True North: Travels in Arctic Europe - (Canons) by Gavin Francis (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The first book from Sunday Times bestselling author Gavin Francis, a travelogue of his adventures in the far north

The stark, vast beauty of the remote Arctic Europe landscape has been the focus of human exploration for thousands of years. In this striking blend of travel writing, history and mythology, Gavin Francis offers a unique portrait of the northern fringes of Europe. His journey begins in the Shetland Isles, takes him to the Faroes, Iceland, Greenland, Svalbard and on to Lapland. Following in the footsteps of the region's early pioneers, Francis observes how the region has adapted to the 21st century, giving an observed insight into the lives of people he encounters along the way. As with all the best travel writing, True North is an engaging, compassionate tale of self-discovery, whilst blending historical and contemporary narratives in the tradition of Bruce Chatwin and Robert Macfarlane.

Review Quotes

A deep empathy with the land and its history runs like a golden thread through every chapter
--SARA WHEELER "SPECTATOR"

Fluent, subtle, tough and often beautiful, True North stands alongside Peter Davidson's The Idea of North and Joanna Kavenna's The Ice Museum, as a significant recent addition to the Arctic canon
--ROBERT MACFARLANE

Thank goodness for people like Gavin Francis who are prepared not only to visit our northerly neighbours, but write about them in a way that shows how much of their history is our history too--ROGER COX "SCOTSMAN"

The book is threaded with moments of infectious joy . . . where the past and the land and the writer elide, travel writing properly endures--COLIN THUBRON

About the Author

Gavin Francis is an award-winning writer and GP. He is the
author of ten non-fiction books, including Island Dreams, which was shortlisted
for the Waterstones Book of the Year 2020; Adventures in Human Being, which was
a Sunday Times bestseller and won the Saltire Scottish Non-Fiction Book of the
Year Award; Empire Antarctica, which won Scottish Book of the Year in the SMIT
Awards and was shortlisted for both the Ondaatje and Costa Prizes; and
Recovery: The Lost Art of Convalescence, which was a Sunday Times bestseller.
He has written for the Guardian, The Times, the New York Review of Books and
the London Review of Books. His work has been translated into eighteen
languages. He lives in Edinburgh, Scotland.