Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-gb8f7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T07:37:34.297Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Scott and Shackleton in the media: a response to Ben Macintyre

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 August 2014

Karen May  and
George Lewis
Karen May
Affiliation:
27 Old Gloucester Street, London WC1N 3AX (karenmay31@gmail.com)
George Lewis
Affiliation:
27 Old Gloucester Street, London WC1N 3AX (karenmay31@gmail.com)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

An opinion piece by Ben Macintyre entitled ‘Sorry, Scott fans: noble death is so last century’ appeared in The Times (London) on 20 September 2013. In this, Macintyre argued not only that Ernest Shackleton should be explicitly contrasted against his contemporary and rival Robert Falcon Scott, but that Shackleton should be found superior to Scott in virtually every way. It was a dispiriting piece, strongly suggesting that that the media's understanding of Scott has not greatly advanced since the savage, cod-psychological and often unsubstantiated attacks upon Scott's character and reputation in the 1970s–1990s. Sadly, all too often polar history is reduced to a zero-sum game where praise for Shackleton is directly proportional to insults directed at Scott.

Type
Reply
Information
Polar Record , Volume 51 , Issue 4 , July 2015 , pp. 386 - 391
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Amundsen, R. 1912. The south pole. Vol I. London: John Murray.Google Scholar
Armitage, A. 1922. Memorandum on E.H. Shackleton, received by H.R. Mill on 24 May 1922. Cambridge: Scott Polar Research Institute MS 367/1;D.Google Scholar
Butler, A. 2011. The quest for Frank Wild. Warwick: Jackleberry Press.Google Scholar
Crane, D. 2006. Scott of the Antarctic. London: Harper Perennial.Google Scholar
Fiennes, R. 2004. Captain Scott. London: Hodder and Stoughton.Google Scholar
Fisher, M. and Fisher, J.. 1957. Shackleton. London: James Barrie Books.Google Scholar
Gwynn, S. 1939. Captain Scott. London: Penguin.Google Scholar
Jones, M. (editor). 2008. Journals: Scott's last expedition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Lewis, G. and May, K.. 2013. ‘Will make a good Admiral’: a reassessment of Captain Scott's naval career. Polar Record. URL: http://journals.cambridge.org/article_S0032247413000697 (accessed 22 February 2014).Google Scholar
Marshall, E. 1952. Letter to Kendall, J., 20 July 1952. Cambridge: Scott Polar Research Institute MS 656/1/15.Google Scholar
May, K. 2012. Could Captain Scott have been saved? Revisiting Scott's last expedition. Polar Record 49 (248): 72–90.Google Scholar
May, K. and Airriess, S.. 2014. Could Captain Scott have been saved? Cecil Meares and the ‘second journey’ that failed. Polar Record. URL: http://journals.cambridge.org/article_S003224741300096X (accessed 22 February 2014).Google Scholar
Richards, R.W. 2003. The Ross Sea party, 1914–1917. Norwich: Erskine Press.Google Scholar
Service, R.W. 1907. The call of the wild . In: Songs of a sourdough. London: T. Fisher Unwin Ltd: 26–27.Google Scholar
Shackleton, E.H. 1916. Letter to Lady Shackleton, 3 September 1916. Cambridge: Scott Polar Research Institute 1537/2/32/15;D.Google Scholar
Shackleton, E.H. 1917. Letter to T.S. Weston, 22 January 1917. Cambridge: Scott Polar Research Institute MS 1615.Google Scholar
Shackleton, E. 2002. South. London: Penguin.Google Scholar
Tyler-Lewis, K. 2007. The lost men. London: Bloomsbury.Google Scholar
Wilson, M. 2008. Captain R.F. Scott versus Sir Ernest Shackleton: a critical look at some contemporary writers. Privately printed.Google Scholar