On the Polar Star in the Arctic Sea

A 1903 account of the 1899–1900 Italian/Norwegian expedition, led by Prince Luigi Amedeo of Savoy, towards the North Pole.

Luigi Amedeo di Savoia (Author), William Le Queux (Translated by)

9781108072205, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 22 May 2014

390 pages, 57 b/w illus. 4 maps
24.5 x 16.9 x 1.9 cm, 0.65 kg

Prince Luigi Amedeo of Savoy, a grandson of King Vittorio Emanuele II of Italy, was well known as a mountaineer and traveller when, in 1899, he organised an expedition to the Arctic, obtaining a steam whaling ship in Oslo which he renamed the Stella Polare. His ambition was to reach the highest possible latitude (and possibly the North Pole itself) by careful logistical arrangements, wintering on the ice in Franz Josef Land and using dog-sledges to travel further north. He also intended a scientific survey of the area in which the team passed the winter. His account of the expedition was published in Italian in 1902 and this two-volume English translation by William Le Queux (better known as the author of sensationalist spy and crime novels) appeared in 1903. Volume 2 gives detailed accounts of the two sledge journeys undertaken by Commander Cagni and Dr Cavalli Molinelli.

Part II. Report of Commander Cagni: 1. Preparations for the expedition
2. Final departure of the expedition
3. Bad weather and rapid marches
4. We return towards the south
5. We are starving
Part III. Report of Dr Achille Cavalli Molinelli: 1. The return of the second detachment
2. Report on the state of health of the expedition
Index.

Subject Areas: Historical geography [HBTP]