Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: The Extraordinary True Story of Shackleton and the Endurance

Jennifer Armstrong is the author of more than 50 books aimed at young readers. For Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World, Armstrong complemented her research with black-and-white photographs taken during Shackleton’s expedition that are published alongside the story. Though Shipwreck is her most notable non-fiction work, she is also the author of the historical fiction series Mairhe Mehan, about an Irish family living in Washington, DC, during the Civil War. Her other works include Chin Yu Min and the Ginger Cat and Black-Eyed Susan. She currently resides in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Ernest Henry Shackleton, the central character of the book, was born in Ireland and lived most of his life in England. The explorer became famous around the world for his expeditions to Antarctica, including a 1908 voyage on which he became the first explorer in history to get within 100 miles of the South Pole. He was 40 years old when he set out to lead the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition.

As Armstrong recounts, he is a “loner” as a child, “reading adventure stories during his school days and dreaming of fame and fortune” (5). He becomes a merchant mariner when he is 16 and comes into contact with the