In conversation with… novelist and poet Rachael Mead

19/09/2024

We catch up with Rachael Mead to talk about her latest book, her travels in Antarctica and the fascinating story of artist Nel Law – the first Australian woman to set foot on the continent.

Rachael Mead is a novelist and poet from South Australia. She's had an eclectic life, working as an archaeologist, environmental campaigner and bookseller. She’s published a range of work from her debut novel, The Application of Pressure, a darkly humorous and insightful ride-along with two Adelaide paramedics to four collections of poetry which won her several awards and accolades.

Her latest book, The Art of Breaking Ice, is a historical novel inspired by the adventures of the first Australian woman to set foot on Antarctica. We caught up with Rachael to talk about her latest book, her travels in Antarctica and the fascinating story of Nel Law.

You write poetry, short stories and novels – do you have a preference?

I love the research process that comes with writing novels, but the downside to revelling in research is that you never feel as if you’ve finished and are ready to begin writing. I find poetry to be the most nourishing form of writing. There’s so much freedom in writing a poem and the concise format means I can draft and redraft quite swiftly, ending up with a piece that feels polished and satisfying within a short timeframe. Poetry definitely bolsters my sense of literary productivity!

Rachael Mead is a novelist and poet (Credit: Rachael Mead)

Where do you find your inspiration? 

Everywhere. When I’m in the flow and the words are pouring onto the page, it seems as if everything I see and hear and read is feeding into the work. It’s the best feeling in the world.  

Tell us about The Art of Breaking Ice.

The Art of Breaking Ice is a historical novel inspired by the adventures of Nel Law, the first Australian woman and the first female visual artist to set foot on Antarctica. Over the summer of 1960-61, Nel stowed away on the icebreaker Magga Dan to travel the length of east Antarctica from Mawson Base to the Ross Sea.  

I first came across Nel Law as a footnote in a book on Antarctic art – and despite my deep interest in all things Antarctic, I’d never heard her name before. I started to dig, and when I discovered how significant she was to the history of women in Antarctica but had been overshadowed by her husband’s fame, I realised that this was a story I wanted to tell.

 The Art of Breaking Ice (Credit: Affirm Press)

Why did you choose to write this story as fiction rather than non-fiction?

My initial intention had been to write a biographical account of Nel’s Antarctic voyage. But after reading her Antarctic diaries in the Australian National Library, I realised that she’d left a huge amount unsaid. Nel’s journal was silent about many of the things I desperately wanted to know. What was it like to be the only woman on a ship with nearly seventy men? How had they responded to her presence? How did this 1960s housewife break free from the gender roles of her time? I realised that the silences and spaces in her story were just as fascinating as her accounts of the things she experienced, but to write this story would mean filling in the blanks with my imagination. And the only way to do that was with fiction.

One of Nel Law's paintings from the 1961 expedition to Antarctica (Credit: nel Law/Australian Antarctic Division)

What are you reading right now?

I’m devouring The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World by Bettany Hughes. (I’m up to the chapter on the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus.)

Have you visited Antarctica? How did you do your research? 

I’ve had the immense privilege of travelling to Antarctica twice. The first time was back in 2005 when I left my job as a climate change campaigner for Greenpeace to undertake a Graduate Certificate of Antarctic Studies at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand/Aotearoa. Part of the curriculum included flying to Scott Base in Antarctica, then camping on the Ross Ice Shelf within view of Mount Erebus.

Rachel camping on the Ross Ice Shelf (Credit: Rachael Mead)

The second time was in 2013 as a tourist. We followed Shackleton’s route from the West Antarctic Peninsula to South Georgia, then across to the Falkland Islands.

My research for the novel involved a great deal of digging through archives and historical sources, but for the landscape descriptions and evoking the feeling of being on the ice I used my notes, journal entries and photos from my travels.

Do you still have a dream destination you haven't visited?

Yes! I’d like to travel beyond the Arctic Circle – Svalbard or northern Canada. (Or both!)

What's next for you?

Right now, I’m putting my Honours degree in Classical Archaeology to good use while writing my next novel, which is a retelling of an ancient myth.

What luxury item would you take if you were working at Port Lockroy for the season?

Notebooks and pens aren’t exactly luxury items, but to answer this question perhaps that’s reason enough to splurge on an expensive journal and a fancy fountain pen? Any excuse to buy new stationery!   

Finally, what’s your favourite species of penguin?

The Royal penguin is my favourite species of penguin. I love crested penguins and after writing about a colony of Royals on Macquarie Island in The Art of Breaking Ice I have a soft spot for this little-known species.

Rachel has a soft spot for Royal penguins (Credit: Agami Photo Agency/Shutterstock)

The Art of Breaking Ice is available from your local bookstore or Affirm Press.