The Man Who Discovered Antarctica

Sheila Bransfield

Frontline Books

£25

Edward Bransfield was kidnapped by Royal Navy pressgang from Ballinacurra, County Cork in 1803 and sent to blockade Brest. Sheila Bransfield has researched the logs and muster rolls of every ship in which he subsequently served. Her style is engagingly enthusiastic: no detail is omitted and reading becomes an immersive experience. Bransfield slowly worked his way out of the lower deck to become an expert navigator and ship’s master. In December 1819 he was sent from Valparaiso in a merchant brig to investigate reports of a southern continent. He and his companions planted flags, named landmarks and proved the existence of Antarctica – though no-one took much notice. Bransfield’s achievement was all in his day’s work, which makes it even more impressive.