Synopses & Reviews
This is a great book about life at remote bases in Canada's far north as seen by a young English boy who went there by himself to see the world and got more than he could have bargained for. Beautifully written. --Sir Ranulph Fiennes
As spare, gleaming, and exhilarating as the Arctic wastes and the gentle, stoic Eskimos who had mastery of this realm . . . The book evokes the frozen seas, whale hunts, snow plains and storms that intimidated those rash enough to brave this world, and the traditions, myths, and hunting skills that contoured a bygone way of life . . . His translucent prose is a sparkling and moving record. -- Times (London)
At sixteen, Edward Beauclerk Maurice impulsively signed up with the Hudson's Bay Company -- the Company of Gentleman Adventurers -- and was sent to an isolated trading post in the Canadian Arctic, where there was no telephone or radio and only one ship arrived each year. But the Inuit people who traded there taught him how to track polar bears, build igloos, and survive expeditions in ferocious winter storms. He learned their language and became so immersed in their culture and way of life that children thought he was Inuit himself. When an epidemic struck, Maurice treated the sick using a simple first aid kit, and after a number of the hunters died, he had to start hunting himself, often with women, who soon began to compete for his affections. The young man who in England had never been alone with a woman other than his mother and sisters had come of age in the Arctic.
In The Last Gentleman Adventurer Edward Beauclerk Maurice transports the reader to a time and a way of life now lost forever.
After serving in the New Zealand navyduring World War II, Edward Beauclerk Maurice became a bookseller in an English village and rarely traveled again. He died in 2003 as this, his only book, was being readied for publication.
If you like reality, The Last Gentleman Adventurer will be your cup of tea: a delicious quaff of it. Savor it! -- Edward Hoagland
Maurice's memoir supplies a fascinating elegy to a vanishing world. -- Telegraph
One of those rare writers who will be remembered for turning out one great memoir/travel book . . . He relates these events in a beautiful prose that is quaintly elegant in tone but never archly so . . . Not only a gentleman but a wonderful writer who limited his output to one book, and perhaps that is why it reads so beautifully. -- Sunday Tribune (Dublin)
Maybe he was exceptional, but the charm of his book lies in its modesty; he makes no claims for himself. His concern was to make a record of some amazing adventures and a vanishing way of life; these are woven into an eye-opening narrative that is suffused with kindliness and an attitude to growing up more restrained but more humane than that prevailing today. A gentleman adventurer indeed. -- Times Educational Supplement
A deceptively simple account of how he grew to manhood, shaped on one hand by the brutal elements of the Arctic, on the other by the compassionate communities of Inuit who understood them . . . This is a beautifully unadorned, homespun tale with a lack of self-consciousness rare in travel literature . . . I was charmed. -- Benedict Allen, Independent on Sunday
Review
"A fascinating often funny chronicle of his early years among the Inuit."
Review
"Effortlessly entertaining."
Review
"An unrivaled portrait of Unuit life." -- National Geographic Adventurer
Review
"Enthralling." The New York Times
"Maurice evokes his Arctic in vivid detail." Boston Globe
"An unrivaled portrait of Unuit life." -- National Geographic Adventurer
"Effortlessly entertaining." The Washington Post
"A fascinating often funny chronicle of his early years among the Inuit." Entertainment Weekly
Synopsis
A fascinating true adventure story chronicles the experiences of Edward Beauclerk Maurice, a young explorer for the Hudson Bay Company who was taught survival techniques, and much more, by the Inuit people. Reader's Guide available. Reprint.
Synopsis
At sixteen, Edward Beauclerk Maurice impulsively signed up with the
Hudson's Bay Company and was sent to an isolated trading post in
the Canadian Arctic, where there was no telephone or radio and only one
ship arrived each year. The Last Gentleman Adventurer is his engrossing
personal account of his time with the Inuit people. He learned how to
speak their language, track polar bears, and build igloos, and he became
so immersed in their culture and way of life that children often thought he
was Inuit himself. When an epidemic struck, Maurice treated the sick
using a simple first-aid kit, and after a number of the hunters died, he had
to start hunting himself, often with women, who soon began competing
for his affection. The young man who in England had never been alone
with a woman other than his mother and sisters came of age in the Arctic.
Synopsis
At sixteen, Edward Beauclerk Maurice impulsively signed up with the Hudson's Bay Company -- the company of Gentleman Adventurers -- and ended up at an isolated trading post in the Canadian Arctic, where there was no communication with the outside world and only one ship arrived each year. But he was not alone. The Inuit people who traded there taught him how to track polar bears, build igloos, and survive ferocious winter storms. He learned their language and became completely immersed in their culture, earning the name Issumatak, meaning he who thinks.”
In The Last Gentleman Adventurer, Edward Beauclerk Maurice relates his story of coming of age in the Arctic and transports the reader to a time and a way of life now lost forever.
About the Author
EDWARD BEAUCLERK MAURICE, after serving in the New Zealand navy during World War II, became a bookseller in an English village and rarely traveled again. He died in 2003, as this book was being readied for publication.