LAMBERT, Katherine

PERSONAL:

Female.

ADDRESSES:

Agent—c/o Author Mail, Smithsonian Institution Press, 22883 L'Enfant Plaza, Suite 7100, Washington, DC, 20560-0950.

CAREER:

Writer, magazine and book editor, and book producer. Managing editor of annual Good Gardens Guide. Former editor of the World Expeditionary Association's Expedition magazine.

WRITINGS:

(Editor, with Rosemary Verey) Secret Gardens: Revealed by Their Owners, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1994.

Hell With a Capital H, introduction by Peter King, Pimlico (London, England), 2002 published as The Longest Winter: The Incredible Survival of Captain Scott's Lost Party, new introduction by Peter King, Smithsonian Books (Washington, DC) 2004.

(With Peter King) Good Gardens Guide 2005, Frances Lincoln Limited (London, England), 2004.

SIDELIGHTS:

The dramatic story of six explorers lost in Antarctica is the subject of Katherine Lambert's chronicle The Longest Winter: The Incredible Survival of Captain Scott's Lost Party. As colleagues of Robert Scott, who successfully reached the South Pole but perished on his return journey, their experiences during the 1910-12 expedition have long been overshadowed. The men were supposed to explore the coast during the summer months, but were stranded for seven months when conditions prevented their ship from retrieving them. With inadequate clothing and provisions, they survived by building an igloo in a snow bank and eating penguin flippers and seal blubber. Lambert uses excerpts from diaries, which the men were required to keep, to give remarkable details about conditions, personalities, and behavior.

The author's vivid description appealed to reviewers. Booklist' George Cohen commented that the book was "a thrilling account of challenge and courage." A Publishers Weekly writer called Lambert's work "thorough and touching.… Attention to detail allows her to portray the human spirit's triumph over adversity." Writing for Library Journal, Edwin B. Burgess recommended the book to readers who already had a familiarity with the larger geographical and historical context, calling it "most valuable as a supporting work." Bruce Barcott commented on the book's significance in New York Times Book Review, when he remarked that it "adds a missing chapter to the history of polar exploration and may return some shine to Scott's reputation."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, October 1, 2004, George Cohen, review of The Longest Winter: The Incredible Survival of Captain Scott's Lost Party, p. 295.

Library Journal, October 1, 2004, Edwin B. Burgess, review of The Longest Winter, p. 94.

New York Times Book Review, October 10, 2004, Bruce Barcott, "Blowing Hot and Cold," review of The Longest Winter, p. 18.

Publishers Weekly, August 16, 2004, review of The Longest Winter, p. 51.*