One of the greatest explorers the world has never known

This  book  was an absolute delight. Mervyn Peake was a novelist, playwright, painter, poet, short story writer, designer and war artist. Probably known best for his Gormenghast series, I have always been on the lookout for other books and oddments of his as I find his work thoroughly engaging and highly imaginative.

“Pickle my carcass! how innocent I was!”

This book is told in the words and drawings of the unnamed “Lost Uncle”. He is in search of the great White Lion and has been roaming the arctic wastes with his sidekick, a turtle-dog named Jackson. There is a little of backstory how he came to be on such an adventure. Years and years before, he had set off from England on the S.S. Em in search of adventure. After many months of sailing and seeing so many amazing sights, he finally asks himself the question of where it is he really wants to go. He does not want to wake any of the crew to ask where their final destination is, so he bundles up his possessions, tosses a table and a chair and an oar into the murky water and hops after it. After pulling the chair and himself up on the upturned table, he begins rowing toward shore. That shore is where he meets the taciturn, and clumsy but faithful Jackson and they set off for the arctic.

Through a series of letters and drawings, complete with spills and smudges and other tell-tale signs of their travails, he recounts the tale of their search. Peake has got an amazing ear for language and such a nimble and creative mind. I laughed out loud when Uncle saved himself from being crushed by a gigantic polar bear by tickling him until the bears paroxysms of laughter loosened his grip and the man could break free. When he and Jackson finally come upon the White Lion, the drawings and words were surprisingly tender and I felt tears spring to my eyes. I am so glad to have read this wonderful book.