1913. Dinners, Millet-Bass, and Napps-three explorers bound not by friendship, but by a dependence founded on survival-volunteer to leave their ship, the Kismet, and scout an uncharted and unknown island in the Antarctic, which Napps names "Everland." While all three are enticed by the promise of adventure and reward, they are immortalized by the disastrous outcome of the expedition, their stories preserved for posterity.
2012. Brix, Jess, and Decker-three researchers with their own reasons for being so far from home-set out on a centenary field trip to survey the same island. Their equipment is more advanced than the previous group's, and their purpose more scientific, but the harsh weather of Everland remains an unpredictable and deadly force: the adventure and the danger are inescapable.
Under the harsh ultraviolet light of a sun which doesn't set, and isolated from the world, they begin to echo the expedition of a hundred years ago. History, it seems, has a way of repeating itself-when theirs is written, what will it say?
"Starred Review. As much a cerebral story as an action-driven one, and sometimes dry in its scrupulousness; nevertheless this is an intricate, resonant novel, both immediate and arrestingly thought-provoking." - Kirkus
"A fascinating story of lives stripped bare...and the decisions and their consequences that make us what we are" - The Observer
"Nothing short of stunning: an adventure story, a psychological investigation of physical and mental breakdown, and a remarkable account of weather and endeavor." - The Guardian
"The horrors of hunger, thirst and frostbite are grotesquely vivid. Most arresting of all is the mental turmoil, which moves from bitchy frustration to full-blown delirium via hope, despair, delusion and guilt with terrifying authenticity." - The Telegraph
This information about Everland was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Rebecca Hunt graduated from Central Saint Martins College with a degree in fine art. She lives and works in London. Mr. Chartwell is her first novel.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.