Endorsements

The Arctic and the accounts of its exploration and heroes fascinated people in Victorian Britain. But how was this distant region represented to them? Which stories had lasting appeal and which were soon forgotten? How were the indigenous people represented, and what difficulties confronted the artist, photographer and engraver in depicting the Arctic? How and why did the images and forms of representation change during the nineteenth century? As Robert David tells is in this fascinating book, Britain's imagined Arctic was created through a staggering variety of representations: from travel narratives to works of art and panoramas, from museum, displays, tableaux vivants, and international exhibitions, to engravings in the illustrated press, as well as lectures organised by the geographical societies, school text books and adventure stories for children. There were also numerous cartoons, advertisements and board games, all of which fed the obsession. In this epic study of so many forms of representation over an extended time span, David has been able to reassess the whole nature of Arctic representation and how it changed in importance over time. Using this rich material in illuminating new ways, he argues that Arctic representations followed a different dynamic from those associated with more familiar locations of Empire, and so opens up a whole new area of study and discussion. The Arctic in the British imagination is illustrated with engravings, photographs and paintings drawn from a number of sources and in many cases not previously published. The book will be of essential interest to academics, students and enthusiasts interested in the Arctic, as well as historians of representations.