‘Gloriously Widowed’: Public Mourning and Private Grief in the Aftermath of Scott’s Terra Nova Expedition, 1910-1913

This article explores the emotional experiences of two families who were bereaved by the Terra Nova expedition. The very public nature of these deaths, and the intensive press coverage of the losses and aftermath of the expedition saw an outpouring of public mourning within Britain; yet for the Scott and Evans families, these deaths were also hugely personal losses. The article argues that press intrusion into the families’ grief profoundly altered their emotional experiences of loss, not only in the immediate aftermath of the deaths, but also in the years that followed. The two families came from profoundly different backgrounds in terms of class, social influence, and the resources available to them after their loss; however, this paper shows how the actions of the press and the persistence of the public gaze briefly united them in this unique experience of loss under the spotlight of Edwardian Britain.