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The Birthday Boys
- Author
- Beryl Bainbridge
- Narrator
- Simon Mattacks
- Publisher
- Ulverscroft Ltd
- Publish Date
- 18 November 2025
- Run Time
- 5 hours 47 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
A haunting and incisive group portrait of the crewmembers aboard Captain Scott's doomed Antarctic expedition.
They set off from Cardiff in 1910, racing to plant the first flag in the South Pole: the burly Petty Officer Taff Evans; the introspective scientist Edward Wilson; the sanguine Lieutenant Birdie Bowers; the brooding Captain Lawrence Oates; and their tragic, conflicted leader, Captain Scott. As each man narrates his own version of events, perspectives fracture, and the misguided courage and reckless optimism that characterised the voyage are thrown into stark relief.
One of Beryl Bainbridge's most acclaimed novels, The Birthday Boys evokes not only the terrible beauty of the Antarctic and the remarkable bravery of its explorers, but also the imperial hubris of late Edwardian society at the dawn of the 20th century.
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Details
- Author
- Beryl Bainbridge
- Narrator
- Simon Mattacks
- Duration
- 5 hours 47 minutes
- Release Date
- 18 November 2025
- ISBN
- 9781399195652
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Ulverscroft Ltd
- Genre
- Fiction: literary and general non-genre, Humour, Historical fiction
Synopsis
A haunting and incisive group portrait of the crewmembers aboard Captain Scott's doomed Antarctic expedition. They set off from Cardiff in 1910, racing to plant the first flag in the South Pole: the burly Petty Officer Taff Evans; the introspective scientist Edward Wilson; the sanguine Lieutenant Birdie Bowers; the brooding Captain Lawrence Oates; and their tragic, conflicted leader, Captain Scott. As each man narrates his own version of events, perspectives fracture, and the misguided courage and reckless optimism that characterised the voyage are thrown into stark relief. One of Beryl Bainbridge's most acclaimed novels, The Birthday Boys evokes not only the terrible beauty of the Antarctic and the remarkable bravery of its explorers, but also the imperial hubris of late Edwardian society at the dawn of the 20th century.
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