Beasts of the Sea: A heartbreaking fictional elegy to one of the world's most iconic lost creatures, the...

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Iida Turpeinen David Hackston

Beasts of the Sea

A heartbreaking fictional elegy to one of the world's most iconic lost creatures, the Steller's...

Iida Turpeinen, David Hackston

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English

Maclehose Press
01 November 2025

Fiction & Literature; Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945); Fiction in translation

""As deep and profound as the sea itself"" Philip Hoare

1741. The crew of Vitus Bering's ill-starred Great Northern Expedition are shipwrecked off a remote, uncharted island. With no hope of rescue, they give in to despair. Until they discover the flesh of a huge marine mammal that feeds in herds on the kelp in the bay.

1859. The Russian colony of Alaska is on the brink of collapse. Governor Hampus Furuhjelm takes solace in the quest for a unique artefact: a complete skeleton of what is now known as Steller's Sea Cow, rumoured to have disappeared a hundred years before.

Even extinct, the sea cow will continue to shape lives and destinies, from the woman charged with sketching its likeness from its bones, to the expert egg restorer who will refurbish those same bones a century later.

A tribute to an iconic lost creature, and an adventure through three centuries of scientific exploration, Beasts of the Sea charts the unseen consequences of grand human ambitions and the urge to resurrect what we, in our ignorance, have destroyed.

Translated from the Finnish by David Hackston

By: Iida Turpeinen
Translated by: David Hackston
Imprint: Maclehose Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 214mm, Width: 136mm, Spine: 24mm
Weight: 287g
ISBN: 9781529438307
ISBN 10: 1529438306
Pages: 288
Publication Date: 01 November 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

IIDA TURPEINEN (b. 1987) is a Helsinki-based literary scholar currently writing a dissertation on the intersection of the natural sciences and literature. As an author, she is intrigued by the literary potential of scientific research and by the offbeat anecdotes and meanderings from the history of science. Turpeinen's short stories exploring the relationship between humans and animals won the J. H. Erkko Young Writers' Competition in 2014. Her debut novel, Beasts of the Sea (2023) is the winner of the Helsingin Sanomat Prize 2023, and shortlisted for the Finlandia Award 2023.

Reviews for Beasts of the Sea: A heartbreaking fictional elegy to one of the world's most iconic lost creatures, the Steller's Sea Cow

Turpeinen's debut novel, Beasts of the Sea, which focuses on a single sea cow and individuals linked to it over a span of three centuries, makes the ecological ruptures and freefall of the entire world a palpable experience. [...] This science-fueled book will move you and have you holding your breath. * Helsingin Sanomat *