Recommended by the Reviewers Club

The Art of Breaking Ice, by Rachael Mead

Cover of The Art of Breaking Ice, by Rachael Mead.

A fiction story based on the lives of Phil Law, Antarctic explorer and his wife Nel in the 1960s.

Nel is an artist and has painted many scenes from Antarctica, (from photos taken by husband Phil) as it was not acceptable for women in those days to travel South with the men. So for many years, even though married, Nel has spent 6 months every year on her own. So she longs for meaning and purpose and to paint the scene in Plein Air. Eventually Phil suggests she stow away on the ship.

What follows started out being an adventure but ends up being a story about love. A story about long term relationships and living in a spouse’s shadow. About attitudes to women in those times.

3.5/5 Stars