Shona Riddell is the great-great granddaughter of Harriet Cripps, who was born to two British colonists on the remote Auckland Islands in 1851. In 2016, Shona sailed south to experience the wild subantarctic climate for herself. She has lived in London and Berlin, got married in Las Vegas, and currently lives in Wellington, New Zealand, with her husband and two daughters, where she works as a full-time writer.

Grass Roots magazine article 
“Beautifully illustrated, this is a fascinating story of unique plants and wildlife, wild weather and tenacious explores.”

Good Reading magazine article
“Visiting the subantartic islands was a life-changing experience for Shona Riddell. In this extract from  Shona’s new book, Trial of Strength, we meet the captain who sailed south discovering these islands, rich with the treasure he was seeking.” Click here to read the review in full.

Stuff.co.nz website article
“In a nutshell: incredible.” Click here to read.

ABC’s The Nightlife television segment
“Our next guest is going to take us on a journey to some of the most remote islands in the world.” Click here to hear the full interview.

Australian Wildlife Magazine magazine article
“…will leave you with an appreciation for the tenacity of the human race and the hostile forces of nature.”

Mindfood Magazine review article
“Following her ancestors footsteps Riddell recounts her journey to the subantarctic islands.” Click here to read.

The Listener magazine article
“Her richly illustrated book is a lively study of the ecological and human history of these wild but unquestionably fascinating places. Riddell has a gift of revealing the personalities who arrived – willingly or otherwise – on these remote shores.”

ABC Radio radio segment
“Isolated, remote and brutally cold: the subantarctic islands might be a lovely place for penguins, but they don’t sound like much of a home to humans.” Click here to listen.

Radio New Zealand radio segment
“It’s lavishly illustrated – it tells a tale of human endurance amid this little known, isolated, rugged, and climatically challenged landscape.” Click here to listen.

Afloat Magazine review article
“What a great book … a rich and fascinating human history.” Click here to read.

Otago Daily Times review article
“Riddell writes in a way that will both people who know little about the island and invoke a sense of place for those who have been there”. Click here to read.

Booksellers NZ magazine article
“…kept me glued to the pages from beginning to end.” Click here to read.

Great Walks Magazine featured article
“…a rich and fascinating human history, Trial of Strength tells the compelling stories of these islands and will leave an appreciation for the tenacity of the human race and the forbidding forces of nature.” Click here to read.