Book description
In 1845 Captain Sir John Franklin led a large, well equipped
expedition to complete the conquest of the Canadian Arctic, to find
the fabled North West Passage connecting the North Atlantic to the
North Pacific. Yet Franklin, his ships and men were fated never to
return. The cause of their loss remains a mystery. Shocked by the
disappearance of all 129 officers and men, and sickened by reports of
cannibalism, the Victorians re-created Franklin as the brave Christian
hero who laid down his life, and those of his men. Later generations
have been more sceptical about Franklin and his supposed selfless
devotion to duty. But does either view really explain why this
outstanding scientific navigator found his ships trapped in pack ice
seventy miles from magnetic north? Andrew Lambert re-examines the life
and the evidence with his customary brilliance and authority. In this
riveting story of the Arctic, he discovers a new Franklin: a character
far more complex, and more truly heroic, than previous histories have allowed.
Andrew Lambert is Professor of Naval History at King's College,
London, and has been described as 'the outstanding British naval
historian of his generation' (David Cannadine). His books include
Trincomalee: The Last of Nelson's Frigates and The Foundations of
Naval History, and his highly successful history of the British Navy,
War at Sea, was broadcast on BBC2.
