Empire at the Edge of the World: an illustrated lecture

It’s 1913 and charismatic explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson is obsessed with a frozen speck of land in the Siberian Arctic called Wrangel Island.

Believing that whoever possesses it will control the future – air routes, resources, even the balance of power in the northern hemisphere, he takes an impossible gamble and dispatches a small, ill-equipped voyage to claim the land for the British Empire.

It is a triumph of brilliance, ego and breathtaking hubris.

But what follows is a catastrophe of geopolitical jeopardy spanning continents, oceans and decades.

This illustrated lecture takes place in the National Maritime Museum, but will also be livestreamed to Zoom.

'No one is better than Giles Milton at recovering the great forgotten dramas of history and bringing them to vivid life,' – William Dalrymple

Giles Milton is the million-copy, internationally bestselling author of a dozen works of narrative history.

His books have been translated into 25 languages. One of Milton's previous works, Nathaniel's Nutmeg, is currently being developed into a major screen project. Milton is the writer and narrator of the acclaimed narrative podcast series, Ministry of Secrets, produced by Sony and available on all platforms. He lives in London and Burgundy.

Join today for a host of exclusive benefits and events, including unlimited free entry to Cutty Sark, the Royal Observatory, and special exhibitions at the National Maritime Museum.

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Image credit: Antarctica (Photo by Andy Wang on Unsplash)