LITERATURE
May Book Club Charlotte Griffiths is captivated by the visual delights and immersive storylines of graphic novels, as she presents some top picks for May
The Worst Journey in the World: The Graphic Novel Volume 1 SARAH AIRRIESS & APSLEY CHERRY-GARRARD If you only ever read one book I recommend, make it this extraordinary
time at Disney, made the graphic novel an obvious format. More than a decade later – after a stint in Antarctica which you can read about on her truly brilliant blog (the third recommendation) – this instalment of her project was published, brilliantly depicting the first stage of Cherry-Garrard’s journey. The artwork is stunning, the lighting and staging in each frame as considered as any film’s cinematography and her pacing and structure breathes so much life into the pages you’d be forgiven for thinking you were watching an animated movie rather than reading a static comic. When you finally come up for air, you then enter the annotations – a ‘repository of sources, explanations and amusing anecdotes that didn’t make it in’ – and get to read it again, now powered by Airriess’s extensive, meticulous research.
work, adapted by Cambridge-based illustrator Sarah Airriess. I’m actually going to sneak three reads into one review, as the source material is also one of my favourite books – even just remembering The Worst Journey in the World , Apsley Cherry-Garrard’s memoir of his time in Captain Scott’s fateful expedition to the South Pole in 1910, makes me screw up my face in disbelief at humanity’s capacity for endurance. Airriess first encountered the story as a radio dramatisation in 2008, and after learning more (at Cambridge’s own Scott Polar Research Institute in part) was struck by an idea to tell the tale ‘properly’, including all the personalities, stories and scientific research carried out in such inclement conditions. Her background in illustration, including
Airriess is at work on the next two instalments, in hope of completing her calling. You can support her progress on Patreon and join other readers keeping their fingers crossed for more of her version of this unforgettable tale.
Do Admit! The Mitford Sisters and Me MIMI POND
Whatever your feelings on the Mitford Sisters, their impact on the world cannot be denied. Their actions and interests had implications for politics, wars and society at large – bending the arc of history and revealing hidden truths by pulling on an intricate web of contacts and connections granted at birth, then reinforced through their sometimes-unbelievable deeds and choices. Illustrator Mimi Pond weaves her own life story alongside that of the Mitfords. Growing up in California in a country that was only as old as some of the sisters’ inherited furniture, Pond’s life lacks the pageantry and depth she craves, yet she determinedly pursues a future of her own choosing, striking out solo against expectation. Pond uses only Prussian Blue ink throughout the book, which reminded me of willow pattern plates, that once-treasured ceramic tableware design that’s now out of favour, yet still laden with meaning and memories for those who grew up with it. Her illustrative style is charming, each page packed with expressive details of the sisters’ complex lives, with witty asides on Pond’s own choices interspersed throughout the main biographies. This fascinating graphic biography of the six women is possibly the most colourful story ever told using only blue ink. It is such a compelling version that even if you’re familiar with the sisters, you’re bound to come away with a deeper understanding of their place in history.
24 MAY 2026 CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK
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