Under a Pole Star
Shortlisted for the 2017 Costa Novel Award
Published on 10. August 2017
Book
Paperback/Softback
608 pages
978-1-78648-119-1 (ISBN)
Description
RICHARD & JUDY BOOK CLUB 2017. SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2017 COSTA NOVEL AWARD.
'A dazzling tale of romance and survival' (Guardian)
Follow the path to the freezing north. Follow your ambition. Follow your heart
Flora Mackie first crossed the Arctic Circle at the age of twelve. Years later, in 1892, determination and chance lead her back to northern Greenland as a scientist at the head of a British expedition, defying the expectations of those who believe a woman has no place in that harsh world.
Geologist Jakob de Beyn was raised in Manhattan. Yearning for wider horizons, he joins a rival expedition. Jakob and Flora's paths cross. It is a fateful meeting, where passion and ambition collide and an irresistible attraction is born.
The violent extremes of the north obsess them both: perpetual night and endless day; frozen seas and coastal meadows, and the strange, maddening pull it exerts on the people trying to make their mark on its vast expanses - a pursuit of glory whose outcome will reverberate for years to come.
'A dazzling tale of romance and survival' (Guardian)
Follow the path to the freezing north. Follow your ambition. Follow your heart
Flora Mackie first crossed the Arctic Circle at the age of twelve. Years later, in 1892, determination and chance lead her back to northern Greenland as a scientist at the head of a British expedition, defying the expectations of those who believe a woman has no place in that harsh world.
Geologist Jakob de Beyn was raised in Manhattan. Yearning for wider horizons, he joins a rival expedition. Jakob and Flora's paths cross. It is a fateful meeting, where passion and ambition collide and an irresistible attraction is born.
The violent extremes of the north obsess them both: perpetual night and endless day; frozen seas and coastal meadows, and the strange, maddening pull it exerts on the people trying to make their mark on its vast expanses - a pursuit of glory whose outcome will reverberate for years to come.
Reviews / Votes
Penney works hard to fill her canvas with colour and conviction * Sunday Times * A terrific and beautifully written yarn that will make readers yearn to travel and fall in love in a cold climate * The Times * It is a tribute to Penney's superlative descriptive skills that the book's erotic charge is so startlingly effective, and that her icy landscapes cast such a lasting, almost hallucinatory spell. This combination is the true rocket fuel of Under a Pole Star, and what makes it resonate long after the Snow Queen has divulged her long-held secret * Guardian * Curl up with this stunningly evocative tale about an intrepid young female explorer. As immersive as it is mesmerising, this is a novel that you won't ever forget * Heat * This . . . powerful drama is played out against a landscape that dominates [Penney's] imagination * Daily Mail * A beautifully written tale, elegant and well-observed, full of powerful descriptions of a dazzling landscape * Sunday Express * This is an epic love story set against the forbidding beauty of snow meadows. A perfect winter read * Red Magazine * What has marked Penney out from the start is her ability to make her extensive historical research come alive * Sunday Herald *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 185 mm
Width: 128 mm
Thickness: 43 mm
Weight
451 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78648-119-1 (9781786481191)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Stef Penney grew up in Edinburgh. She is the author of the international bestseller, The Tenderness of Wolves, winner of the overall Costa Award; The Invisible Ones; Under a Pole Star, shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award, and The Beasts of Paris. Stef lives in London, E8.