Publication Date: May 2021
Blurb:
In August 1897, the young Belgian commandant Adrien de Gerlache set sail for a three-year expedition aboard the good ship Belgica with dreams of glory. His destination was the uncharted end of the the icy continent of Antarctica.
But de Gerlache’s plans to be first to the magnetic South Pole would swiftly go awry. After a series of costly setbacks, the commandant faced two bad turn back in defeat and spare his men the devastating Antarctic winter, or recklessly chase fame by sailing deeper into the freezing waters. De Gerlache sailed on, and soon the Belgica was stuck fast in the icy hold of the Bellingshausen Sea. When the sun set on the magnificent polar landscape one last time, the ship’s occupants were condemned to months of endless night. In the darkness, plagued by a mysterious illness and besieged by monotony, they descended into madness.
In Madhouse at the End of the Earth, Julian Sancton unfolds an epic story of adventure and horror for the ages. As the Belgica’s men teetered on the brink, de Gerlache relied increasingly on two young officers whose friendship had blossomed in the expedition’s lone American, Dr. Frederick Cook—half genius, half con man—whose later infamy would overshadow his brilliance on the Belgica; and the ship’s first mate, soon-to-be legendary Roald Amundsen, even in his youth the storybook picture of a sailor. Together, they would plan a last-ditch, nearly certain-to-fail escape from the ice—one that would either etch their names in history or doom them to a terrible fate at the ocean’s bottom.
What To Expect:
Readers can expect a detailed account of the 1897 Antarctic Expedition the Belgica ship took and the madness that happened during it.
Content Warnings:
Language: A few uses of curse words but not oversaturated
Sexual Content: Closed Door – Mild mentions of women/missing sex by the crew of the ship. Mention of using Indigenous women for sex (Nothing explicit or detailed)
Violence: Moderate – Injuries, animal death/consumption, peril, death
Substance Use: Moderate – Crew members drink alcohol, some instances of drunkenness
Prejudices: Mild prejudice between the crew members from different countries
Religious Themes: Mentions of religion or God, but nothing more than in passing
Other Topics: Loss of loved ones, child loss
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