The Birthday Boys
As seen:
By Beryl Bainbridge, and and, Amanda Craig
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1 review
A brilliantly realized evocation of the thoughts and voices of Captain Scott and the four men with him, who suffered extraordinary hardships before finally dying during their 1912 attempt to be the first to reach the South Pole.
’Bainbridge’s account of the horribly familiar story is both fresh and sure-footed. The power of her imagination, her clarity of expression and mastery of language are more striking than anything else I have read this year’ Jane Shilling, Sunday Telegraph
The Birthday Boys is one of Beryl Bainbridge’s most acclaimed novels, telling the story of Scott’s doomed expedition through the voices of five men on the voyage. As Scott, Petty Officer Taff Evans, ship’s doctor Dr Edward Wilson, Lieutenant Henry Bowers and Captain Lawrence Oates step forward for their place in the narrative, the reader is gripped by the the characters themselves alongside the vividly evoked period.
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This is a brilliantly well researched fictional account of Captain Scott's 1910-13 expedition to Antarctica. It's told from the 5 points of view of different ranking members of the team including Captain Oates and really captures the magnitude of taking on an expedition of that size, especially at that time. Bainbridge manages to successfully create 5 distinct voices to narrate a convincing and moving read. I had to research all the characters while I was reading it as it was so fascinating to connect the real people to this extraordinary journey.
