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ORIANA F. WILSON. by KATHERINE MACINNES. Cheltenham

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ORIANA F. WILSON. by KATHERINE MACINNES. Cheltenham REVIEWS • 227 WOMAN WITH THE ICEBERG EYES: ill health and Ory Souper was an independent woman who ORIANA F. WILSON. By KATHERINE MACINNES. worked full-time as a school matron. Their engagement Cheltenham: The History Press, 2019. ISBN 978- in 1900 coincided with an extraordinary and unexpected 0-7509-9153-7. 319p., b&w illus., bib., index. invitation to the young naturalist to join the proposed Hardbound. Cdn$31.46. Discovery Expedition. For the devout young couple and particularly for Ted, it must have seemed a message from One expedition that looms large within the history of polar God. Before marrying in July 1901, Ted convinced Ory to exploration is the British Antarctic Expedition also known sign a document declaring that she supported his decision as the Terra Nova Expedition of 1910 – 1913, during which to join the expedition. A mere two weeks after the wedding, Robert Falcon Scott, Edward Wilson, Henry “Birdie” Ted was on his way to Antarctica with Scott, Shackleton, Bowers, Lawrence “Titus” Oates, and Edgar Evans reached and the rest of the Discovery crew. He would be gone for the South Pole on January 17, 1912, only to learn that Roald almost three years. Amundsen had beaten them by fewer than fve weeks. The Ory eventually travelled with family to New Zealand tragic fate of Scott’s team on the gruelling return journey and established long-lasting friendships there. It would be across the Ross Ice Shelf and the subsequent discovery of the frst port of call for Ted when the expedition returned. the collapsed tent with the team members inside are well In the spring of 1903, she greeted the relief ship Morning known to all polar enthusiasts. Over time, Scott’s public that was supposed to be accompanying the returning image has waxed and waned following the publication Discovery. It was then she learned that Scott, Wilson, and of various biographies with some writers, most notably, most of the original party had remained behind for another Roland Huntford vilifying Scott in The Last Place on Earth year. Unexpectedly, team member Ernest Shackleton (1999), and others, including Sir Ranulph Fiennes (2003), returned on the Morning due to scurvy. Although the fercely defending him in Captain Scott. Recent historians Discovery team had as yet been unsuccessful in reaching such as Solomon (2001), Crane (2005), and Barczewski the South Pole, they had accomplished a new polar frst (2007) have adopted a more nuanced and balanced through reaching the Farthest South of 82˚17ʹ S. Buoyed assessment of Scott. by letters from her husband, Ory maintained the façade of While the reputation of the Terra Nova Expedition the jubilant spouse declaring, “There is nothing like being leader has fuctuated, that of his chief scientist, Edward married to a “Discovery” man, there is quite a glamour of Adrian Wilson, has only shone brighter over time. Wilson romance over one and I am having a splendid time” (p. 62). was Scott’s closest confdant and had participated with him After reuniting in the spring of 1904, Ory and Ted began on the earlier British National Antarctic Expedition also their married life together in England with Ted seeking a known as the Discovery Expedition of 1901–1904. Known living as an artist, illustrator, and writer. But domestic bliss affectionately by the team as “Uncle Bill,” Wilson was the only lasted a few years as Ted accepted Scott’s invitation feld naturalist and ornithologist on the Terra Nova and his to join another expedition. Despite the alarming news that evocative drawings of the Antarctic landscape and wildlife Amundsen also sought to conquer the South Pole that year, will forever conjure up this ill-starred expedition. George Ted sailed with Scott on the Terra Nova Expedition in Seaver’s three separate biographies of Wilson (published November, 1910. Ory never saw her husband again. in 1933, 1937, and 1948) were researched and written with News of her husband’s death and the fnal days of the co-operation and under the authoritative eye of Wilson’s the Scott party reached Ory in February, 1913. She and widow. Seaver’s books convey the valiant hero, loyal friend, Kathleen Scott became public widows, swept up in the talented artist, dedicated scientist, stalwart man of faith, near-hysterical patriotism that descended on Great Britain and loving husband. Isobel William’s