The Birthday Boys
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By Beryl Bainbridge
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A brilliantly realized evocation of the thoughts and voices of Captain Scott and the four men with him, who suffered extraordinary hardships before finally dying during their 1912 attempt to be the first to reach the South Pole.
‘A whole lost era of fantastic courage, determination, idealism, curiosity, boyish foolishness and class mores is brought brilliantly and touchingly back by Bainbridge’s penetrating psychological acumen and her superb scene and action painting…A masterly achievement, not to be missed by anyone who cherishes a strong, meaningful story beautifully told’ Publishers Weekly
The Birthday Boys is one of Beryl Bainbridge’s most acclaimed novels, telling the story of Scott’s doomed expedition through the voices of five men on the voyage. As Scott, Petty Officer Taff Evans, ship’s doctor Dr Edward Wilson, Lieutenant Henry Bowers and Captain Lawrence Oates step forward for their place in the narrative, the reader is gripped by the the characters themselves alongside the vividly evoked period.
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This is a brilliantly well researched fictional account of Captain Scott's 1910-13 expedition to Antarctica. It's told from the 5 points of view of different ranking members of the team including Captain Oates and really captures the magnitude of taking on an expedition of that size, especially at that time. Bainbridge manages to successfully create 5 distinct voices to narrate a convincing and moving read. I had to research all the characters while I was reading it as it was so fascinating to connect the real people to this extraordinary journey.
