Under a Pole Star - Hardcover

"This is an epic love story set against the forbidding beauty of snow meadows. A perfect winter read."--Red

"A beautifully written tale, elegant and well-observed, full of powerful descriptions of a dazzling landscape."--S magazine, Sunday Express

"A terrific and beautifully written yarn that will make readers yearn to travel and fall in love in a cold climate."--The Times

"Penney's absorbing, quietly convincing narrative illuminates the characters, each a kind of outcast, through whose complex viewpoints this dense, many-layered story is told."--Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

"With the nights drawing in and the temperature beginning to plummet, there's no better time to curl up with this stunningly evocative tale about an intrepid young female explorer. As immersive as it is mesmerizing, this is a novel that you won't ever forget."--Heat

"Against the backdrop of the Arctic Ocean, explorer Flora meets Jakob, a member of a rival expedition. Science gives way to love with devastating results."--Grazia

Praise for The Tenderness of Wolves
"A suspenseful epic, offering a leitmotif of constant unease . . . impressive."--The Guardian

"A first-rate gripper with a notably sensual as well as psychological understanding of its main characters."--Globe and Mail

"What has marked Penney out from the start is her ability to make her extensive historical research come alive."--Sunday Herald

"A fascinating, mysterious historical novel about a female explorer in a world of men at the end of the nineteenth century. Under a Pole Star is an adventure, an illicit romance, and a life-defying exploration of a land most of us know nothing about. The contrast of the lovers' blazing relationship set against the frigid Arctic and the secrets that propel the narrative will keep readers riveted in this hard-to-forget, mesmerizing tale!"
-- M.J. Rose, New York Times bestselling author

Sometimes you have to travel to the farthest edge of the world in order to find your true place in it...
A panoramic historical epic and an unforgettable love story from the author of The Tenderness of Wolves, for fans of Kristin Hannah, Sarah Perry, and Barbara Kingsolver
A whaler's daughter, Flora Mackie first crossed the Arctic Circle at the age of twelve. Years later, in 1892, determination and chance lead her back to northern Greenland as a scientist at the head of a British expedition, defying the expectations of those who believe a woman has no place in that harsh world.
Geologist Jakob de Beyn was raised in Manhattan. Yearning for wider horizons, he joins a rival expedition. Jakob and Flora's paths cross. It is a fateful meeting, where passion and ambition collide and an irresistible attraction is born.

The violent extremes of the north obsess them both: perpetual night and endless day; frozen seas and coastal meadows, and the strange, maddening pull it exerts on the people trying to make their mark on its vast expanses - a pursuit of glory whose outcome will reverberate for years to come.