Cold Coast

(Paperback)

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WinnerTasmanian Literary Awards People's Choice
Shortlisted for theTasmanian Literary Awards Premier's Prize for Fiction
Shortlisted for the 2022 ARAHistorical Novel Prize

Inspired by the story of Svalbards first female trapper, Cold Coastis 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 Sterdal, 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 Sterdal willconfront polar bears, traverse glaciers, withstand blizzards and the dangers of sea ice,and hike miles to trap Arctic fox, allin 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 rst Arctic winter.

PRAISE FORCOLD COAST

[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.Sydney Morning Herald

Cold Coastis a stunning novel, rich in metaphor and symbolism...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.The Canberra Times

A brilliant feminist biographical natural history novel.Australian Women's Weekly

Robyn MundysCold Coastis a remarkable achievement. It tells Woldstads story in gorgeously intimate prose, with page after page of stunning nature writing. Books+Publishing

Cold Coastsummons the raw beauty of Svalbard with achingly evocative prose. At once visceral and lyrical, I was totally absorbed in the story of Wanny Woldstad and her yearning for wilder freedoms. Hannah Kent, author of Burial Rites

An exquisitely written,immersive novel about wildness, survival and theincomparableexhilaration of choosing a bigger life. I wascaptivated from start to finish. Emily Maguire, author ofAn Isolated IncidentandLove Objects

'Rarely has a book been so evocative of time and place. At once transporting and unsentimental, Cold Coast is as bracing as the arctic winds that sweep through its world. Its truths about love, endurance and courage are visceral and above all exhilarating, even as death hovers unsettlingly near. Lucy Treloar, author of Salt Creekand Wolfe Island

'There is a magic and mystery to the isolated reaches of our world, and Mundy has bottled up its icy wonder for us to savour this summer.' Jackie Tang, Readings Monthly

Reviews

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 *

Author Bio

Wild places form a big part of Robyn Mundys life, and her novels. Robyn has wintered and summered in Antarctica, the setting for her first novel The Nature of Ice. Her second novel,Wildlight,is set on remote Maatsuyker Island, home to Australia's loneliest lighthouse where she spent ten months. For over 20 years Robyn has worked seasonally as a ship-based tour guide in Svalbard, Greenland, Antarctica, the Norwegian coast and wild Scotland. Her numerous visits to Svalbard led to her 2021 novelCold Coast. Robyn lives in Tasmania with a penguin biologist and a Blue Heeler. Visit her website atwww.writingthewild.netandInstagram at robyncmundy.