Mapping the North

This beguiling book offers a detailed history of cartographies of the farthest north: not only the real regions of ice and the aurora, but also the fabulous otherworldly norths of rumour and fable. -- Peter Davidson, author of The Lighted Window and The Idea of North Swedish historian Charlotta Forss offers a lively tour through the archive of the planetary attic. Armed with an eclectic set of maps, she sets off on a cartographic journey across six centuries: from the fears and fantasies of medieval mappae mundi to the vivid views of seafaring Europeans and indigenous hunters. Along the way, readers are treated to brisk readings of images both familiar and strange.  A sure delight for the map-curious. -- Kären Wigen, editor of Territorial Imaginaries: Beyond the Sovereign Map Carlotta Forss’s excellent and very well-illustrated Mapping the North-Myth, Exploration, Encounter (2025, £25.00), [is] a perfect Christmas present in its combination of text and illustrations with a particularly attractive section on “Animals on Northern Maps”. -- Jeremy Black * Books * The idea of the north was at least as powerful as the reality, probably more so; readers could do worse than curl up by the log burner with a glass of port to enjoy this very original work of illustrated history. -- Richard Lofthouse * Off The Shelf *