AustLit
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.
Latest Issues
AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'It′s the early 1930s. Antarctic open-sea whaling is booming and a territorial race for the mysterious continent between Norwegian and British-Australian interests is in full swing.
Aboard a ship setting sail from Cape Town carrying the Norwegian whaling magnate Lars Christensen are three women: Lillemor Rachlew, who tricked her way on to the ship and will stop at nothing to be the first woman to land on Antarctica; Mathilde Wegger, a grieving widow who′s been forced to join the trip by her calculating parents-in-law; and Lars′s wife, Ingrid Christensen, who has longed to travel to Antarctica since she was a girl and has made a daunting bargain with Lars to convince him to take her.
Loyalties shift and melt and conflicts increase as they pass through the Southern Ocean and reach the whaling grounds. None of the women is prepared for the reality of meeting the whaling fleet and experiencing firsthand the brutality of the icy world.
As they head for the continent itself, the race is on for the first woman to land on Antarctica. None of them expect the outcome and none of them know how they will be changed by their arrival.
Based on the little-known true story of the first woman to ever set foot on Antarctica, Jesse Blackadder has captured the drama, danger and magnetic pull of exploring uncharted places in our world and our minds.' (Publisher's blurb)
Aboard a ship setting sail from Cape Town carrying the Norwegian whaling magnate Lars Christensen are three women: Lillemor Rachlew, who tricked her way on to the ship and will stop at nothing to be the first woman to land on Antarctica; Mathilde Wegger, a grieving widow who′s been forced to join the trip by her calculating parents-in-law; and Lars′s wife, Ingrid Christensen, who has longed to travel to Antarctica since she was a girl and has made a daunting bargain with Lars to convince him to take her.
Loyalties shift and melt and conflicts increase as they pass through the Southern Ocean and reach the whaling grounds. None of the women is prepared for the reality of meeting the whaling fleet and experiencing firsthand the brutality of the icy world.
As they head for the continent itself, the race is on for the first woman to land on Antarctica. None of them expect the outcome and none of them know how they will be changed by their arrival.
Based on the little-known true story of the first woman to ever set foot on Antarctica, Jesse Blackadder has captured the drama, danger and magnetic pull of exploring uncharted places in our world and our minds.' (Publisher's blurb)
Notes
-
Includes foreword by Diana Patterson, first female station leader in Antarctica
-
Dedication: Dedicated to
The women who journeyed to Antarctica in the 1930s
on the Christensen fleet:Ingrid Christensen
Mathilde Wegger
Lillemor (Ingebjorg) Rachlew
Ingebjorg Dedichen
Caroline Mikkelsen
Augusta Sofie ('Fie') Christensen
Solvieg Wideroe
My mother, Barbara Walsh (1941-1988)
whose journey ended too soonAnd my partner, Andi, who came along on this
journey from beginning to end
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
Book Review – Chasing the Light by Jesse Blackadder
2013
single work
review
— Appears in: Booklover Book Reviews 2013;
— Review of Chasing the Light : A Novel of Antarctica 2013 single work novel -
Proposals
2013
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , April no. 350 2013;
— Review of Chasing the Light : A Novel of Antarctica 2013 single work novel -
A Whale of a Tale at the Edge of the World
2013
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 30 March 2013; (p. 22)
— Review of Chasing the Light : A Novel of Antarctica 2013 single work novel -
Jesse Blackadder : Chasing the Light
2013
single work
review
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , February 2013;
— Review of Chasing the Light : A Novel of Antarctica 2013 single work novel -
Fiction : Pick of the Week
2013
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 9 February 2013; (p. 26)
— Review of Chasing the Light : A Novel of Antarctica 2013 single work novel
-
[Review] Chasing the Light
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , Summer 2012/13 vol. 92 no. 3 2012; (p. 27)
— Review of Chasing the Light : A Novel of Antarctica 2013 single work novel -
In Short : Fiction
2013
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 9-10 February 2013; (p. 32) The Age , 9 February 2013; (p. 26)
— Review of Walter 2012 single work novel ; Finding Jasper 2012 single work novel ; Chasing the Light : A Novel of Antarctica 2013 single work novel -
Breaking the Ice for Womankind
2013
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 10 February 2013; (p. 14)
— Review of Chasing the Light : A Novel of Antarctica 2013 single work novel -
Fiction : Pick of the Week
2013
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 9 February 2013; (p. 26)
— Review of Chasing the Light : A Novel of Antarctica 2013 single work novel -
Jesse Blackadder : Chasing the Light
2013
single work
review
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , February 2013;
— Review of Chasing the Light : A Novel of Antarctica 2013 single work novel
Last amended 12 Jun 2020 08:24:59
Settings:
- Antarctica,
- 1930s
Export this record