Madhouse at the End of the Earth by Julian Sancton
'Madhouse at the End of the Earth' by Julian Sancton is the story of the Belgica, a ship that set sail in 1897 to chart the unexplored Antarctica. It was intended as a three-year mission to reach the South Pole, but almost immediately the ship ran into trouble and when it did reach the freezing waters it became stuck, forcing the crew to spend the winter in the frozen, inhospitable landscape. This is a story of illness and madness but also about dogged survival, inventiveness and endurance.
Antarctic books
I do love a nonfiction survival book about putting humans in extreme conditions and seeing how they cope. Antarctica is the last frontier in terms of exploration on the Earth, and back in the 19th century, it must have seemed as remote as space to these explorers. Speaking of space, I found it interesting that NASA has studied polar expeditions such as these because it's the closest experience we have in our history that compares to human space travel. There's a lot to learn about attitude, food, and how people act in an enclosed space with a small group. There won't be any penguins on Mars though (as far as we know), so that won't be a part of the diet they have to worry about.
Polar explorers
The commandant of the ship is Adrien Der Gerlache, who has glory on his mind when he puts the expedition together. He wants a Belgian crew but soon realises that he needs to add a bit more experience to the boat. He is a determined character, but his stubbornness and desire for fame later on put the whole expedition at risk.
One of those hired is a young Roald Amundsen, a Norwegian who later becomes one of the most famous polar explorers of all. In an early scene in the book set after the expedition, we see him meeting the incarcerated Frederick Cook, the doctor on board who was a bit of a chancer but also a jack of all trades, which came in very handy on their travels. It's his inventiveness and attitude that contributed a great deal to the expedition later.
It's a wonder the Belgica ever reaches Antarctica. The rest of the crew are a motley bunch, with simmering tensions between the varied nationalities and even a near mutiny, with some disappearing at ports, and the ship runs aground at one stage. None of this is a good omen for what lies ahead, as if the reader wasn't aware of this from the title.
When they do reach Antarctica Der Gerlache has to make a decision, without consulting anyone else, to sail on and chase immortality or turn back because there's a good chance the sea will freeze over and the ship will get stuck. Thankfully for the readers of the book but not so much for the crew, he plows on ahead and disaster soon strikes.
The Belgica
I found the chapters where the Belgica is stuck to be where Julian Sancton excels. You get a strong sense of the isolation, as well as the illness and madness, that befalls some of the crew. You can easily imagine the cramped quarters of the crew and the hunger they experience. There are also feuds and fallings out aplenty.
The Antarctica is a terrifying character. The way the ice swallows up the ship, the creaking, and the constant shifting, make it sound a like B-movie monster. The endless dark days make for a grinding, relentless backdrop. I nearly got cabin fever from just reading about it.
It's against this backdrop that characters such as Roald Amundsen and Frederick Cook thrive. Roald Amundsen sets off across the ice, not afraid to explore their surroundings and determined to find an escape route. The Norwegian is intrepid and brave, developing the skills that make him one of the world's most famous polar explorers, who later becomes the first to reach the south pole and navigate the north-west passage.
Cook finds innovative ways of keeping the crew alive; he identifies scurvy as a major problem, and prescribes penguin meat (there are a lot of penguins in 'Madhouse at the End of the Earth'); interestingly, he makes the crew stand naked in front of the fire, in one of the first known recordings of light therapy, now used for sleep disorders and depression. His reputation later became damaged after a disputed claim about reaching the North Pole, and he served time for fraud, but there's no doubt his resourcefulness kept the crew alive.
Polar Anemia
The cognitive problems that affect the crew are interesting because there seem to be several factors. 'Winter-over syndrome' is the term used today but back then Cook, who was one of the first to describe the condition, called it 'Polar Anemia'. It seems to be an extreme version of Seasonal affective disorder.
It doesn't spoil the story to talk about the ending, as we know they lived to tell the tale. The Belgica is slowly being crushed by the shifting sea ice pack and it's an extraordinary escape involving huge amounts of labor in the most extreme of conditions and some explosives. All the time the ice continues to fight back, and one can only surmise that if the Belgica had been stuck in the winter for another year, few would have lived to tell this tale.
Julian Sancton
Julian Sancton does a fine job researching this story and putting it together, using the crew's diaries and captains' logs to weave a captivating tale. He brings alive the cramped conditions in the Belgica and the various relationships and friendships between the men. I always felt the narrative had a good pace to it, and never felt bogged down by details.
There are descriptions of hunting animals that are pretty graphic; I skipped a few paragraphs that I couldn't bear to read. I understand the needs of the crew back then but still, I don't want to hear about it. It also disgusted me that Roald Amundsen took a large pack of dogs on his later expeditions because it was handy to shoot the odd one and feed it to the other dogs. Lovely.
Antarctic Holiday
I have previously thought I'd like to visit the Antarctic as it's the last pristine part of the planet. Except of course, as stated in the author's note at the end of the book, it's not. Tourism is already big business down there, and our behaviours causing the melting of the glacier, and thus the increase of freshwater which increases the salinity of the water has already disrupted the fragile ecosystem. The resulting rising seawater will bring disaster in the future. Not to state the bleeding obvious, but we are a blight upon this planet.
Madhouse at the End of the Earth Summary
I enjoyed 'Madhouse at the End of the Earth', as the winter continues outside my window I'm cosy in my chair reading about the crew trying to stave off scurvy or escape a floating iceberg. It makes slippy footpaths and the odd snow flurry fairly insignificant. This is a cracking tale, with interesting characters being tested in the most inhospitable place on earth. If you've any interest in polar exploration, nonfiction survival books or just Antarctic books, you'll love this.
First Published May 4, 2021 by Penguin books - 358 Pages