Ivey’s 1885 Alaska Territory is a mystical world where “a thin line separates animal and man,” where shape-shifters, lake monsters and the ancient dead move among humankind. They must also confront forces that can’t be conquered, explained or even seen. As the men map the brutal terrain, they encounter local tribes and animals, starvation and mortal danger. Allen Forrester leads the expedition up the uncharted Wolverine River, leaving behind Sophie, his pregnant young wife. In the words of one character: “If we can measure, we are sure we can grasp and claim as our own.” Col. What might a party like Allen’s have learned on their journey, not only of the vast and cold wilderness they canvassed but of themselves? The Alaskan novelist Eowyn Ivey dreams up the answers to these questions in her powerful second book, “To the Bright Edge of the World.” She sends her own band of explorers out in 1885 to tame a fictional river in Alaska Territory, an uncivilized land on the cusp of a gold rush, its resources sought after by men whose purposes ran counter to nature. Although little was made of it at the time, Allen’s expedition was perhaps the most significant on the North American continent since Lewis and Clark’s. By the end of August, they had explored 1,500 miles of wilderness and become the first men to chart the Copper River.

They were guided by an 18-year-old Ahtna chief who shared his food and helped to build the skin boats they navigated upstream. Allen and his party set out in March, traveling by sled and snowshoe, hungry and low on ammunition. The territory was unmapped and unforgiving. The last man to try had made it less than 60 miles upriver. Allen and his small band of explorers attempted to ascend the Copper River, one of the largest uncharted waterways in Alaska. TO THE BRIGHT EDGE OF THE WORLD By Eowyn Ivey Illustrated.

To the bright edge of the world