14 minSummaryRead it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What might people build beyond the familiar world—and what must they risk to survive there?
In The New Northland, L. P. Gratacap takes you toward the Arctic, where discovery carries both wonder and danger. This science fiction adventure explores a hidden civilization at the cold edge of the world. A voyage into the unknown becomes a test of nerve, judgment, and the will to stay alive.
The isolated community raises a question: how might people live when they stand apart from familiar nations and habits? Cold, distance, and scarcity give that question weight. Gratacap brings a scientific interest in nature to a lost-world tale, placing imagined marvels beside the hard demands of survival.
What you’ll discover
- The pull of the North Follow the lure of an Arctic where the unknown invites both curiosity and caution.
- A society set apart Explore a hidden community that opens questions about how people might organize their lives.
- Survival under pressure Feel how cold, distance, and scarcity make each choice a test of judgment.
- Science beside wonder Discover a tale where attention to nature gives imagined marvels a sense of possibility.
- Adventure with larger questions Look beyond discovery to consider what people build, value, and need to endure.
Who will love it
Readers who love lost-world adventure, polar exploration and early science fiction will enjoy this book, as will anyone who likes a cheerful American with a verse for every moment.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A small clue opens a mystery
- A theory becomes a voyage
- Laughter carries the friends north
- A gold belt restores their resolve
- Warmth does not mean safety
- The marvels carry hidden dangers
- A welcome comes with watchfulness
- Gold changes the man who wants it
- Wonder and unease travel together
Who’s who
- Alfred EricksonThe narrator, a nervous sailor and language teacher, tells the whole tale to a newspaperman after being rescued from an attic in New York.
- Spruce HopkinsA witty young American and crack shot who meets every peril with a rhyme and dreams of fortune and adventure.
- Antoine GoritzA huge, gentle Dane and expert in the Arctic who leads the dogs and sleds, and who craves gold once he finds it.
- Professor Hlmath BjornsenA red-haired Norwegian geologist whose theory of a polar depression and a lost Eden drives the expedition.
- Jack RiddlesA sharp-eyed office boy who follows a suspicious couple through New York and finds the note that leads to a rescue.
- Azaziel LinkThe newspaper editor who takes down Erickson's story and wants to publish it as the greatest scoop of his career.
- ZiliahThe president's daughter in Radiumopolis, who teaches Erickson her language and falls in love with Hopkins.
- Oogalah IkimyaA strong young guide of the larger people, immune to radium, who gathers it from the deadly fields.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook opens when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
The New Northland in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
The New Northland
A messenger boy follows suspects from a Fifth Avenue bus and uncovers a tale of polar gold and snakes.
Challenging5–10 hours to read20 languages
Learn a language with challenging classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeRenews every year · Cancel anytimeHow it works
- Read, large type too
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
“Because we shall be nearer the center of the earth.”
In short
Why would a messenger boy on a Fifth Avenue bus chase a yellow limousine across New York? In September 1912 Jack Riddles, an office boy of about eighteen, spots a man in black strike a woman in a mauve dress with a cane.
The New Northland at a glance
- Reading time
- About 7 h 30 min5 h 55 min fast, 8 h 55 min slow
- Length
- 106,600 words
- Library level
- Challenging long sentences, a rich vocabulary
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A boy on a bus finds a clue
The book opens in a newspaper office, not at the pole. The editor, Link, explains that a good reporter follows every clue to its end, even if people call it yellow. He then tells how his office boy Jack Riddles got him the story.
The man with the cane looks like a print called Mephistopheles. The woman is a Spanish beauty with black hair. The man in plaid has huge whiskers and a mumbled foreign speech. Jack tracks the yellow limousine down East Fifty-eighth Street and finds the green glass star that fell from her turban. He decides to watch the house.
Renews every year · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer. Your place follows you, and you can make the type as big as you like.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 8 h 20 min
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
Gratacap, L. P. The New Northland. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-new-northland.
Gratacap, L. P. (2026). The new Northland. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-new-northland
Gratacap, L. P. The New Northland. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-new-northland.
@book{gratacap2026new,
author = {Gratacap, L. P.},
title = {The New Northland},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-new-northland}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every eBookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about The New Northland
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The New Northland about?
It is an adventure novel in which four men sail to the Arctic to find a hidden continent, Krocker Land. They find a warm polar hollow with gold, giant reptiles, a stationary sun and a small, clever people who worship serpents.
Who is Alfred Erickson and why was he in an attic?
Erickson is the narrator, a sailor and language teacher who survives the polar journey. Back in New York, crooks hold him prisoner to force him to give up a secret, and a messenger boy finds his hidden note.
Is The New Northland a true story?
No, it is fiction from the early twentieth century. It is framed as a newspaper scoop and uses real explorers and scientific ideas of its day, such as polar tides and radium, to make its invented land seem possible.
The author
L. P. Gratacap
1850–1917 · American geologist and author
Louis Pope Gratacap (1850–1917) was an American geologist and author who lived in New York City. He worked at the American Museum of Natural History, studying minerals. His writings included scientific works and fiction. He published The Certainty of a Future Life in Mars in 1903 and also wrote The New Northland.
“Because we shall be nearer the center of the earth.”
More like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
