The Arctic Playground of Europe: Sir Martin Conway’s Svalbard
The development of tourism is a significant aspect of the processes of modernity in the High Arctic. This article discusses the British art historian and mountaineer Sir William Martin Conway's two travelogues, The First Crossing of Spitsbergen (1897) and With Ski and Sledge over Arctic Glacier...
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Septentrio Academic Publishing
2015
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:bc7b1b04a86d4567ab4d0f0572a452a5 2023-05-15T14:40:04+02:00 The Arctic Playground of Europe: Sir Martin Conway’s Svalbard Anka Ryall 2015-04-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.7557/13.3424 https://doaj.org/article/bc7b1b04a86d4567ab4d0f0572a452a5 EN NO eng nor Septentrio Academic Publishing https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/nordlit/article/view/3424 https://doaj.org/toc/0809-1668 https://doaj.org/toc/1503-2086 doi:10.7557/13.3424 0809-1668 1503-2086 https://doaj.org/article/bc7b1b04a86d4567ab4d0f0572a452a5 Nordlit: Tidsskrift i litteratur og kultur, Iss 35 (2015) Svalbard the Arctic tourism and travel writing landscape aesthetics Sir William Martin Conway John Ruskin Norwegian literature PT8301-9155 article 2015 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.7557/13.3424 2022-12-31T02:09:29Z The development of tourism is a significant aspect of the processes of modernity in the High Arctic. This article discusses the British art historian and mountaineer Sir William Martin Conway's two travelogues, The First Crossing of Spitsbergen (1897) and With Ski and Sledge over Arctic Glaciers (1898), in terms of a pioneering tourist approach to the archipelago of Svalbard. Unlike earlier yachting tourists, Conway described a journey into the uncharted interior of the main island, Spitsbergen. His books are therefore narrated as exploration accounts and following many of the demands of that genre, such as an emphasis on mapping, natural science and being the first. However, they may also be read as guidebooks for other discerning and undaunted British gentleman travellers. Inspired by the art critic John Ruskin’s “science of aspects”, which combined accurate scientific observations and practical knowledge with an imaginative and aesthetic response to the landscape, Conway attempts to give his readers a positive sense of the qualities of the Arctic. At the same time, he promotes Svalbard as an Arctic “Playground of Europe”, where adventurous Alpinists in addition to climbing unknown mountains and glaciers could find fraternal domesticity far away from home around the hearth of the campfire. In this way Conway locates natural beauty, life and recreational opportunities where travellers before him had only described desolation and death. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Svalbard Spitsbergen Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Svalbard Conway ENVELOPE(-61.422,-61.422,-62.841,-62.841) Main Island ENVELOPE(-38.220,-38.220,-54.007,-54.007) Nordlit 35 29 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English Norwegian |
topic |
Svalbard the Arctic tourism and travel writing landscape aesthetics Sir William Martin Conway John Ruskin Norwegian literature PT8301-9155 |
spellingShingle |
Svalbard the Arctic tourism and travel writing landscape aesthetics Sir William Martin Conway John Ruskin Norwegian literature PT8301-9155 Anka Ryall The Arctic Playground of Europe: Sir Martin Conway’s Svalbard |
topic_facet |
Svalbard the Arctic tourism and travel writing landscape aesthetics Sir William Martin Conway John Ruskin Norwegian literature PT8301-9155 |
description |
The development of tourism is a significant aspect of the processes of modernity in the High Arctic. This article discusses the British art historian and mountaineer Sir William Martin Conway's two travelogues, The First Crossing of Spitsbergen (1897) and With Ski and Sledge over Arctic Glaciers (1898), in terms of a pioneering tourist approach to the archipelago of Svalbard. Unlike earlier yachting tourists, Conway described a journey into the uncharted interior of the main island, Spitsbergen. His books are therefore narrated as exploration accounts and following many of the demands of that genre, such as an emphasis on mapping, natural science and being the first. However, they may also be read as guidebooks for other discerning and undaunted British gentleman travellers. Inspired by the art critic John Ruskin’s “science of aspects”, which combined accurate scientific observations and practical knowledge with an imaginative and aesthetic response to the landscape, Conway attempts to give his readers a positive sense of the qualities of the Arctic. At the same time, he promotes Svalbard as an Arctic “Playground of Europe”, where adventurous Alpinists in addition to climbing unknown mountains and glaciers could find fraternal domesticity far away from home around the hearth of the campfire. In this way Conway locates natural beauty, life and recreational opportunities where travellers before him had only described desolation and death. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Anka Ryall |
author_facet |
Anka Ryall |
author_sort |
Anka Ryall |
title |
The Arctic Playground of Europe: Sir Martin Conway’s Svalbard |
title_short |
The Arctic Playground of Europe: Sir Martin Conway’s Svalbard |
title_full |
The Arctic Playground of Europe: Sir Martin Conway’s Svalbard |
title_fullStr |
The Arctic Playground of Europe: Sir Martin Conway’s Svalbard |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Arctic Playground of Europe: Sir Martin Conway’s Svalbard |
title_sort |
arctic playground of europe: sir martin conway’s svalbard |
publisher |
Septentrio Academic Publishing |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.7557/13.3424 https://doaj.org/article/bc7b1b04a86d4567ab4d0f0572a452a5 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-61.422,-61.422,-62.841,-62.841) ENVELOPE(-38.220,-38.220,-54.007,-54.007) |
geographic |
Arctic Svalbard Conway Main Island |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Svalbard Conway Main Island |
genre |
Arctic Svalbard Spitsbergen |
genre_facet |
Arctic Svalbard Spitsbergen |
op_source |
Nordlit: Tidsskrift i litteratur og kultur, Iss 35 (2015) |
op_relation |
https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/nordlit/article/view/3424 https://doaj.org/toc/0809-1668 https://doaj.org/toc/1503-2086 doi:10.7557/13.3424 0809-1668 1503-2086 https://doaj.org/article/bc7b1b04a86d4567ab4d0f0572a452a5 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.7557/13.3424 |
container_title |
Nordlit |
container_issue |
35 |
container_start_page |
29 |
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1766311997450747904 |