Antarctic history is dominated by men, especially the celebrated explorers of the Heroic Age of Antarctic exploration, from 1987 to 1922. But the frozen continent isn’t without fascinating tales of female endeavour.
In honour of International Women’s Day (March 8) we’ve compiled a list of books written by polar women about polar women; tales of explorers, doctors, scientists, artists, and more, embarking on audacious acts and female firsts on the frozen continent.
1) Alone in Antarctica | Felicity Aston
Felicity Aston is a British physicist and meteorologist who spent two months away from all human contact to cross-country ski across Antarctica alone. She made history as the first woman, and third person ever, to accomplish this incredible feat. Aston endured not only physical challenges, such as avoiding crevasses, hypothermia, and frostbite, but demonstrated extraordinary mental fortitude, battling hallucinations, fear, isolation, and loneliness, all to achieve her goals. Follow Aston’s awe-inspiring journey into the solitude of the last great wilderness.
2) Snow Widows: Scott’s Fatal Antarctic Expedition Through the Eyes of the Women They Left Behind | Katherine MacInnes
Have you ever wondered what happened to the wives, mothers, and sisters left at home by male adventurers during the Heroic Age of Antarctic exploration? Author Katherine MacInnes uses never-before-seen archives to reconstruct the lives of Kathleen Scott, Oriana Wilson, Emily Bowers, Caroline Oates, and Lois Evans, five women whose lives were forever altered by Captain Robert F. Scott’s ill-fated Terra Nova expedition. What was the race to the South Pole like through the eyes of these women? How did they persevere through such terrible loss?
3) Swimming to Antarctica: Tales of a Long-Distance Swimmer | Lynne Cox
Lynne Cox is an extraordinary cold-water, long-distance swimmer who has broken numerous records in her sport and claimed several “firsts”, such as making the first crossing of the Catalina Island Channel (1971), breaking women’s and men’s records for crossing the English Channel (1972), beating her own English Channel time in 1973, and becoming the first woman to swim the frigid Cook Strait in New Zealand (1975). Amongst her outstanding achievements, Cox also swam 1.96 kilometres (1.22 miles) in Antarctica’s icy waters in 2002! Follow her inspiring journey into the near-freezing waters around the world in this autobiography.
4) Ice Bound: A Doctor’s Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole | Jerri Nielsen and Mary Anne Vollers
What happens when a doctor at Antarctica’s South Pole Station discovers she has breast cancer in the most remote and inhospitable place on Earth? Jerri Nielsen (1952-2009) was an American physician hired for a one-year contract to serve as the medical doctor at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole station in Antarctica. While overwintering, she discovered a rapidly growing tumor in her breast. From mid-February to late October, there are no flights to or from the South Pole, as the extreme cold (average -60C, -76F) makes air travel nearly impossible. This left Nielsen stranded with no choice but to treat herself with chemotherapy pharmaceuticals until she could be rescued. This book recounts Nielsen’s exceptional tale of survival despite the most extraordinary odds.
5) Ada Blackjack: A True Story of Survival in the Arctic | Jennifer Niven
Ada Blackjack (1898-1983) was a divorced Iñupiat (native Alaskan) mother struggling to make ends meet and afford her son’s expensive tuberculosis treatments. In hopes of providing a better life for her son in 1921, she chose to join four men venturing deep into the Arctic to Wrangel Island to colonize the land for Britain. When the men perish, Blackjack is stranded, alone in the Arctic for two years before fighting her way back to civilization. Upon her remarkable return, she rarely spoke of what happened during her solitary years, but with never-before-seen diaries and interviews with her surviving son, Jennifer Niven recounts Blackjack’s awe-inspiring tale of survival.
6) Call of the White: Taking the World to the South Pole | Felicity Aston
Have you ever wanted to go to the South Pole? Have you ever felt like you were “too ordinary” to be able to do it? This book is for you! In 2009, Felicity Aston set out to lead the Kaspersky Commonwealth Antarctic Expedition, composed of the most internationally-diverse group of “ordinary” women, to the South Pole. Some of the chosen applicants had never seen snow before or spent the night in a tent prior to joining the expedition. Follow their journey of perseverance and friendship, as they crossed the icy continent.
7) The Polar Adventures of a Rich American Dame: Louise Arner Boyd | Joanna Kafarowski
Louise Arner Boyd was born in the late 1880s into a family with extravagant wealth, but when she inherited her family’s fortune, she began to explore the world beyond high society. After a sailing excursion to the Arctic Ocean, Boyd dedicated her life to organising, financing, and directing seven Arctic expeditions between 1926 and 1955. Follow her journey balancing socialite status and her newfound fame as an intrepid explorer.
8) Think South: How We Got Six Men and Forty Dogs Across Antarctica | Cathy de Moll
Have you ever heard of the International Trans-Antarctica Expedition in 1990? This expedition took six men, 40 dogs, three sleds, and 20 tons of food and gear 6,021 kilometres (3,741 miles) across Antarctica on the first non-mechanized crossing of the frozen continent. Pick up this book for a behind-the-scenes look into the incredible people that made this happen, including Cathy de Moll, the expedition’s executive director, and the lessons they learned along the way.
9) The Big Bang Symphony: A Novel of Antarctica | Lucy Jane Bledsoe
Antarctica is not just for scientists. That’s right! The National Science Foundation (NSF, United States) also sends artists and writers to the icy continent to create works to illustrate the wonders of the region. This novel is inspired by two-time recipient of the NSF Artists and Writers in Antarctica Fellowship Lucy Jane Bledsoe’s experiences on the frozen frontier. Follow the lives of Rosie Moore, a galley cook, Mikala Wilbo, a composer and artist-in residence, and Alice Neilson, a geology graduate student, as they form deep friendships and fall in love in Antarctica.
10) No Horizon Is So Far: Two Women and Their Historic Journey across Antarctica | Liv Arnesen and Ann Bancroft with Cherly Dahle
Norwegian polar explorer Liv Arnesen led the first all-women team to make an unsupported crossing of Greenland in 1992 and became the first woman in the world to ski alone and unsupported to the South Pole in 50 days in 1994. Ann Bancroft, American physical education teacher turned polar adventurer, became the first woman to reach the North Pole both on foot and by sled in 1986, and led the first all-female expedition to the South Pole (1992-1993). In 2001, Arnesen and Bancroft teamed up to become the first women to ski across Antarctica together. What happened on their journey across the frozen continent? Pick up this book to find out!
Have you read any of these books? Do you have any of your own recommendations? Let us know on Instagram or Facebook!
Happy reading!
**This list is based on online recommendations and ratings and is not formally endorsed by Antarctic Ambassadors.
Hayley is a recent graduate of Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences where she completed her Master’s degree in Marine Conservation and Policy.
Before joining the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) as an intern in January 2023, she spent her time interning at zoos and aquariums, learning about husbandry for animals in human care and educating the public about conservation.
As part of her role, Hayley works with IAATO’s Antarctic Ambassadorship Committee to create content and resources to help create and support Antarctic Ambassadors around the world.