The Worst Journey in the World: Now Illustrated
The Worst Journey in the World: The Graphic Novel. Volume 1: Making Our Easting Down Graphic Novel adapted by Sarah Airress adapted from the book by Apsley Cherry-Garrard (Letter Better Publishing, 2024)
Reviewed by Elizabeth Stice
Since it was first published in 1922, Apsley Cherry-Garrard’s The Worst Journey in the World has been a gripping read. The Worst Journey is a firsthand account of Robert Falcon Scott’s final Antarctic mission, 1910-1913. According to the introduction of the Penguin edition, the book is “one of the undisputed classics of exploration literature” (vii). It is ranked on the National Geographic list of 100 best adventure books. The Worst Journey in the World was also part of the Penguin cerise series, dedicated to travel and adventure. The popularity of the book is not surprising to those who have read it, but it might surprise the unfamiliar to know that it clocks in at almost 600 pages and that the mission was, in many ways, a failure. Not only did Amundsen reach the pole first, Scott and a number of his men died (likely avoidable deaths).
One of many people who have become fascinated with the story is Sarah Airriess, the artist and author behind this new graphic novel edition of the first part of the book, released in the U.S. by Iron Circus Comics. Airriess first heard the story as a drama on BBC Radio 4. Her interest in the expedition continued. As she writes: “It became my mission to tell the story properly – to include the science, the personalities, and what happened outside of the famous “race” to the South Pole, because they all affected the course of events. And I was determined to stick to the truth as closely as possible, to show where every detail came from, and to flag any time narrative expediency demanded a deviation from the historical record. It would be a factually accurate retelling; I had only to acquire all the facts” (i).
Airriess’ graphic novel, The Worst Journey in the World, Volume 1: Making Our Easting Down, tackles the first part of Cherry-Garrard’s classic. With wording from the original book and illustrations reminiscent of the cartoon 101 Dalmatians, we travel with Cherry-Garrard and the crew on the ship Terra Nova, all the way from Cardiff, Wales, to Antarctica. We are introduced to the characters, learn about the hardships and challenges of the sailing voyage, are shown the stops along the way, and read about how the crew bonded during their time together at sea. In graphic novel form, the book is not necessarily more entertaining (it is entertaining as is) but it is more immediately approachable and seems very capable of drawing in a younger audience that might balk at a 564-page book.
The illustrations add a great deal to the narrative. We are given visuals to go with the descriptions we have in the original. The illustrations also help develop and distinguish the characters, which can be initially challenging for readers. The illustrations also help us to see Cherry-Garrard as actor more than narrator. He was a twenty-four-year-old Oxford graduate without much relevant experience or expertise, who paid £1000 to join the expedition as an “adaptable helper.” He served as an aide and assistant zoologist and generally assisted nearly anyone with nearly anything. As you can imagine, the illustrations portray all this quite well.
The illustrations also help illuminate the approach to life that was characteristic of the British Antarctic Expedition. These were men who put the expedition first and were hardworking and self-sacrificing. They were well-chosen from the 8,000 applicants. But they were also men who enjoyed their time in port, sang songs frequently, sketched and painted and observed the stars, and who knew how to celebrate traditions and moments. Cherry-Garrard described the importance of entertainment at their meals, writing that “the usual custom was that everyone had to contribute a song in turn all round the table” (48). If one could not sing at all, he could offer up a quickly-composed limerick or money for the wine fund.
While Airriess’ graphic novel version of the book is more approachable than the original in some ways, it also strives to me more informative in some ways. As Airriess explains, each comic page has “numbers…that correspond to a note with further information. The annotations are completely optional – I hope you can read the comic for fun, and not feel it’s homework – but they are there for you if you want a little extra” (i-ii). That extra is significant. Airriess draws on journals, published and archival, from other members of the expedition. She also incorporates information from secondary sources about the expedition and scientific information. She explains any discrepancies between the illustrations and the original book. For example, “According to Wheeler, Cherry actually wrote Worst Journey paragraph by paragraph on index cards, which he then arranged and handed off to a typist. That’s far too complicated to communicate in a simple prologue, though, whereas everyone understands a typewriter” (154).
A number of years elapsed between the idea of this graphic novel and this edition of it, years for researching as well as illustrating. Airriess’ extra information adds a great deal of helpful context, related to the historical setting and the men on the expedition. The context can also deepen appreciation for the scientific work of the expedition, which is sometimes overshadowed by the tragedy. The annotations make this graphic novel an ideal companion reader for any edition of the book and a uniquely valuable resource for any curious reader. The format keeps the extra facts from being obtrusive in the story but their availability makes all the difference. This is not simply the same story with illustrations.
Airriess is like most readers of the original, grateful for the book and its lessons. She writes: “The Worst Journey in the World reconfigured my relationship with myself and the world: the story and the people were what I never knew I needed until they walked into my life, and I’m grateful for them every day. If my work can inspire even a few readers in the way I was inspired, then everything will have been worthwhile” (ii). This is a very worthwhile edition of The Worst Journey in the World, one which leaves readers waiting eagerly for the remaining parts of the story to be published in the same way.
If you would like to know more about the book and follow along with the author’s journey, there is a companion website. Airriess wrote this first volume supported by Patreon. It was a labor of love. According to the website, “At 26, she heard a radio dramatisation of The Worst Journey in the World, which led her to throw away her career and move to England to make the graphic novel. She went to Antarctica in 2019 with the NSF’s Antarctic Artists and Writers Program, and is currently an Institute Associate at the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge.”
Elizabeth Stice is a professor of history and assistant director of the honors program at Palm Beach Atlantic University. When she can, she reads and writes about World War I and she is the author of Empire Between the Lines: Imperial Culture in British and French Trench Newspapers of the Great War I (2023).
