Faber & Faber

Franklin: Andrew Lambert

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Synopsis:

From ‘the outstanding naval historian of his generation’ (David Cannadine), a gripping story of the Arctic, propelled by the need to recover the truth about one man’s fatal mission.

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 loss of all 129 officers and men, and sickened by reports of cannibalism, the Victorians re-created Franklin as a 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 the magnetic north?

Andrew Lambert re-examines the life and the evidence with his customary brilliance and authority. He discovers a new Franklin: a character far more complex, and more truly heroic, than previous histories have allowed.

Tags:

Categorised as:

Non-fiction

Sub-categories:

Biography & Memoir

Places:

Arctic

Genres & Themes:

Englishmen; Exploration; Maritime; Pioneers; Victorian

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Andrew Lambert on 'Franklin'