Empire at the Edge of the World

Giles Milton

£25.00


1913, the Arctic circle. Charismatic explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson is obsessed with a frozen speck of land in the Siberian Arctic: Wrangel Island. Believing that whoever possesses it would control the future - air routes, resources, even the balance of power in the northern hemisphere, he takes an impossible gamble. Dispatching a small, ill-equipped venture to stake a frozen colony in Britain's name, it is a triumph of brilliance, ego and breathtaking hubris. What follows is a catastrophe of starvation, madness, and geopolitical risk. As winter seals the island in ice, relief ships fail to arrive and tensions among the colonists spiral toward despair. While diplomats spar and warships steam north, the settlers are left to endure scurvy, polar bears, and the terror of abandonment. At the centre of it all stands one unlikely survivor - a young Inuit seamstress who can outlast them all.


Author(s): Milton, Giles
Binding: Hardback
Date of Publication: 24/09/2026
Pagination: 384 pages
Series: N/A
Imprint: John Murray
Published By: John Murray Press
Book Classification: History: specific events & topics|Geopolitics|Geography
Dimensions: 236 x 160 x 40
Weight: 636
ISBN13\EAN\SKU: 9781399822725

We offer a straightforward delivery charge:

  • £4.45 for orders under the value of £25
  • £6.00 for orders between £25 and £75
  • If your order exceeds £75, delivery is free.

Gift vouchers are treated slightly differently, sent via Signed Delivery at a cost of £2.77.