Captain Scott by Stephen Gwynn: 1939 Paperback

Author: Stephen Gwynn

Publisher: 1939, Penguin

Pagination: 248

Format: Paperback

Condition: Very good, with slight shelf wear and tape staining to the spine.

Gwynn's biography of Robert Falcon Scott was first published in 1929 and the Penguin paperback came out ten years later. Fortunately I have a copy which is in good condition, complete with flypaper.

Those who have a fascination for all things Scott should read Gwynn, if only because it has a pivotal place in the literature of Scott. In the early part of the 20th century, Gwynn, an officer in the 1WW, MP for Galway and President of the Irish Literary Society wrote large number of books, including biographies, and was well regarded. He was known by Scott's widow Kathleen Scott, and it was she who authorised and approved this biography of her husband 17 years after his death.

Those who have read in-depth appraisals of Scott's life and achievements written in more recent years, may find this rendering rather tame, even a hagiography. For it contains none of the reasoned criticisms of Scott, first hinted in Cherry-Garrard's 'The Worst Journey in the World' and developed later (except perhaps for a number of references to Scott's well-known aversion to the use of dogs). But, in my view, the book should be viewed in the context of the time it was written, despite the fact that that makes it very difficult for any reviewer today to assess its 'star' rating. It was clearly of the 'in praise of Scott' school - Gwynn clearly admired him, and it is unlikely even if he had been inclined to add more of an edge to the Scott story, that Kathleen Scott would have allowed access to so many of her private papers which this biography is based on. It certainly is written in a deferential style, but not totally so. I would compare its style with Lord Mountevans 'South with Scott', published in 1921. (That volume voices no criticism of Scott at all despite the fact that it is now known that at times there was little love lost between Scott and his deputy Evans).

The one aspect of the book which I very much appreciated were the very many letters which Scott wrote to his wife and others. These show one side of Scott's character which will forever provide a fascination, and are so revealing of the man and the times he lived in.

If you know nothing of Scott, then this is not such a good book to start with. But if you do, then you must read this - historically it is a key text. (Amazon review).