Terra Nova

October 3, 2022
Lazaridis (The Clover House) draws inspiration from Robert Falcon Scott’s polar expedition of 1912 for this expressive if schematic tale of male camaraderie and female empowerment. In 1910, explorer Edward Heywoud and photographer James Watts, Edward’s friend, team up in the race to be the first to reach the South Pole. Meanwhile, in London, Edward’s wife, Violet, a photographer and suffragette, exhibits a series of photos documenting suffragettes who were beaten by prison guards while on a hunger strike, their scars and bruises bared while posed like the subjects of classical paintings. As Edward and James approach the Pole, Edward makes a shocking discovery that causes a rift between the two men. Temporarily putting differences aside, they reach the Pole and return home to a hero’s welcome. But when Violet develops James’s glass plate negatives, she sees something that casts doubt on the men’s accomplishment, precipitating a moral crisis. The author pulls off visceral descriptions of the cold, hunger, and drive of the explorers, and of the London women’s determination to fight for their rights. Unfortunately, Violet, Edward, and James are essentially one-dimensional characters, and the melodramatic plot developments feel static. When it comes to fictional accounts of the Scott expedition, Beryl Bainbridge’s The Birthday Boys still commands the lead.