather, they were forced to grieve in public view, keeping a stiff upper lip while the world praised their husbands' sacrifice.

Despite their differences, the three women shared a profound experience that would shape the rest of their lives. Each experienced their loss differently, influenced by their class and contemporary notions of both manliness and womanly behavior. They had to rebuild their lives, fiercely and loyally defending their husbands' legacies and protecting their fatherless children in the face of financial hardship, public criticism, and intense press scrutiny. Widows of the Ice is not the story of famous women, but of forgotten wives whose love and support helped to shape one of the most iconic moments in British history.

These women have drifted to the outer edges of the Antarctic narrative, and bringing them back offers a new perspective to a story we thought we already knew. It is a story of imperialistic dreams, misogyny, and classism, but also of enormous courage, high ideals, duty, and, above all, love. Captain Scott's final words serve as a reminder of the human cost of exploration and the sacrifices made by those who ventured into the unknown. They remind us of the importance of looking after our people, both in times of peace and in times of conflict, and of the enduring legacy of those who have gone before us.

Weight: 261g
Dimension: 198 x 129 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781398117310