Book info

• Title Erebus: The Story of a Ship
• Author Michael Palin
• Year 2018
• Genre History

In the early years of Queen Victoria's reign, HMS Erebus undertook two of the most ambitious naval expeditions of all time. On the first, she ventured further south than any human had ever been. On the second, she vanished with her 129-strong crew in the wastes of the Canadian Arctic, along with the HMS Terror. Her fate remained a mystery for over 160 years. Then, in 2014, she was found. This is her story.

Thoughts

I really enjoyed Michael Palin’s book about Great Uncle Harry, piecing together the history of a family member where not too much is known about him. I wasn’t sure a book about a ship would capture my attention just as much, but I should have trusted to Palin’s natural storytelling ability - this was great. We hear about the arctic explorer’s first successful adventure and then the next not-so-good journey, which ended with the ship vanishing completely… only to be found in 2014. I won’t say anything else for fear of spoiling it, but just to add that the way Palin ties things in to his own adventures and modern researches really adds to the story and makes it a fascinating read.

Rating: 4 / 5