Copy of David Copperfield taken to the South Pole by Captain Scott features in upcoming exhibition

Preserved: the copy of David Copperfield which Scott of the Antarctic took to the South Pole on his ill-fated 1912 expedition
Robert Dex @RobDexES18 April 2019

A copy of David Copperfield taken to the South Pole by Captain Scott is going on show as part of an exhibition about the global success of Charles Dickens.

Although often seen as the great chronicler of Victorian London, Dickens was one of literature’s earliest international stars with his work translated into languages including German, Dutch, Russian, Icelandic and Croatian during his lifetime.

The exhibits on show at the Dickens Museum in Bloomsbury will include the book taken to Antarctica in 1912 on Scott’s ill-fated mission.

Scott’s party died during their un-successful bid to be the first people to reach the Pole but the book was kept by geologist Raymond Priestley, who led a separate scientific expedition.

They were cut off by the dreadful weather conditions and spent seven months living in an ice cave — reading from the novel to pass the time.

Dr Claire Warrior from the Royal Museums Greenwich said: “The copy of David Copperfield fits within the long tradition of British expeditions taking libraries of books to the polar regions.

“Sir John Franklin’s 1845 expedition took over a thousand books north, from past explorers’ accounts to prayer books, with, we think, The Pickwick Papers and Nicholas Nickleby included too.

“Reading was an important communal activity which staved off boredom and built bonds between men living in challenging, cramped conditions with little personal space … Antarctica is rarely a place of solitude.

“Also, the fact that David Copperfield was originally published in instalments meant that it’s packed with cliff-hangers, which would have helped to keep interest high.”

The exhibition also includes the portable writing desk which Dickens took on his own travels as well as playbills from theatrical productions of his work around the world.

Global Dickens: For Every Nation Upon Earth runs at the museum from May 14 to November 3

Best exhibitions to see in London this June

1/10

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in