author

Anna Adolph

1841–1917

A forgotten pioneer of feminist speculative fiction, she wrote a wildly imaginative 1899 novel that sends a woman inventor to the North Pole and far beyond. Her work feels part adventure, part dream, and still wonderfully strange today.

1 Audiobook

Arqtiq: A Study of the Marvels at the North Pole

Arqtiq: A Study of the Marvels at the North Pole

by Anna Adolph

About the author

Anna Adolph, born Anna Elizabeth Eddy in 1841, is known for Arqtiq: A Study of the Marvels at the North Pole, a short novel she privately published in the United States in 1899. The book blends adventure, fantasy, utopian fiction, and early science-fiction ideas into an unusual Arctic journey led by a woman inventor.

What makes her memorable is how boldly odd Arqtiq is. Its story moves from air travel to hidden worlds beneath the ice, mixing gender equality, religion, telepathy, and dreamlike imagery in a way that doesn’t fit neatly into any one category. That originality has helped the novel survive as a curious and distinctive work of feminist speculative fiction.

Very little about her life is widely documented, but research published online identifies her as Anna Elizabeth Eddy Adolph and gives her lifespan as 1841 to 1917. For many readers, that sense of mystery is part of the appeal: she remains an elusive author whose single known book still leaves a vivid impression.