‘The music of the spheres’: books at the centre of a cultural universe

S.S. Andrée’s Expedition to the North Pole was born Places th in on 25 July Nils was working as a teaching 1871. She wanted to be- assistant at the Technical University Following Nils’ disappear- come a concert pianist, and had high marks in maths, chemis- ance, Anna lived as a piano but her life was dominat- try and astronomy. He was also a teacher, but seems to have ed by her relationship with , keen and talented photographer, so had Parkinson’s or similar. a trainee engineer/photographer who be- S.S. Andrée employed him as sec- She kept in touch with Nils’ came an explorer. ond in command and the official pho- relatives in . 13 years later, she married tographer for his expedition to the an English French teacher, Gilbert Hawtrey, and moved to America. She later Literature & Film North Pole. The balloon set off from Svarlbard on 11th July 1897, when Nils moved with her husband to England, where she by was 23 years old. lived until her death in 1949.

Perfect North, by Jenny Bond The men never returned. She asked for her heart to be cut out and

The Expedition, by Bea Uusma buried next to Nils, and so it was. Their bodies were discovered 33 years later. Anna’s Book, by George Mac- beth  Anna Charlier (2016) Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Anna_Charlier (Accessed 30th May 2017) Flight of the Eagle: (Ingenjör  Bond, J. (2013) Perfect North, Sydney, Hachette Australia. Andrées luftfärd) (Sweden, Music 1982) directed by Jan Troell,  Dickey, C. (2014) ‘Above the ice: grief and adventure on the path to the North Pole’, The Review, October 12, 2014. Available at: based on Per Olof https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2014/10/23/above-the-ice/ Anna and Nils played music together – Sundman's novel. It (Accessed 30th May 2017) she played the piano and he played the stars as S.A.  Karlsson, P. (no date) Anna fick vänta i 33 år på gåtans lösning. violin. Andrée, and was nominated Available at http://www.odenochaventyr.se/artiklar/anna-fick- for the Academy Award for vanta/ (Accessed 30th May 2017) Anna was a music teacher, so it seems Best Foreign Language Film at the 55th Academy  Uusma, B. (2014) The Expedition: a love story, London, Head of Zeus appropriate that her scores are now in Awards.  Wilkinson, A. (2010) ‘The ice balloon: a doomed journey in the Arc- our collection to be used by new genera- tic’,The New Yorker, April 19, 2010. Available at http:// tions of musicians and researchers. (En frusen dröm) (Sweden, www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/04/19/the-ice-balloon 1997) (Accessed 30th May 2017)