The Solitude of Thomas Cave

Book cover of The Solitude of Thomas Cave

Book description

August, 1616. The whaling ship Heartsease has ventured high into the Arctic, but now must begin the long journey home. Only one man stays behind: Thomas Cave makes a wager to remain here, alone, until the next season. No man has yet been known to survive a winter this far…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Solitude of Thomas Cave as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Cynthia Reeves

Author

I enjoy the “based on a true story” feel of this novel, even though it’s purely a product of Harding’s imagination. A historical novel set in 1616, the story centers upon a headstrong English whaler—Thomas Cave—who, on a bet, stays behind alone on an Arctic island in the Svalbard archipelago to endure the dark season. More threatening than carving out an existence in a forbidding environment is the effect of isolation on Cave, whom we see through excerpts from his diary.

I hadn’t realized until I wrote this list how possessed I am by novels set in extreme environments and…

From Cynthia's list on survival in extreme polar environments.