This is a rather thin diary of the Terra Nova expedition, fleshed out by the Editor’s commentary, and diary entries from other diaries for the corresponding dates, and illustrated by charming drawings of hundreds of topical subjects, mostly animals. We know that Wright was a very serious scientist as well as a reader; little of the reading is cited here but there are a few examples:
p. 8: On [Friday] June 15th [1910] we left Cardiff amid great excitement, [and boats] packed with people accompanied us about ten miles on our wy. All that day we steamed down the Bristol Channel shedding literature as we went. This literature consisted by tracts and periodicals left on board by well-meaning people.”
p. 63 December 25, 1910: “Yesterday Xmas boxes of candy and cigarettes were opened from the Dunedin Seamen’s Guild; it was certainly nice of them, but unfortunate they should consider it necessary to add cerain little booklets as well—one verse for every day.”
p. 65 January 1, 1911: “Been printing some prints of pages of the Nautical Almanac for observation when sledging.”
p. 120 March 27: “Yesterday the last remaining fodder [toilet paper] was served out, twenty-nine sheets per man. There are, however, a number of copies of the Contemporary Review—contemporary to ten years ago and left here by the Discovery fellows.”
p. 145: a brief account of the South Polar Times, presumably by Colin Bull.
p. 156 August 5: “Books get spoilt, wet and frozen [on floor] against wall.”