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Erebus: The Story of a Ship
- Narrated by: Michael Palin
- Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
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Publisher's Summary
Random House presents the audiobook edition of Erebus, written and read by Michael Palin.
In September 2014 the wreck of a sailing vessel was discovered at the bottom of the sea in the frozen wastes of the Canadian Arctic. It was broken at the stern and covered in a woolly coat of underwater vegetation. Its whereabouts had been a mystery for over a century and a half. Its name was HMS Erebus.
Now Michael Palin - former Monty Python stalwart and much-loved television globetrotter - brings this extraordinary ship back to life, following it from its launch in 1826 to the epic voyages of discovery that led to glory in the Antarctic and to ultimate catastrophe in the Arctic. He explores the intertwined careers of the men who shared its journeys: the dashing James Clark Ross who charted much of the 'Great Southern Barrier' and oversaw some of the earliest scientific experiments to be conducted there; and the troubled John Franklin, who at the age of 60 and after a chequered career, commanded the ship on its final, disastrous expedition. And he vividly recounts the experiences of the men who first stepped ashore on Antarctica's Victoria Land, and those who, just a few years later, froze to death one by one in the Arctic wastes as rescue missions desperately tried to reach them.
To help tell the story, he has travelled to various locations across the world - Tasmania, the Falklands, the Canadian Arctic - to search for local information, and to experience at first hand the terrain and the conditions that would have confronted the Erebus and her crew.
This is a wonderfully evocative and epic account, written by a master explorer and storyteller.
What listeners say about Erebus: The Story of a Ship
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Anonymous User
- 19-07-2020
Brilliant story
Couldn’t stop listening, amazing amount of history and information, also light hearted at times. Great loved it.
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- Karen
- 06-06-2019
So interesting!
Great voice loved the story
Looking forward to the next book
Didn’t realise Franklin did so much
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- Andy
- 06-05-2021
Most enjoyable audiobook yet?
Absolutely gripping almost from start to finish. I found myself delaying starting work and going to sleep later than usual to keep listening to this amazing human adventure.
Excellent narration by Michael Palin adds to the atmosphere and recreates the very stoic characters in a thoroughly engaging manner. Five stars +
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- Maggiestampa
- 28-07-2019
What a story!
Fantastic enthralling story read with enthusiasm.
I could hardly wait to listen to the next chapter.
The author's talents as a writer and as a reader shine forth like a Holy Grail.
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- Anonymous User
- 30-09-2020
story about a ship
Enjoyed the book. Interesting to learn more about the Arctic and Antarctic adventurers.
Would of been tough times.
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- Mariko
- 20-12-2018
loved it
fascinating story of exploration. brings to life the origin of familiar names in the world of ice
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- Rosemary King
- 05-07-2021
Erebus - only the English
Loved, loved, loved this book. Michael Palin is a great story teller and this story is such a rollicking adventure, all the more fascinating because it’s true. These English Polar explorers were fearless and as enthusiastic as Palin is about their story. I knew the story of the ill fated Arctic expedition but didn’t know about the previous Antarctic adventures of Erebus & Terror. Great to listen to the author’s entertaining voice too.
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- Spencer
- 21-06-2019
Great history story
I enjoyed this book as I like reviews of history. As a Canadian I’ve been always interested in stories of exploration based in the Arctic & Antartica . The author in this case is a great enthusiastic reader who helped make the story come alive
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- Profit
- 23-11-2023
A Great Listen
Michael Palin has done his research well for this historical work. He brings to life the feeling of what these explorers lived through and died for.
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- Philip
- 15-11-2021
Great narration, Great True Story.
One never ceases to be amazed by Palin who entered my consciousness as a young comedian, admittedly from Oxbridge, peaking in "A Fish called Wanda" and then on to many intelligent TV programmes and books. This is quite a remarkable read about the ship Erebus and its adventures into the South Pacific and Northern Passage and its eventual disappearance. Where I am situated, NZ, Erebus is a volcano in Antarctica into which a NZ sightseeing plane mysteriously crashed killing all aboard in 1979 - a national tragedy. It was lost initially in the same way. This story is similarly poignant but the boat disappears (1843) almost forever, or at least until relatively recent times. Even its discovery 170 years later is fascinating and piecing together the hardship these men endured as they died is quite haunting. A great piece of historical research (if indeed that was beyond the current literature available) but, even if the work was deemed to be unoriginal, his narration allows many to learn quite vividly about this amazing ship, its history, its captains, crew, the motivations of such adventurers, and the politics of the time. A most definite read for anyone interested in history but Palin makes this true story live. He's an excellent narrator and does not revert to inappropriate humour. Yet his enthusiasm for detail and his interpretations are somewhat similar to a historian who lives along with those that have gone before.
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