{"id":830,"date":"2026-04-23T14:16:01","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T12:16:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mariacristinapritelli.com\/new\/?page_id=830"},"modified":"2026-04-23T14:16:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T12:16:03","slug":"the-great-northern-expedition-historical-novel-society-review","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.mariacristinapritelli.com\/new\/the-great-northern-expedition-historical-novel-society-review\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;The Great Northern Expedition&#8221; Historical Novel Society review"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><div>\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"897\" height=\"609\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mariacristinapritelli.com\/new\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GNE_Jacket_v2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-802\" style=\"width:433px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mariacristinapritelli.com\/new\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GNE_Jacket_v2.jpg 897w, https:\/\/www.mariacristinapritelli.com\/new\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GNE_Jacket_v2-300x204.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.mariacristinapritelli.com\/new\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GNE_Jacket_v2-768x521.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 897px) 100vw, 897px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Creative Editions Mankato (MN) USA &#8211; 2026<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Written by\u00a0Maria Cristina Pritelli\u2028<br>Review by\u00a0Rebecca Langston-George<br><br>Narrated by a teenaged Laurentz Waxell, the son of Sven Waxell, second in command to Captain Vitus Bering,\u00a0The Great Northern Expedition\u00a0tells the story of Vitus Bering\u2019s second journey as a cartographer for Russia. The voyage, for which this book is named\u00a0The Great Northern Expedition, followed Bering\u2019s first and better-known expedition, the Kamchatka Expedition, in which he explored the Bering Strait and proved Asia and North America are not connected, though ultimately not exploring all he set out to.<br><br>The second journey was designed to map Siberia and the Arctic areas of North America but despite its backing by Russian royalty, it was beset with issues starting with its inception in 1733. In fact, the ship did not set sail until 1741 due to many delays, supply shortages, bureaucratic failures, and harsh conditions. Bering, along with several crew members, ultimately died during the journey, and Sven Waxell, the father of the book\u2019s narrator, took the helm.<br><br>Author and illustrator Maria Cristina Pritelli captures the setting beautifully with soft, lush artwork, making this a visually stunning picture book. While the intended audience of readers ages 8 and up may enjoy the lovely land and seascapes, the history behind the story will likely be a stretch for an audience that young. Older readers studying cartography and voyages are more likely to find it intriguing and may be led to research more about Bering\u2019s first journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Written by\u00a0Maria Cristina Pritelli\u2028Review by\u00a0Rebecca Langston-George Narrated by a teenaged Laurentz Waxell, the son of Sven Waxell, second in command to Captain Vitus Bering,\u00a0The Great Northern Expedition\u00a0tells the story of Vitus Bering\u2019s second journey as a cartographer for Russia. The voyage, for which this book is named\u00a0The Great Northern Expedition, followed Bering\u2019s first and better-known expedition, the Kamchatka Expedition, in which he explored the Bering Strait and proved Asia and North America are not connected, though ultimately not exploring all he set out to. The second journey was designed to map Siberia and the Arctic areas of North America but\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-830","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":5}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mariacristinapritelli.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/830","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mariacristinapritelli.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mariacristinapritelli.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mariacristinapritelli.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mariacristinapritelli.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=830"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.mariacristinapritelli.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/830\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":835,"href":"https:\/\/www.mariacristinapritelli.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/830\/revisions\/835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mariacristinapritelli.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}