Description

‘Mundy is utterly convincing in her description of the far north: the passing of the seasons, the cracking of the ice and the movement of the birds’ – Picked as Antonia Senior’s Historical Fiction Book of the Month, The Times

‘visceral and lyrical, I was totally absorbed in the story of Wanny Woldstad and her yearning for wilder freedoms’ – Hannah Kent, author of Devotion

‘radiates nature’s brutal beauty’ – Joanne Owen, LoveReading

Inspired by the story of Svalbard’s first female trapper, Cold Coast is a gripping portrayal of survival within the stark beauty and perilous wilderness of the high Arctic.

In 1932, Wanny Woldstad, a young widow, travels to Svalbard, daring to enter the Norwegian trappers’ fiercely guarded male domain. She must prove to Anders Saeterdal, her trapping partner who makes no secret of his disdain, that a woman is fit for the task. Over the course of a Svalbard winter, Wanny and Saeterdal will confront polar bears, traverse glaciers, withstand blizzards and the dangers of sea ice, and hike miles to trap Arctic fox, all in the frigid darkness of the four-month polar night. For Wanny, the darkness hides her own deceptions that, if exposed, speak to the untenable sacrifice of a 1930s woman longing to fulfil a dream.

Alongside the raw, confronting nature of the trappers’ work, is the story of a young blue Arctic fox, itself a hunter, who must eke out a living and navigate the trappers’ world if it is to survive its first Arctic winter.

Publisher Review

'A brilliant feminist biographical natural history novel.' * Australian Women's Weekly * 'Mundy's writing is poetic and lyrical. It transports the reader to a perilous but unexpectedly luminous part of the world that most people will never visit.' -- Karen Viggers * Canberra Times * '[Mundy] translates the stark beauty and acerbity of the Arctic with masterly wit and fervour. This is the best kind of novel - one that takes you away from the mundanity of your plastic chair and four concrete walls.' -- Jessie Tu * Sydney Morning Herald *