Title: Not To Yield by Kass
Fandom: Shackleton (historical RPS)
Pairing: Shackleton/Hurley
Categories: Romance, drama
Length: Medium (2,500+ words)
Warning: Reference to the deaths of animals
Rating: Not rated by the author but very mild; not even slightly graphic


Author on LJ: kassrachel
Website: fanfiction by kass


Summary: 'Excerpts from the journals of Sir Ernest Shackleton, Endurance expedition'


Review:
This short story in diary format (also making use of quotations from Sir Ernest Shackleton's actual diaries) posits a sexual and romantic relationship between Shackleton (Branagh) and the photographer Frank Hurley (Matt Day) during the ill-fated 1914 Polar Expedition, using the characterisations established in Kenneth Branagh's excellent 2002 mini-series Shackleton. As seen on the screen there was definitely a frisson of attraction between the two, and the author has given some thought to the legal and moral climate of the time as well as to the practical difficulties of carrying on a clandestine relationship aboard a very small vessel - particularly if one party happens to be the expedition leader. There is also, however, a sense that sometimes extraordinary men are allowed to live outside the rules, which is particularly appropriate in this case.

If I was going to be really picky I would like to have seen this done in greater detail and without the framework of the historic Shackleton's own words, but the fact that it exists at all is a source of satisfaction and the standard of the writing more than does justice to the subject matter. The poignancy of the parting which must inevitably occur is beautifully described, and perhaps an inconclusive ending was the only kind for a story of this nature, but one is left with the overall impression that there was so very much more of this story that could perhaps have been told.

Not To Yield