Gosh, this was enthralling. The Belgica sets off for Antarctica late, with a crew that don't get on and a desire for glory over safety. And taking Amundsen for his first polar trip.

And because they all wrote each other letters as they were going insane from scurvy and despair there's some great detail preserved.

Then finally the solution somehow managed to be to cut up the pan ice by hand to get to open sea. They were ridiculously lucky.