Captain Scott's expedition to the Antarctic, the most famous story of exploration in the world, played out on the great ice stage in the south. Oriana Wilson, wife of Scott's best friend and fellow explorer Dr Edward Wilson, was watching from the wings. She is the missing link between many of the notable polar names of the time and was allowed into a man's world at a time when the British suffragettes were marching. Oriana is the lens through which their secrets are revealed. What really happened both in the Antarctic and at home? Why did Scott's Terra Nova expedition nearly end in mutiny before it had even begun? Were the explorers' diaries as 'heroic' as they appeared to be? Only Oriana can tell. She began as a dutiful housewife but emerged as a scientist and collector in her own right, and was the first white woman to venture into the jungles of Darwin, Australia. Edward Wilson named Oriana Ridge, a little-known piece of Antarctica, after her on their tenth wedding anniversary. Oriana Wilson has been quiet for a century, but this biography gives her a voice and provides a unique insight into the early twentieth century through her clear, blue 'iceberg eyes'.

Katherine MacInnes was an arts journalist and commissioning editor before having her family. Since 2002, she has gained a MSt at Oxford University, published three plays and four children's books, and given several well received presentations at local libraries. She has written for The Lady, Cotswold Life and Country Life, as well as for The Times and The Telegraph, and appears regularly on local BBC Radio. She lives in Gloucestershire.

Captain Scott's adventure in the Antarctic, the most famous story of exploration in the world, played out on the great ice stage in the south. Oriana Wilson, wife of Scott's best friend Dr Edward Wilson, was watching from the wings. She is the missing link between many of the most famous names, the lens through which their secrets are revealed. What really happened both in Antarctica and at home? This book presents a valuable and exciting perspective on the golden myth - the widow's story. Ory's status as an Antarctic widow gave her access to an unprecedented range of evidence on Scott's team but it also allowed her into a man's world at a time when the British Suffragettes were marching. True to her gender and her time, Ory began as the dutiful housewife, but emerged as a scientist and collector in her own right, and the first white woman to venture into the jungles of Darwin, Australia. Ory has been quiet for a century - this biography gives her a voice and gives us a unique view of the first half of the twentieth century seen through her clear blue 'iceberg eyes'.