The Last of the Gentlemen Adventurers: Coming of Age in the Arctic
4.5/5
()
Unavailable in your country
Unavailable in your country
About this ebook
In 1930 a sixteen-year-old boy left England to become one of the last of the ‘gentlemen adventurers’ – the fur traders of the Hudson’s Bay Company. In the Arctic he found adventure, love and loss as he came to grips with Eskimo life. Beautifully written, inspiring and funny, this is a boy’s own story that captures a world that is lost forever.
Please note that this edition does not include illustrations.
Every boy dreams of adventures, but few have the courage or opportunity to make them a reality. When the Great Depression began to bite straitened finances forced the Maurice family to leave Britain. Edward was faced with a stark choice: to follow his mother and elder siblings to farm in New Zealand, or pursue an uncertain future as an apprentice fur trader among the Eskimos. Preferring to make his own destiny, he signed up for five years at the princely sum of fifty pence a week, packing up the two spoons that remained of his inheritance to become one of the last ever 'gentleman adventurers'.
Life in Baffin Land was harsh: there was no telephone, no radio communication, only one annual visit from the supply ship to keep in contact with the outside world. But it was also one of tremendous excitement. Under the expert tutelage of his drunken boss, Geordie, Edward learnt to build igloos, hunt polar bears and survive the myriad difficulties of Northern existence. Despite Geordie’s warnings against becoming too involved with ‘the natives’ (and Geordie had taken one for a wife) the young boy became fascinated with the mythic Eskimo culture, learning the language and forming close friendships. After three years, he was sent to his own outpost, where, alone, he had to save the community from illness and starvation, as well as teach them English and contend with the amorous attentions of the local ladies.
In charming, timeless prose ‘The Last of the Gentlemen Adventurers’ transports the reader to worlds that are now forever inaccessible. It is at once a vivid portrait of a unique society and the moving, often hilarious story of an unforgettable young man determined to triumph over every circumstance.
Related to The Last of the Gentlemen Adventurers
Related ebooks
The Brilliant Outsider Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shards of Ice: Antarctica - Death Survival Grief Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGlimpses of Long Ago: Growing up in Wartime England Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Crew: The Story of a Lancaster Bomber Crew Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPaid To Be Safe Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUltimate Sailing Adventures: 100 Extraordinary Experiences on the Water Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFire Sail: A Miraculous Attainment of a Family's Dream – Part 1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCaptain Rum: A Wondrous Adventure Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dead Reckoning: Navigating a Life on the Last Frontier, Courting Tragedy on Its High Seas Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A Source Book of Australian History Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsShackleton's Boat Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mrs Jewell and the Wreck of the General Grant Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNelson's Arctic Voyage: The Royal Navy’s first polar expedition 1773 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThere Were Three Ships Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Thousand Miles in the Rob Roy Canoe on Rivers and Lakes of Europe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In Pursuit of Giants: One Man's Global Search for the Last of the Great Fish Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sydney Beaches: A History Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAbout Britain: A Journey of Seventy Years and 1,345 Miles Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWanderlust Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Prisoners Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Point Of Honor Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPipe Dreams: A Surfer's Journey Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Civilisation: Twenty Places on the Edge of the World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Let the Land Speak: A history of Australia - how the land created our nation Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Camps and Trails in China A Narrative of Exploration, Adventure, and Sport in Little-Known China Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5China to Chitral: Mountains are the beginning and end of all scenery Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSurface! Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFighting with the Long Range Desert Group: Merlyn Craw MM's War 1940–1945 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Lighthouse Stevensons Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Adventurers & Explorers For You
Nowhere for Very Long: The Unexpected Road to an Unconventional Life Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Aquanaut: The Inside Story of the Thai Cave Rescue Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Republic Of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wind, Sand And Stars Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mother of God: An Extraordinary Journey into the Uncharted Tributaries of the Western Amazon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Unseen Body: A Doctor's Journey Through the Hidden Wonders of Human Anatomy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dove Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Short Nights Of The Shadow Catcher: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Savage Harvest: A Tale of Cannibals, Colonialism, and Michael Rockefeller's Tragic Quest for Primitive Art Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When I Fell From the Sky Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Blue Latitudes: Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster Summary Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Art of Resilience: Strategies for an Unbreakable Mind and Body Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Frozen in Time: The Fate of the Franklin Expedition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Microadventures: Local Discoveries for Great Escapes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Voyage Long and Strange: Rediscovering the New World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jungle: A Harrowing True Story of Survival in the Amazon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Uncertain Sea: Fear is everywhere. Embrace it. Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of the Donner Party Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wanderer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5South: Shackleton's Endurance Expedition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How To Be Alone: an 800-mile hike on the Arizona Trail Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Immortal Irishman: The Irish Revolutionary Who Became an American Hero Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Exotic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Barbary Pirates Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Season Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Columbus and the Quest for Jerusalem Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Life Story Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Last Viking: The Life of Roald Amundsen, Conqueror of the South Pole Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related categories
Reviews for The Last of the Gentlemen Adventurers
2 ratings1 review
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Takes a chapter to get into but it was a fascinating look at a very different and difficult way of life in the artic.