The Last Great Quest: Captain Scott's Antarctic Sacrifice

369 Pages·2004·2.68 MB·English

by  Max Jones

THE LAST GREAT QUEST
Max Jones was educated at Oxford, Cambridge, and the
University of California at Berkeley. Formerly a Fellow and
Director of Studies in History at Christ’s College, Cambridge,
he is currently Programme Director for the MA in Modern
British History at the University of Manchester. The Last Great
Quest is his first book – the result of ten years’ research into
Scott and Antarctic exploration.
For Sarah
THE
LAST GREAT
QUEST
Captain Scott’s Antarctic Sacrifice
MAX JONES
1
3
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First published 2003
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank the following individuals, institutions, and
organizations for giving permission both to quote from their arch-
ives, and to reproduce images from their collections: the Alpine
Club, the British Library, the British Museum, the Syndics of
Cambridge University Library, Christie’s, the Fine Art Society, the
Hulton Archive, Hugo Frey, Lord Kennet, the David Livingstone
Centre, Blantyre, Magdalene College, Cambridge, the National
Maritime Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, News Inter-
national, The Oates Museum, Selborne, the Royal Geographical
Society, Matthew Salisbury and the Captain Scott Society, Lady
Philippa Scott, the Scott Polar Research Institute, and the Tussauds
Group. The quotation from Baden-Powell is reproduced by
permission of the Scout Association (licence no. 0303). The author
and publishers apologize for any inadvertent omissions, and will
be pleased to incorporate acknowledgements in any future
editions.
The support of both the Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI)
and the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) has been essential to the
completion of this book. The assistance offered by the friendly staff
at both institutions proved invaluable, in particular the help of
Paula Lucas and Andrew Tatham at the RGS, and Robert Headland
and Philippa Smith at SPRI.
I am very grateful to Katharine Reeve and Oxford University
Press for their enthusiasm for this book, and for the efforts of the
picture editor Sandra Assersohn, Emily Jolliffe, and the copy editor
Elizabeth Stratford, in working to a demanding schedule.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This book has been shaped by a number of distinctive institu-
tions. At the University of California at Berkeley, Susannah Barrows,
Catherine Gallagher, Martin Jay, and, in particular, David Stoddart
and Tom Metcalf, supported my research at an early stage. Jon Parry
and the late Mark Kaplanoff made Pembroke College, Cambridge a
hospitable place to continue postgraduate study. Scholarships from
Berkeley, the Fulbright Commission, the Mellon Foundation, and
the British Academy provided essential support at various stages.
The informal British history discussion group enriched Cambridge
graduate life, especially my friends David Craig and James
Thompson.
I am particularly grateful to the Master and Fellows of Peter-
house, Cambridge for electing me to a Junior Research Fellowship,
which provided that most precious commodity for a young histor-
ian: time. Much of this book was written while I served as Director
of Studies in History at Christ’s College, Cambridge, and the gen-
erosity of the council in allowing me a term of research leave was
essential to its completion. Christ’s provided an ideal environment
in which to study history and I benefited greatly from the
encouragement of Susan Bayly, David Reynolds, and Quentin
Skinner. I do not have space to list all the Cambridge colleagues
whom I pestered about Captain Scott, but Chris Bayly, Martin
Daunton, Lucy Delap, Martin Golding, Roger Lovatt, Peter
Martland, Kathryn Rix, Jim Secord, Brendan Simms, Maria
Tippett, and Adam Tooze were all generous with their advice. I am
especially grateful to Peter Clarke for his support and encourage-
ment throughout the project. I completed this book after joining
one of the most dynamic History Departments in the country at the
University of Manchester, and the insights of my new colleagues
shaped its final stages.
The convenors of seminars at Berkeley, Cambridge, the
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Institute of Historical Research, the National Maritime Museum,
Nene College, Northampton, Oxford, York and the University
of Virginia provided forums, in which I presented aspects of this
book and received valuable feedback. My students, especially
Daniel Coetzee, Jessica Meyer, and Scott Worthy, also helped me
develop my arguments. Of the many individuals who have helped
me at various stages, I would like to thank Ian Agnew, Stephanie
Barcszewski, Colin Bishop, Bill Bourland, Clive Bradbury,
Justin Butcher, Becky Conekin, John Davis, Felix Driver, Sian
Flynn, Martin Gammon, Peter Ghosh, Adrian Gregory, Peter
Hansen, Nick Hiley, Ben Hopkins, Rebecca Jones, Paul Kennedy,
Luke McKernan, John Nicoll, Ed Norton, Eva Norton, Senia
Paseta, Paul Readman, Nigel Rigby, Dominic Riley, Tom
Rosenthal, Jan Rueger, Shirley Sawtell, Gary Savage, Ben Schott,
Matthew Seligmann, John Shaw, Larysa Smith, and Phillip
Ward-Jackson. Klaus Dodds showed great generosity to a student
embarking on a Ph.D., while David Cannadine, in particular,
offered support and encouragement at some crucial moments.
I hope that those whose names I have omitted will forgive
me.
I owe the completion of this project to two scholars, who have
been consistent sources of friendship and inspiration: Tom Laqueur
and Jay Winter. At Berkeley, Tom showed me how exciting the
pursuit of history could be. And, both as my Cambridge supervisor
and after, Jay has offered guidance, insight, and encouragement, for
which I am truly grateful.
Final thanks to my family. The support of my parents, Diana and
George, has left me with a debt that can never be repaid. (I’m also
fortunate to have a father who operates the finest unofficial press
cuttings service in Britain.) My wife Sarah and children Isabelle
and Oscar have learned with me that finishing a book, moving
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
house, switching jobs, and changing nappies is a testing combin-
ation. Thank you for your patience and for sharing the journey
with me.
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CONTENTS
List of Plates xi
List of Figures xiv
List of Maps xiv
Abbreviations xv
INTRODUCTION
3
·CHAPTER ONE·
Measuring the World
15
·CHAPTER TWO·
The Race to the South Pole
49
·CHAPTER THREE·
Disaster in the Antarctic
95
·CHAPTER FOUR·
Remembering the Dead
131
·CHAPTER FIVE·
‘Martyrs of Science’
161
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