more recent With following the tragedy. What the women felt in private was Scott in the Antarctic (2009) presents Edward Wilson as almost immaterial. Although the two women were not imperfect as the next man, noting his highly-strung nature, close personally, they presented a united front. Determined quick temper, and acid tongue. to preserve the reputation of their husbands and create a In Woman with the Iceberg Eyes: Oriana F. Wilson, lasting legacy, the women were “active and empowered” MacInnes provides the reader with a deeper understanding (p. 165). “They began writing letters and erasing letters. of beloved polar icon Edward Wilson as well as a different Ignoble phrases, critical comments and incriminating perspective on Scott and the Terra Nova Expedition. Most observations in their husbands’ diaries were carefully importantly, she introduces the world to a woman of spirit edited. The diaries reached the public as ‘magnifcent, whose life is inextricably interwoven with 20th century invigorating document[s] with which to face the world- polar history. wonderful records of valiant, clear-headed courage’’ Oriana Fanny Souper was born in 1874 in Bradfeld, (p. 165 – 66). Yorkshire, England. In her early twenties, a chance meeting In the decades that followed, Ory embraced community between vicar’s daughter “Ory” as she was always known, service, working with the New Zealand War Contingent and young medical student Edward “Ted” Wilson, revealed Association (for which she was awarded a CBE) during a strong mutual interest in the natural world and a shared the First World War and pursuing her passion as a sense of faith. Ted was a confrmed bachelor plagued by naturalist. Ory remained loyal to Ted’s memory for the 228 • REVIEWS rest of her life by maintaining close bonds with the Wilson REFERENCES family, assisting Ted’s frst biographer, and upholding the reputation of the Discovery Expedition until her own death Barczewski, S. 2007. Antarctic destinies: Scott, Shackleton, and in 1945. Sadly, by burning the vast correspondence between the changing face of heroism. London: Hambledon Continuum. herself and her husband, she did a grave disservice to polar Crane, D. 2005. Scott of the Antarctic. A life of courage and historians. But it was an act undertaken with love in a tragedy in the extreme south. London: HarperCollins. misguided attempt to preserve the heroic ideal of all who Fiennes, R. 2003. Captain Scott. London: Hodder and Stoughton. perished on the Terra Nova Expedition. Flannery, N.R., ed. 2005. This everlasting silence: The love MacInnes has done very well with this frst biography of letters of Paquita Delprat and Douglas Mawson, 1911 – 1914. Oriana Wilson and contributes to the list of books delving Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. into the lives of other polar wives which includes works Herbert, K. 2012. Polar wives. London: Greystone Books. by Flannery (2005), Herbert (2012), and Young (2014). Huntford, R. 1999. The last place on Earth. Scott and Amundsen’s The book would have beneftted from a sharper editorial race to the South Pole. New York: Random House. pen thereby avoiding typographical errors sprinkled Seaver, G. 1933. Edward Wilson of the Antarctic: Naturalist and throughout the text as well as clunkers such as “Ory was friend. London: John Murray. not above a dusting of frost when the situation required” ———. 1937. Edward Wilson: Nature lover. London: John (p. 261). MacInnes’ roots as a dramatist are revealed Murray. through the occasional passage which seem better suited to ———. 1948. The faith of Edward Wilson of the Antarctic. a play. Finally, a more extensive bibliography would have London: John Murray. been helpful. Regardless, this is an admirable addition to Solomon, S. 2001. The coldest March: Scott’s fatal Antarctic the Scott, Wilson, and Terra Nova canon and would be Expedition. New Haven: Yale University Press. appreciated by the general reader and polar historian alike. Williams, I. 2009. With Scott in the Antarctic Edward Wilson MacInnes’ next work, Snow Widows–The Scott Expedition Explorer Naturalist, Artist. Cheltenham: The History Press, and the Women They Left Behind, due to be published by Ltd. HarperCollins UK in 2022, promises to illuminate the lives Young, L. 2014. A great task of happiness: The life of Kathleen of these women further. Scott. Toronto: HarperCollins. Joanna Kafarowski 205 – 365 Waterfront Crescent Victoria, British Columbia V8T 0A6, Canada [email protected].
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