The Ice Child
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Amazon.co.uk Review
There are writers who meticulously research their subject, then reveal only the tip of the iceberg to their readers. Then there's Elizabeth McGregor. It's not that she skimps on research--on the contrary, she has a very large iceberg of information at her disposal. But she doesn't hide a bit of it below the surface, and the result is a truly epic novel that glories in the details of two worlds: Victorian Arctic exploration and modern medicine.
Jo Harper is a contemporary London journalist saddled by her editor with a story she doesn't want. Namely: Douglas Marshall, an eminent archaeologist, has set out on a trek to research the (real-life) Franklin expedition, which disappeared more than a century ago during a hopeless search for the Northwest Passage. Now Marshall, too, has gone missing. In the course of her preliminary spadework, Jo finds an archived BBC program wherein Marshall describes the folly of Franklin's endeavour:
Just a few short miles of ice. What was that to the greediest colonising nation in the world? What were the months of darkness, and the strongest sea currents on the planet? The finest nautical minds of the age talked about it as if it were an afternoon jaunt, brushing aside a few natives, bears and bits of tundra.McGregor alternates Jo's story with a running account of the Franklin expedition, narrated by a 16-year-old sailor named Gus. Meanwhile, Marshall is found, and he and Jo pursue a clearly doomed romance. When their child is born with a rare blood disease, the distraught mother commissions a modern-day Arctic expedition to save the baby. Whether her characters are in the tundra or a hospital ward, McGregor's narrative has the momentum of a ship under full sail. Instead of bogging the book down, the carefully accumulated details propel it forward. Here is a large, complicated, lovingly-made adventure that reads as easily, and as irresistibly, as a romance. --Claire Dederer, Amazon.com --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Harpers & Queen
'Be warned - once started, all other activity will cease until you finish this magnificent novel'
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First Sentence
IT had begun in April, in the spring. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
IT had begun in April, in the spring. Read the first page
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Concordance
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I read The Ice Child while on holiday. I thought it was a brilliant book, there is nothing more I can possibly say. The story is a couragous heart felt battle for life, between the Frankin crew, and unconditional love between a mother and her son. I most enjoyed the scenes in the book between Alicia and John as they were dramatic, tear jerking and faultlessly written. The jumps from history to present day showed me that elizabeth mcgregor is a writer of our time and an extremly talanted author. I personally wish the book and Elizabeth all the best...
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
If you're looking for a good read that goes deeper than alot of "women's" fiction, you'll love this. It's two stories in one, a young mother desperately seeking the one person who can help save the life of her baby son juxtaposed with the heart-stopping and compelling story of the Franklin Expedition, which disappeared in the mid-19th century while searching for the Northwest Passage.
Jo Harper, a successful young journalist, has only her beloved 2 year old son Sam to remind her of her dead partner. When Sam falls ill the only hope is that his half-brother, John, may hold the key to his survival. But John has disappeared. Seeking absolution for his part in the accidental death of his father and tortured by their failed relationship, John has set out alone against impossible odds to fulfil his father's dream - to find the last traces of the Franklin expedition, which vanished in the Arctic in 1847. As uncanny parallels unfold between the last days of the Franklin crew and the crisis facing Sam, Jo is plunged into a desperate race against time to save the life of her son and the soul of her stepson.
McGregor writes like an angel, with passion and warmth, and this is a novel to be savoured and re-read. I can't recommend it strongly enough.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The real-life story of the Franklin expedition over a century ago , unfamiliar to most of us, provides a fascinating focus for this wonderful novel. The modern day search for a man who has made the study of Franklin his life's work, leads Jo Harper, a journalist, into his world. Their inevitable love story has a startling and agonising twist though; Jo is propelled further into the Franklin link through her determination to save her son. The overwhelming drive of a mother to protect her child is beautifully mirrored in the image of a lone female Polar bear and her cub as they too travel over the Arctic terrain. This novel was clearly well-researched; the intertwining of the real-life journey, as told by Gus on the doomed ship, with the present-day romance, is beautifully crafted. I was totally enthralled; the first 'can't put down' book this year!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
You must read this book
The Ice Child by Liz McGregor is not just a summer read but a book to keep. Without giving away too much - the author has tied the past and present together. Read more
Published on 26 July 2002 by Sandra Pixley
An engaging story
This was an impulse buy, but one that I am very pleased with. The story is engaging, getting you to like the characters and sympathise with them quickly, and the action builds to... Read more
Published on 23 July 2002
well written, absorbing and fascinating - a brilliant read
I borrowed this book from my local library. I found it totally absorbing, fascinating, and compelling. Read more
Published on 29 Sep 2001
Incredible Journey
This book is an incredible journey, not only describing the Franklin expedition (impeccable research), but also through the hearts and minds of its vivid characters. Read more
Published on 8 July 2001 by Book addict
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