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From “Noble Example” to “Potty Pioneer”: rethinking Scott of the Antarctic, c.1945–2011

This article sets out a new chronology and analysis of changing representations of Scott of the Antarctic since the Second World War, which challenges Stephanie Barczewski’s recent account. Section one distinguishes between three developments in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s: first, comedians began to mock Scott and the heroic culture of stoic sacrifice which he exemplified; secondly, a few writers built on these developments to present a political critique of Edwardian culture and society; and, thirdly, biographers modernized Scott’s image by exploring his psychology. Section two reassesses the significance of Roland Huntford’s intervention in Scott and Amundsen in 1979. When studying heroes, the article argues, scholars should distinguish clearly between reputation, newsworthiness and public interest. Huntford made a decisive contribution to the fracturing of Scott’s reputation, a process well under way by 1979, but the controversy surrounding his book also kept Scott in the public eye. Finally, section three argues that, while several recent works have presented more sympathetic portraits, Scott’s fractured reputation will remain contested. The article concludes that the principal change in representations of Scott has been the disappearance of explicitly didactic texts aimed at children and the rise of more irreverent portrayals.