Narrative of a Journey to the Shores of the Polar Sea, in the Years 1819-20-21-22, Volume 1

by John Franklin

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Genres: Canada, 19th Century, Nonfiction

275 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1824

About the author

Rear Admiral Sir John Franklin (1786-1847) was a British sea captain and Arctic explorer whose final expedition disappeared while attempting to chart and navigate the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic. The entire crew was lost and its fate remained a mystery for 14 years. His flagship, HMS Erebus, was discovered in 2014 and sister ship HMS Terror (commanded by Captain Francis Rawdon Moira Crozier) was discovered in 2016.

Reviews

[Kat Long · Rating 2 out of 5]

I agree with Hal Johnson's earlier review. I began to sense that something was amiss when I neared the 400th page and Franklin's crew had yet to reach the Coppermine River. I'm disappointed in the Narrative Press' edition of this classic tale of exploration; myriad typos prove that no human proofread the copy before publishing, and as Hal mentioned, the cover doesn't indicate that this volume is one of two.

This volume covers Franklin's journey from Britain, to York Factory in Canada, to Fort Providence in the Canadian Arctic. The overland trip by canoe and portage was arduous, but nothing compared to the return trip after the expedition had charted the coastline of the Arctic Ocean. In that leg, Franklin, his four naval men and several voyageurs faces starvation, extreme cold, topographical obstacles, cannibalism and death. In desperation, Franklin famously ate his leather boots to stay alive.

Unfortunately the mad dash toward salvation is contained in volume two of Franklin's narrative. My advice: skip the Narrative Press versions and download the free original editions from Google Books.