John David Nielsen

The doctor at "Fram". Henrik Greve Blessings diaries and letters.
Edited by John David Nielsen

Transcribed and edited by, and with a preface by John David Nielsen.

Henrik Greve Blessing (1866-1916) was the ship doctor on board "Fram" during the famous expedition from 1893-1896, led by Fridtjof Nansen. He wrote diaries during much of his life, also on the Fram-expedition. This book consists of Blessing's «Fram" diaries. Then follows "Historia Morbi", which is Blessing's record of his own morphine addiction and disease history. The book ends with the correspondence between Blessing and Nansen, and excerpts from Blessing's last diary.

John David Nielsen inherited Blessing's archive, it is still in his possession, and in the book's first chapter, he presents a historical background of Blessing based on an exchange of letters in his family before the "Fram" expedition.

BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR, MORGENBLADET:
"It's almost a hundred years since the doctor on the «Fram» expedition died. His diary is a voice taken coming back from the grave. Editor John David Nielsen has written such a well-formulated introduction that it gives an almost physical pleasure to read it.» Espen Søbye