The Birthday Boys

The dramatic, fictionalized account of Robert Falcon Scott's famed and fatal expedition to Antarctica by one of Britain's best-loved authors.
Departing from Cardiff in 1910, the Terra Nova entered dark waters and headed south. On board were Petty Officer Edgar "Taff" Evans, Dr. Edward "Uncle Bill" Wilson, Capt. Robert Falcon "Con" Scott, Lt. Henry Robertson "Birdie" Bowers, and Capt. Lawrence Edward "Titus" Oates. Through an imaginative yet historically accurate retelling of the crew's mission to become the first explorers to reach the South Pole—and with each of the book's five chapters narrated from the unique perspective of one of these men—author Beryl Bainbridge imbues a tragic and thrilling adventure story with profound psychological, metaphysical, and emotional insight.
The first three chapters of The Birthday Boys—recounted by Evans, Wilson, and Scott, respectively—tell of the preparations and fundraising...