Mrs. Chippy's Last Expedition: The Remarkable Journal of Shackleton's Polar-Bound Cat [Hardcover]

Caroline Alexander (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1997

The wry, compelling, and wonderfully erudite diary of Mrs. Chippy, the only cat aboard Sir Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic expedition, will delight discriminating cat lovers and make a treasured keepsake for years to come.

As chronicled in the classic Endurance, Shackleton's expedition to Antarctica is regarded as one of the most perilous in history. After sailing halfway around the world, his ship became trapped in a sea of ice, and during the subsequent weeks, then months, as the ice thickened, its hull was eventually crushed. All 29 crew members were pushed to their limits to survive... including the level-headed, quick-thinking Mrs. Chippy, a robust (male) cat.

No ordinary cat, Mrs. Chippy worked with his human companion, Harry "Chippy" McNeish, the ship's carpenter, on many projects, from mending equipment to building a new ship. But his duties went much further. As he reveals in this honestly crafted diary, Mrs. Chippy's larger role was crucial: pacing the decks to watch for changes in the weather, tormenting the sled dogs and patrolling the canteen for stray mice. The days were long, but Mrs. Chippy held the ship together. Though not everyone appreciated his hard work, he was kind enough not to flaunt his mental superiority over his well-meaning human shipmates.

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

A shaggy-cat tale, in which Alexander (The Way to Xanadu, 1994, etc.) gives us the feline perspective on travel and exploration in turn-of-the-century Antarctica. Mrs. Chippy is a cat--a tomcat, actually, but a very elegant one whose grace and manners and devotion to his master (Harry ``Chippy'' McNeish) inspired the joke that they are as good as married. Chippy McNeish is ship's carpenter aboard the Endurance, which set sail from London on August 1, 1914, on a voyage to the South Pole that was led by Sir Ernest Shackleton and the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. Mrs. Chippy has her role to play, of course, and it is no small one: hunting mice, keeping watch on deck, and looking after the general well-being of her master and his crewmates. He tells his story through the pages of his journal, which record the daily rituals of weather, naps, navigation, and meals. Once they find themselves stranded in a sea of ice, however, the expedition is forced to encamp for the duration, hoping that their rations will hold out until the thaws--which, as it turned out, were nearly a year in coming. Mrs. Chippy keeps a more level head than most of his crewmates during this long confinement, and he may actually have been their salvation insofar as he injected a familiar note of domesticity and routine into the hardships of their situation (``I myself am very disciplined by nature and have set myself a strict winter regime: Wake at 2:00 p.m.; stretch, wash, take breakfast by the galley stove, greet shipmates, etc.''). By the end, when the ice floes break and the Weddell Sea is open once more, Mrs. Chippy is more popular than ever. Too cute for comfort: after about 20 pages of this, even cat- lovers may find themselves feeling pretty seasick. (12 b&w photos, not seen) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Review

Now, I can't vouch for the authenticity of this newly found document, but I can say that Alexander has done a fine job in keeping Mrs. Chippy's jottings from succumbing to the preciousness often found in books written by animals, while allowing the cat's (and her own) sense of humor to have full run. -- The New York Times Book Review, Robert R. Harris

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins; 1st edition (October 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006017546X
• ISBN-13: 978-0060175467
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,340,000 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Caroline Alexander was born in Florida, of British parents and has lived in Europe, Africa and the Caribbean. She studied philosophy and theology at Oxford as a Rhodes scholar and has a doctorate in classics from Columbia University. She is the author of the best-selling The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition which has been translated into thirteen languages. She writes frequently for The New Yorker and National Geographic, and she is the author of four other books, including Mrs Chippy's Last Expedition, the journal of the Endurance's ship's cat.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Remember Mrs. Chippy, November 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Mrs. Chippy's Last Expedition: The Remarkable Journal of Shackleton's Polar-Bound Cat (Hardcover)

As criticized by other reviewers, this book does not pretend any falsehoods. It is a fictionalized account, of course, but is based on the accounts and journals of ALL of the crew, not just the famous or the high ranking. The true hardships are recounted in the footnotes, most notably excerpts from the diary of Henry McNeish, Chippy,s owner, bunk mate and ships carpenter. In a way Mrs. Chippy's account, built from references of all the other journals, speaks for those also marginalized and also only known through footnotes. McNeich spent 28 hours toiling in waist deep frigid water to build a coffer dam in an attempt to hold back the water in the beginning of the end for the Endurance. Do we remember his name? Perce Blackborow, young and desperate for adventure, stowed away and worked hard as ships steward, assisted and filled in for the cook when he fell injured. Do we remember his name? Louis Rickinson and A.J. Kerr, ships engineers, worked at the boilers below decks, even as the ice is pressing the hull made all manner of horrible and terrifying noises. Do we remember their names? Through Mrs. Chippy's eyes we catch a glimpse of all the crew, in their bravery and their humanity. Lastly, any who would question the character or depth of relationship between even the hardened explorer and the ships cat, consider the following: Commander Frank Worsley, the Captain of the Endurance, chose the photo of Chippy and Blackborow that adorns the cover of this book as one of the few he published. ALL the diaries of the members of the expedition had descriptions of Chippy. Let me close with this quote from the poet Christopher Smart from his ode to his cat, Jeoffry:

For he keeps the Lord's watch in the night against the adversary. For he counteracts the powers of darkness by his electrical skin and glaring eyes. For he counteracts the Devil, who is death, by brisking about the life.

We are shielded from Chippys final fate, the journal ends on October 29th. Chippy perished that afternoon. Remember Chippy, and remember all those whose story is recorded in footnotes.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best cat's-eye view you'll ever read!, October 29, 1997

By 

Amalie Lewis Tuffin ([e-mail]) (Durham, North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mrs. Chippy's Last Expedition: The Remarkable Journal of Shackleton's Polar-Bound Cat (Hardcover)

Mrs. Chippy's Last Adventure is the best-written book I have read in many years (and I read a LOT!) The book is written from the point of view of Mrs. Chippy, a (male) cat who was privileged enough to join Shackleford's Polar expedition in the early 1900's and who was stranded in the polar ice fields along with the remaining 28 crew members. The book is based on actual events and a great deal of research obviously went into the telling of this remarkable human and feline-interest story. The author captures Mrs. Chippy's world view remarkably well; cat lovers will KNOW that they are seeing these events unfold through the eyes of a very perspicacious cat. As an added bonus, Mrs. Chippy is a damn funny feline, albeit sometimes unintentionally - I laughed out loud throughout the book.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Profound perception of human and feline behavior., May 2, 2000

By 

Sam McGill (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mrs. Chippy's Last Expedition: The Remarkable Journal of Shackleton's Polar-Bound Cat (Hardcover)

You've read the tale of the Endurance and you can't get enough of this incredible epic. You must now read 'Mrs. Chippy's Last Expedition'. Ms. Alexander, in a delightfully strange manner, has provided a unique perspective on both the expedition and on the relationship between a cat and its mates. If you read 'The Endurance', you already appreciate Ms. Alexander's scholarly and literary abilities. (Frankly, it easily rivals the accounts of Lansing and even Shackleton, himself.) When you read 'Mrs. Chippy', you will also appreciate her profound perception of both feline and human behavior. It's a pity that other reviewers feel they must exhibit their knowledge of Mrs. Chippy's actual fate, but don't worry, if you love cats, nothing can prepare you for the end of this book. Thank you, Caroline Alexander, for a truly remarkable story.