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Books

High drama on the high seas

Ian McGuire tells a thrilling story of dirty tricks and deadly rivalry on a Victorian whaling vessel bound for the Arctic

27 February 2016

9:00 AM

27 February 2016

9:00 AM

The North Water Ian McGuire

Scribner, pp.326, £14.99, ISBN: 9781471151248

Ian McGuire’s second novel is an exercise in extremes: extremes of suffering, violence, environment, language and character. It tells the story of Henry Drax and Patrick Sumner, who we first encounter on the streets of Hull in March 1859. The two men have joined the crew of a whaling vessel, the Volunteer, about to set sail for the Arctic captained by one Arthur Brownlee.

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